Young for Croydon Mayor

Young for Mayor

I am pleased to have been shortlisted in the Labour Party process to select a candidate to stand for Directly Elected Mayor of Croydon in May 2022.

I am seeking support for my candidacy across the Croydon Labour family.

Here are just 5 reasons for Members to vote for me:

I have a political vision for Croydon is set out below. Moreover, I have the ambition and capability to make it a reality. I think strategically, am a problem solver and have a strong track record of delivery.

I am by far the most experienced candidate to navigate Croydon out of the current crisis. I am a former Senior Civil Servant who worked for Secretaries of State in different Whitehall Departments. I have operated at the highest levels of national Government, even chaired Council Working Groups of the 28 Member States of Europe. I have national crisis management experience and was in regular attendance at COBRA. Drawing on this, my experience of Comprehensive Spending Reviews and large-scale change management programmes, I can turn things around in the Council to build a brighter future for the Borough.

Croydon has changed a lot in the last 20 years. We need to look forward not backwards. It is the most ethnically diverse borough in London. To win the Mayoral election, Labour’s candidate will need to mobilise voters like never before. I stand the best chance of doing this given my extensive links and community involvement right across the borough. I will be a Mayor for all of Croydon.

I am unattached to the negativity surrounding the previous Cabinet. As a new Cabinet Member, I played a leading role in securing the loan from central Government to balance Croydon’s budget. And I have established a good working relationship with the Assurance Panel appointed by the Secretary of State to provide regular reports on Croydon’s recovery programme. Their current assessment is ‘creditable progress’ is being made – which must continue for Labour to keep control of the Council, away from Commissioners.

I will be a Mayor that cares and protects Croydon’s residents. I already serve residents, not just as a Councillor but through my work with elders, young people and children with complex disabilities and medical needs.

Vision

My political vision for Croydon is to:

embed a public service ethos and financial discipline into the Council’s culture (read more)

place listening to residents, fairness and equality at the heart of Council decision-making providing, not least, a responsive housing service for Council tenants and protections for private renters

kick start regeneration of the town and district centres and sustainable growth, under a fairer Local Plan

deliver a strong green agenda, including clean streets and targets for tackling the climate crisis (read more)

deliver safer neighbourhoods helped by improved youth provision (read more)

About Me

I am a Croydonian through and through. I have lived in the Borough for over 40 years. My children were born and raised here. I want Croydon to be the very best for them and all our sakes. They feel let down just now.

My background and extensive experience are directly relevant to resolving the challenges faced by Croydon.

As a former Senior Civil Servant who worked for Secretaries of State in different Whitehall Departments, I am very well equipped to drive the transformational change required at the Council. I have experience of national crisis management, Comprehensive Spending Reviews to achieve financial efficiency, change management to effect large-scale transformation of staff culture. I have also led national policy development on big issues such as race equality following the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, environmental sustainability and represented the UK in Brussels.

Community

I am rooted in community activities. I serve as Chair of a Croydon charity that runs an Adult Day Centre to help elders have a life not a care plan, an Education Centre for children excluded from mainstream education, and a Summer School to help children stay active and fed.

My volunteering has also involved helping Windrush victims of the Hostile Environment in their fight for fair and just compensation from the Home Office. I volunteer as Vice Chair of Thornton Heath Festival, serve as a governor at a school for children with complex disabilities and medical needs, and have forged partnerships to feed vulnerable elders and others throughout Lockdown and post furlough.