Thread by @AndrewJPelling

Let's be frank. The Fairfield Halls Report in the Public Interest is another deathly blow for Labour Croydon. What follows are remarks I have put on another social media platform. I attach some photos to lighten the mood as we go along. These photos come from my #XCroydonwalk

This article by me as attached was published by @InsideCroydon on Saturday afternoon.
insidecroydon.com/.../sorry-saga…

Key points from me arising from my article and the sorry saga of yet another Report in the Public Interest about Croydon council, this time for mislaying of £37.5m above the budgeted £30 m Fairfield Halls spend, follow.

The mislaying of another £ 37.5 million of public funds, this time in more than double overspend at the Fairfield Halls, comes from an oversized advisory fee for council arms length company, Brick by Brick and many changes or odd shuffles to consultants contracts.

I want forensic accountants to be employed to chase where the council tax payers money has gone and to use the law to get as much as it back as possible.

The Croydon Labour culture of seeing any questioning at all as disloyal created the fertile environment for this financial scandal.

Cabinet councillors as a Cabinet under Tony Newman very likely posed no questions about an out of control Fairfield Halls budget despite the whole town knowing that this huge overspend was happening.

I call upon the Leader of the council to resign unless she can provide proof that she did ask questions when a Cabinet member under Newman.

I have seen no evidence of such questioning.

The questioning should have been regular and pressing.

In the meantime, the culture of failed governance that has led to all these financial disasters continues.

I'm charged by Labour with the charges of whistleblowing, passing on confidential party political information, talking in public about the charges & of abusing the word "rescinded" in public, the use of this word in public having been proscribed only after I had starting using it

Further, I am not permitted to have a lawyer at the hearing, not have access to all papers in front of the hearing, I am allowed a friend or representative at the hearing but the friend will be chosen for me by the local Labour party ....

and the representative must be silent at all times such that they shall be a representative who must not represent.

I was one of three applicants to my Labour Chief Whip to ask 1 of 2 questions from the Labour side of the full council meeting today of the Leader of the council. I've not been successful in my application with the question space allocated to an, as yet, unspecified question ....

from the Deputy Chief Whip. My question was about Fairfield Halls and the Leader's role in the matter.

Using COVID caring practices I am not guaranteed to be allowed to attend the full council meeting where I intended to raise my concerns about the council's cuts to council tax benefits which impacts upon 20,000 of our most needy non-pensioner households in #Croydon.

1,300 of these households are in #Waddon, the ward I represent but which I can't represent tomorrow apparently. I will try to get into the public gallery. You can't vote at the meeting unless you are physically present in the meeting.

There are ways of covering the £4.7 million a year taken from those most in need in our town and in receipt of council tax benefit.

A whopping up to £125 a month in benefits will go when power bills are up, universal credit is down, inflation is jumping, council tax is up the maximum and furlough is over.

The foolishness of these benefits cuts will become apparent as carers give up some or all of their responsibilities such that our care costs go up ....

or people default on their rent and we have to house them at huge costs in temporary accommodation after they are evicted for non-payment of rent.

The most needy in our town are being treated this way by a Labour council mind you, a Labour council.

This money could have been found instead from unused taxes, private sector contract failure fines and extra money from the very successful outperforming always right market calls Croydon council Pension Fund ...

that I have chaired on and off between 2 sackings for opposing a council ban on black music under the council's licensing policy and for successfully getting my #Croydon South Labour party to support governance reform by having a Directly Elected Mayor.

The Fund is up over £770m, almost doubling in value at an extra £ 2,900 per voter. When the council is a financial basket case the Fund makes £390,000 a day for #Croydon council tax payers and our pensioners.

Can I encourage people to sign the petition against the #rescindment of my Labour party candidacy the last post in this thread?

The failed culture that got #Croydon council in its mess continues. Driving out whistle blowers sends the wrong message to Croydon people.

Whilst I am prosecuted by what is currently my own party those who mislaid £150 million of public money as Labour politicians are NOT called in front of hearings.

It's time we thought of #puttingcroydonfirst .

Oh, and can the council answer the 'phone to residents? #SouthCroydon 'phone box #Thingscanonlygetbetter.

And things can only get better. THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE & HOPE. 20 #PellingPoints already published (with more good ideas to come) on how to rescue council finances, reduce service cuts & restore council tax benefits for those in need, our neighbours.

And that petition - please sign the petition calling for restoration of my #rescinded #Waddon candidacy.

change.org/p/re-instate-a…