The results of yesterday’s Referendum on a Democratically Elected Mayor for Croydon came through in the early hours of this morning. Just under 59,000 people voted, with 11,519 in favour of no change and 47,165 wanting to move to a Directly Elected Mayor. This was a 60+ point lead, with the “No” campaign getting just 19.7% and the “Yes” campaign 80.3%. Every single ward in Croydon voted for a change and this was a landslide victory on a scale never seen before in Croydon elections.
I would like to thank the Residents’ groups and campaigners who made this victory possible through their hard work in collecting the signatures to trigger the referendum in the first place and then working to win the referendum so decisively. It was a pleasure and privilege to work alongside them and support them. Thank you to all those residents who voted yesterday (for whichever option) because it is important to participate and make your voice heard.
The Labour establishment in Croydon – including the current failed council Leader and the borough’s two Labour MPs in Croydon North and Croydon Central – fought tooth and nail to stop this referendum happening, and when they could not do that they then campaigned against the change option in an effort to protect their own positions. But the public overwhelmingly recognised that Labour bankrupted the Borough, failed to deliver on the Westfield scheme leaving Croydon town centre blighted and that Labour has been devastating the Borough with terrible planning decisions.
Yesterday we took the first step towards real change in Croydon. The next step is to beat Labour in the Mayoral and Council elections that will now take place next May to get the Borough back onto a stable financial footing, regenerate Croydon town centre and end Labour’s terrible planning policies. If you would like to send me your views on these kinds of issues or volunteer to help campaign over the coming months, please do fill in this one minute survey if you have not done so already: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/chrisautumn
Please do forward this to your friends and neighbours, or post it online.
