REVEALED: Labour’s 16 broken promises

What they Promised – Labour 2014 Manifesto

Broken Promise 1: “We will build affordable housing to buy and rent … Labour is committed to the principle of council housing for local people” (p9 and p10)

What has actually happened?

• Not a single new council house started
• Not a single “Brick by Brick” home completed
• Only 8% of planned “Brick by Brick” Homes are “affordable”
• Only 5% of those given planning permission last year are “affordable”.

Broken Promise 2: “We need well designed areas where people want to live.” (p9)

What has actually happened?

Granted wildly inappropriate planning consents against the wishes of local people, such as a 17 floor skyscraper in Purley, opposed by over 11,000 local people.

Broken Promise 3: “We need … to protect our environment … A Labour council wants to see a green Borough” (p9 and p15)

What has actually happened?

• They have removed greenbelt protection from places such as Crohamhurst and Sanderstead Plantation They have removed the protection given to 31 green spaces in the Borough

Broken Promise 4: “Safeguarding will be at the heart of everything we do – protecting our children from abuse and violence is imperative” (p29)

What has actually happened?

In 2017, Ofsted found Croydon Children’s Services had deteriorated since 2014 so much that there are now dangerously “inadequate” – despite funding increases. The Government had to send in a team from Camden council to try to fix the mess Labour had made in Croydon – which had been endangering vulnerable children.

Broken Promise 5: “We will increase the frequency of street cleaning, waste collection … in areas where the need is greatest” (p11)

What has actually happened?

• They have halved the amount of street cleaning in Croydon, and many streets are consequently filthy
• 20 street cleaning contractors have been sacked

Broken Promise 6: “We will make the recycling process easier for households and increase rates of recycling” (p11)

What has actually happened?

The rate of recycling in Croydon has fallen (it has risen across London as a whole)

Broken Promise 7: “We will crack down hard on fly-tipping” (p11)

What has actually happened?

Fly tipping has increased by 64% since Labour took control of the Council in 2014 and is an eyesore in too many parts of the Borough.

Broken Promise 8: “We will establish a ‘free breakfast’ scheme to meet the needs of all Croydon parents and children” (p7)

What has actually happened?

There is no free breakfast scheme for “all Croydon parents and children”

Broken Promise 9: “A Labour council has a vision for our parks where each one has a named park keeper and a team of staff.” (p17)

What has actually happened?

Park staff have been cut, and volunteer groups have had to step in to maintain many of Croydon’s parks instead

Broken Promise 10: “We will take steps to encourage owners of empty offices to bring the buildings back into productive use … We will target empty properties using the full range of powers” (p5 and p9)

What has actually happened?

• In Croydon town centre, the old Nestle building, old Royal Mail building next to East Croydon station and many others still remain derelict and empty after years. By now these sites should have been redeveloped into hundreds if not thousands of much-needed homes.
• They actually used an Article 4 Direction to make it harder to bring empty offices back into use as flats.

Broken Promise 11: “We will look to establish a not-for-profit lettings agency that works for all Croydon residents” (p9)

What has actually happened?

No such organisation has been established.

Broken Promise 12: “We will impose 20 mph speed limits in areas where residents want it” (p13)

What has actually happened?

Blanket 20mph zone has been imposed across the whole Borough despite the Council’s own consultation showing in Areas 3, 4 and 5 (the central and southern parts of the Borough) it was not wanted.

Broken Promise 13: “We will continue to work in partnership with major developers such as Hammerson and Westfield” (p5)

What has actually happened?

• The Westfield/Hammerson development should have been open by now. It hasn’t even started
• Years of argument, draft and delay went by on Labour’s watch – until the project nearly collapsed in October 2017. It took the intervention of the Conservative Government in Westminster to get it back on track.

Broken Promise 14: “We support Fairfield Halls” (p16)

What has actually happened?

The Fairfield Halls were totally closed down, with a re-opening promised this year. There is still no sign of the Fairfield Halls re-opening, and even the council now admit it will not re-open this year.

Broken Promise 15: “To support our local economies, our district centres will offer free parking for the first hour” (p15)

What has actually happened?

This has not been done – many District Centres do not have an hour’s free parking.

Broken Promise 16: In Labour’s 10,309 word 2014 manifesto document, the word “listen” never appears – not even once.

What has actually happened?

They have managed to keep that promise.

Note: Labour claim that their funding has been cut. When you account for all income streams (council tax, all Government grants, New Homes bonus etc) Croydon’s total core spending power has been increasing – for example from £276.3m in 2015/16 to £283.3m in 2019/20.