Goodbye Waddon, it's been a privilege

Paralympian David Weir opening Waddon Leisure Centre

As a true Croydonian one of the proudest moments of my life was when I became elected as a Councillor for Waddon ward in 2009.

As an ex-pupil of Regina Coeli Primary School it has been a real privilege to represent an area that I grew up in. Many of my school friends and their families still live in Waddon, so it has been an honour to serve these people alongside other Waddon residents, with my colleagues Simon Hoar and Tony Harris.

Waddon is lucky to have a vibrant community and I have many happy memories to take away with me including baking cakes for the Jubilee Party; welcoming the Olympic Torch to St Andrew’s School; helping elderly people clean up their gardens alongside their young neighbours; dancing at the cultural festival as a governor at Aerodrome Primary School; welcoming Boris Johnson and David Weir to the leisure centre and singing along to Gracie Fields with residents at Whitgift House at the Wandle Park open day. 

When I joined the Conservative Party sixteen years ago I never thought that I would become a member of Croydon Council at 25 years old. Over the past five years I have thrown myself into being a Councillor and am proud to have helped hundreds of residents solve their council-related issues. I am even prouder to have served during a Conservative administration that delivered a new leisure centre on the Purley Way and also invested in Waddon’s open spaces such as Wandle Park, Duppas Playing Fields and Waddon Ponds.

Opening Wandle Park

As one of the Waddon ward members, the Leader of the Council let me take a lead on organising the opening of Wandle Park last year. I wanted local residents to put their mark on this day and invited schools, community groups and local residents to form an organising committee. After six months of planning we managed to organise one of the most successful opening days in Croydon ever, attracting over 7,000 people!

However, even though delivering on your pledges is fun the most rewarding part of being a Councillor is being part of the community and helping out residents to the best of your ability. During the past five years I have helped hundreds of residents from all different backgrounds and walks of life as people look to you to improve their lives and make a difference where possible.

Celebrating the Queen's Jubilee with Waddon residents

I have made many friends along the way – including a local Green Party activist and will miss helping and solving local residents' problems. It has made me realise how important it is to have a strong community as being a member of one can make such a substantial difference to a person’s life.

Croydon has a bright and prosperous future ahead, with Council tax frozen and a £25 rebate for residents. Every day, from developments such as the Waddon Leisure centre to Westfield, our town is getting stronger.

I wish my successor the best of luck in the forthcoming elections and it is crucial that Croydon remains Conservative as we simply cannot afford Labour to mess up our borough again.

Croydon Labour votes not to give residents an effective 2% council tax cut

Croydon Conservatives were extremely disappointed that Croydon Labour voted against the proposed council budget for 2014/15, but were not exactly surprised given their track record on increasing council tax when they were in power. 

Over the 12 year period when they ran the council, Labour increased council tax by 107% in real terms - and of course by much more when you add the inflation back in. Compare this with the Conservatives record where council tax has fallen in real terms by 4.5%

COUNCIL TAX RECORD

                             + 107% under Labour        V        - 4.5% under the Conservatives

Conservative Future Women AGM

Two years ago, the Rt Hon Theresa May MP and myself launched CF Women at St Stephens Club. Since then we have held over twenty events in parliament, at various embassies and CCHQ. We have helped and supported many of our members with their campaigns and careers and have assisted them where necessary. I am very proud of what CF Women has achieved in such a short space of time and would like to thank my dedicated and hard-working team who has made all of this possible.

After an exciting two years at the helm I have decided to stand down as Chairman and as such would like to invite you as a member to attend our Annual General Meeting on Tuesday 18th March at 7pm. It will be held in parliament and we will be joined by Charlotte Leslie MP. To attend please register here

Nominations for Chairman are open to all CFW members. 

To nominate yourself explaining why, please email me and Celia at: clare@conservativefuturewomen.co.uk & celia@conservativefuturewomen.co.uk 

The nomination period will open on Monday 17th February and close on Friday 28th February.

All candidates will receive instructions on the election process and AGM in due course.

I look forward to seeing you at our AGM on 18th March.

Council Tax freeze & £25 back for every Croydon Taxpayer

Cllr Fisher, Mead & O'Connell announcing the good news

Today, the Leader of Croydon Council, Cllr Mike Fisher announced his intention to give every council taxpayer a rebate of £25 and also freeze its part of the council tax for the third time in four years.

These proposals are part of the 2014/15 budget that are due to be presented for approval at Council on 24 February.

Cllr Fisher said: "“We’ve been working hard to protect things that matter most to local residents in very difficult financial circumstances. This responsible management of our budget means we have, for the third time in four years, been able to ensure council tax bills will not rise.


“But we know how tough times are for many families and that is why we are going a step further this year and offering all council taxpayers a discount on their bills.


“As well as easing the pressure on household spending, this injection of cash should also benefit local businesses and help accelerate Croydon’s recovery.”

The 2014/15 budget also includes an ambitious multi-million pound programme of investment for the borough, focusing on building more schools and delivering more school places, regenerating the borough, improving highways and building new homes over the next three years.

Key points:

• £90m on primary and secondary school expansions, including five new schools
• £10m on special educational needs to provide extra places
• £24m on highways improvements
• £26m in improving public areas across the borough
• £17m on regenerating New Addington, including a new leisure centre
• £6m on building new social housing
• £26m makeover for Fairfield Halls to help secure its future and its place as a major centre for arts and entertainment

The Ugly Truth About Violent Assaults on Christian Leaders in the Modern Britain

Today, think tank Parliament Street is launching a campaign calling for greater protection for Christian Leaders from violent assaults, abuse and harassment. Across Britain, official Police figures show that nearly 200 Vicars and Priests have been victims of violent attacks, including grievous bodily harm over the last few years alone.

All too often Police are logging these vicious crimes as standard common assaults, including ABH and GBH without properly taking into account the fact that the victim was wearing a dog collar or the context of the attack being within a church.

It is time for the government to take steps to ensure these assaults are classified as religious hate crimes, instead of standard assaults. This will ensure greater protection for religious leaders as the penalties for religious hate crimes are far more severe and this will send a clear message that the government is doing everything it can to protect Christian leaders and those of other faiths in Britain.