We the people of Croydon reject the imposition of a 15% council tax rise.

We should not be asked to pay more to get less.

Funding for Croydon Council from central government has been cut dramatically over the past 13 years, and we receive far less funding per person than neighbouring Lambeth.

We note that the Conservative Council that left office in 2014 handed over around £1 billion in debt. This was increased by 50% by the Labour group which ran the council from 2014-22.

Successive councils and successive governments are to blame for the current financial situation in Croydon Council. The one group that is not to blame is Croydon’s residents.

We call on the Croydon Mayor to withdraw plans for a 15% hike in Council Tax in the middle of the worst fall in living standards on record.

And we call on the Government to give Croydon Council the same funding level per person as neighbouring Lambeth.