Monday 24 March 2014

Outrage as Croydon Labour Activist Brands New Addington ‘A Hole’

New Addington residents under attack by Labour
The Croydon Labour party is facing fresh pressure to apologise to the residents of New Addington, after one of its most prominent activists branded the area ‘a hole’. The comments came from Christian Wilcox, who claims in online comments to be part of the Labour party’s training team, triggered outrage on social networking sites.

Responding to the attack on New Addington, the area he grew up in, Councillor Tony Pearson tweeted, “Labour show what they really think about #NewAddington. They call it 'a hole'. Disgrace.”

Thursday 20 March 2014

Croydon Labour Campaigned for Public Toilets as Waddon Candidate Photographed Men Urinating

Labour Leaders: Tony Newman with David Christison in Waddon
The Croydon Labour Party ran a borough-wide campaign calling for the opening of more public toilets, whilst its leading candidate was secretly filming men urinating.

Writing in local newspaper The Croydon Guardian, Councillor Timothy Godfrey who represents the Selhurst Ward claimed, "Labour Councillors in South Norwood worked hard to find an appropriate site and negotiated proper toilet facilities in the Station. Only problem is that Croydon Council have failed to work with the railway company so the toilets remain shut.”

In another campaign, Councillor Pat Ryan raised awareness of public toilet provisions, "There was also a problem with drug users and people loitering about and intimidating others.”

The news comes as Labour’s flagship Waddon candidate David Christison is due to be sentenced at Croydon Magistrates' Court after secretly filming men urinating in the Centrale shopping centre's toilets. David Christison was, until his suspension, one of the Croydon Labour party’s leading political strategists, serving as Secretary of West Thornton and leading the group’s campaign in Waddon where he hoped to become a Councillor.

He is also a close personal friend of Labour Leader Tony Newman who co-launched a campaign to overturn the Waddon election in the High Court after Christison lost by 500 votes. It was subsequently revealed that Christison, who is on benefits, used a legal loophole as a benefits claimant to ensure the election petition was funded entirely by taxpayers, to the tune of tens of thousands of pounds. Tony Newman was then photographed with Christison for the petition in the local newspapers, the pair were dressed smartly in suits.

But Labour will today be facing serious questions about how a man like Christison was able to reach the core of the Labour Party and have such influence over policy in his role in a Senior role as Secretary.

Many see the latest Labour scandal as part of a wider problem in the Labour Group, where under the leadership of Tony Newman, some of the worst and most controversial candidates in living memory have been put forward for marginal seats