Lazy Labour Candidates Given CONTRACTS to Force them to Campaign in Croydon

Lazy: Croydon Labour candidates forced to sign paperwork 

RELAXED Labour candidates in the Croydon Labour Party are being issued contracts to ensure they campaign in the local elections, The Croydon Gazette can reveal. 

The official contracts are said to enforce a minimum of two hours of work per week and have been defended by Labour’s Chief Whip Pat Ryan. Ryan told local paper The Croydon Advertiser, “Getting elected and then ignoring their ward for four years is not our way.”

But the revelations will raise further questions about why Labour candidates in the London borough of Croydon need to be forced to work for their constituents. Labour have already selected candidates who live many miles away from New Addington and the contracts could be a way to ensure the candidates take a tram or bus journey to the area they are hoping to represent.

Responding to the revelations, Labour Leader Tony Newman said, “We have large numbers of candidates out on the doorsteps so this is not an issue.”

A Tory source said, “Unlike Labour, Conservative candidates such as local New Addington people like Lara Fish and Tony Pearson do not need a contract to force them to stand up for their area. They thrive on working for their local community and are proud to live in New Addington and serve the people of Croydon.”

Why Croydon Labour’s New Addington Campaign is Faltering

Community First - but Labour have selected candidates who live elsewhere 

National polling has indicated a sharp post-budget bounce for the Conservatives, a factor which leaves the local elections in the London borough of Croydon too close to call. The Conservatives and Labour are locked in a bitter battle in the upwardly mobile New Addington ward, with issues such as Council Tax and local candidates being key issues on the agenda of local people.

The ward, once considered safe territory for Labour, was rocked at the last election when Conservative candidate Tony Pearson was elected in a surprise victory. Such an outcome should have immediately set alarm bells ringing amongst Labour strategists who could, and should have ensured local candidates were put forward for 2014. The Conservatives, seeing the opportunity to take two seats from Labour in its home turf have selected local New Addington residents Lara Fish and Tony Pearson again.

The sense of panic is the Labour campaign can be seen with the relentless arrival of Shadow Cabinet Ministers in New Addington, with Chuka Umunna, Rachel Reeves and even Alan Johnson making guest appearances in the ward. But Labour have struggled to justify the credibility of its candidates, choosing representatives who live in Thornton Heath and Shirley. In a tight-knit local community, the line “Not living in New Addington, but able to stand up for New Addington” is seen as an insult to local people.

Under the leadership of Tony Newman, the local Labour Party has also toxified its once loved working class brand, by launching a string of vicious attacks against Tony Pearson, despite the fact that he is known and well-liked in New Addington. In one post, an article on a Labour supporting blog had a photograph of Pearson next to the word ‘Pillock’ attacking his job. Another alleged Labour trainer claimed on Twitter that New Addington was ‘a hole’.

It is a strategy that more respectable, decent Labour Party members such as Gerry Ryan and Stuart Collins would never either endorse of encourage, but under Tony Newman negative, personal campaigning has become central to the Croydon Labour Party’s approach to politics. Mr Newman has been asked several times to condemn or distance himself from the muck throwing, but robustly defended it on live radio.

Ask anyone in the Council chamber or the town hall who has found themselves on the receiving end of Croydon Labour’s smear campaign or on the Inside Croydon blog and they will tell you just how nasty and rotten the once respected local party has become.

But residents in New Addington are not fools and regard the smearing of one of their own as an insult to their community and their town. Croydon Labour have the wrong strategy, the wrong candidates and the wrong leader, and voters will punish them heavily for it on May 22.

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.”

Croydon Labour Gets Nasty in New Addington

Local Man: Cllr Tony Pearson in New Addington 

The Croydon Labour Party has ramped up is negative campaign against Conservative incumbent, Councillor Tony Pearson. 

The increasingly personal campaign through social media around Mr Pearson’s job, has triggered speculation that the Labour Group’s botched selection process and lack of policies in New Addington could add two more seats to the Conservatives majority come May.

Tony Pearson has lived in New Addington with his wife and family most of his life and is a well-known figure in the local community. By contrast, the Labour candidates several miles away from New Addington and have never lived there.  

Smears: How one Labour-supporting
blog attacks Pearson

The sense of panic in the Labour group has been underlined by the arrival of several high profile Labour figures in New Addington. Former Minister Alan Johnson, Shadow Minister Rachel Reeves and current Croydon North MP Steve Reed have all been spotted in the area recently.

In 2003, the Croydon Labour Party increased Council Tax on residents by 27.3%, hitting low paid workers in New Addington particularly hard. The rise was so severe that a petition was launched, attracting 16,000 signatures.

Tony Pearson and the Conservatives by contrast have frozen Council Tax and given New Addington residents a £25 rebate. 

New Addington Shows Resolve in Tia Sharp Tragedy

New Addington Grief - The community has been shaken by Tia's murder

The tragic murder of schoolgirl Tia Sharp has shocked and appalled a community in one of South London’s largest estates, but on a visit to the area The Croydon Gazette found a close-knit community working to rebuild the innocence of the streets and boosted by the conviction and life sentence of evil killer Stuart Hazell.

The London Borough of Croydon is well known in the media as the concrete jungle due to its recognisable terrain of grey building blocks constructed during the 1960s through various  regeneration initiatives. But the town is also equally famous for its large and established housing estates which span miles across the hillside and act as homes for many families large and small. But it is the New Addington estate which is most easily recognisable due to its relentless press coverage around the disappearance and murder enquiry of 12 year old Tia Sharpe, an investigation which has torn apart a family and left a once close knit community in tatters.

The details of the case have shocked the nation, with members of the press and public becoming physically ill at some of the sickening images they have seen on screen during the murder trial of Tia’s step-grandfather, Stuart Hazell. It is these depraved images and the revelations that Hazell had an interest in child pornography that have led to increased tensions in the once quiet estate of New Addington. Thankfully the trial and conviction of Hazell has provided justice for Tia’s family and the community in New Addington, who are keen to rebuild their lives and restore the reputation of the area once and for all.



Although largely an isolated community, New Addington has developed a significant level of independence in recent years. The estate is equipped with a large library, several major youth clubs, its own leisure centre, shopping areas and a church for worship. The estate is surrounded by several green fields and in recent years has been equipped with better bus services and more crucially a proper tram link for members of the public to use for work and socialising.



Innocence: Tia was loved by the community

Local residents who live in New Addington have told The Croydon Gazette that when the trial first began there was a notable additional Police presence in the local area. Although there have been no formal reports one local woman who has a young family has said that even after Hazell’s arrest, she is anxious to let her children play in the street after dark. “Even though the Police did a good job you still feel worried the innocence of the area has been damaged,” she told our reporter.

Local politicians have however stood tall behind the community, and worked with local people to improve morale and unite grieving families who have been left both shocked and frightened by the events of last summer.



Jason, 57 who works in waste management and has lived in one of New Addington’s smart terraced houses told us, “We’re always in the papers for one reason or another but you could see everyone here was out looking for Tia and we’ll help each other get through this.” These words ring true, not just with our reporter but with the rest of the country and for this reason alone you know that New Addington is already on its way to recovery.

New Addington has for many years suffered from a negative reputation and the Tia Sharp tragedy has compounded this challenge. But speak to local people in this loving, caring community where families and friends lookout for each other and you can see that New Addington will recover and rebuild itself.