Croydon Government intervenes to avert crisis

Government commissioners are being sent in to run Croydon council, with a report finding its finances were "deteriorating rapidly" and it was heading for effective bankruptcy for the fourth time in recent years.

- Jessica Murray

Jim McMahon, the minister for local government, said he would be sending commissioners to run the London council until July 2027, describing the local authority as "one of the most financially distressed councils in the country".

"The scale of the financial difficulties facing Croydon, the failure of the council to adequately respond to these difficulties and the assurance required moving forward means that a short and sharp reset, with fast action, is required to shift the dial on the council's recovery," McMahon said in a ministerial statement yesterday.

The council hit back at the intervention. The executive mayor, Jason Perry, said the government, and the external panel that has been monitoring the council since 2020, had not previously told him the council should be taking more action.