Next week on Thursday 2 May, there are two elections taking place in Crawley.  The Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner election takes place across the whole of Sussex, with our excellent Police Commissioner Katy Bourne, seeking re-election.  I was pleased to be out campaigning with Katy at the weekend in Crawley, telling residents about her strong record of delivery, including more police and PCSOs for Crawley.

There are also local elections for 12 seats on Crawley Borough Council, which sees one seat up in every ward except Furnace Green.  These seats were last up for election in 2021 when we had an excellent result and won seven seats to Labour’s five, of the 12 seats that were up.

We currently have 16 seats on the council to Labour’s 20, meaning Labour already has a comfortable majority.  It is Labour’s aim to remove all opposition on the council, because they do not like any scrutiny or constructive challenge on their poorly performing cabinet and committee chairs.  It has been very evident over the last couple of years, that it is only opposition Conservative councillors who ask any credible questions at meetings or who scrutinise council policies.

It is just as well we do.  The Labour administration take the credit for everything but responsibility for nothing.  They have blown through the council’s reserves and have failed to keep any kind of control of the council’s finances.  My concern is they could bankrupt the council and issue a 114 notice, like bankrupt Labour councils in Croydon, Birmingham and Nottingham have done.

We are campaigning on local issues in Crawley, whereas Labour are campaigning on national issues, to deflect from their local record.  Conservative Councillors in Crawley want to protect good services by ensuring the council is as well-run as possible.  The best way to achieve that is by having a Conservative run council like we did from 2006-2014.  The electoral arithmetic makes that an unlikely outcome this year, so the second-best way for the council to perform well, is to ensure a strong Conservative opposition is elected that can hold Labour to account.

Councillor Duncan Crow, Leader of Crawley Borough Council Conservative Group

24th April 2024