Croydon Council has agreed details of a public referendum that will ask residents if they want to change the borough’s governance arrangements.
At a meeting of the authority’s full council, councillors formally agreed the final arrangements for the referendum, which will take place between 7am-10pm on 7 October.
Voters in the borough will be asked: ‘How would you like the London Borough of Croydon to be run?’
The options available for the electorate will be:
• ‘By a leader who is an elected councillor chosen by a vote of the other elected councillors. This is how the council is run now.’
• ‘By a mayor who is elected by voters. This would be a change from how the council is run now.’
By law, the council can only offer two referendum options, one of which must include the existing governance model.
By 20 July, the authority will have published more details via public notices and, in accordance with legislation, it will enter a period of pre-referendum restrictions beginning on 30 August.
Croydon has had a ‘leader and cabinet’ model since 2001, when the Local Government Act 2000 required most councils to change from a committee system.
The decision to hold a referendum on Croydon’s governance arrangements was agreed at an extraordinary council meeting in February.
Commenting, Chief Executive of Croydon Council, Katherine Kerswell said:
“This referendum is open to any resident in the borough who is eligible to vote and you must be registered to vote to be eligible.
“So if you are not already registered and want to vote in the referendum, visit the website and sign up, it really only takes a few minutes.”
