TORIES on Croydon Council will be meeting on Saturday September 20 to choose a new leader, following the resignation of former council leader, Mike Fisher yesterday (Friday) night. The date was set a specially convened Conservative group meeting this morning (Saturday) at which Councillor Fisher confirmed his resignation and explained his reasons for accepting a £10,000 pay rise. Controversy over taking the increase, which was made public in the official council record of members' allowances published on Wednesday, was felt by many to have made his continuation as opposition leader untenable. The Advertiser revealed on Wednesday how Cllr Fisher -council leader for eight years until his party lost the elections in May - accepted an 18 per cent pay increase despite being advised against the move by several cabinet members and other senior Tories, including Croydon Central MP Gavin Barwell. Their stance came despite the fact they accepted that Cllr Fisher had not done anything illegal by taking the money. Back in 2010, the then Conservative cabinet had agreed they were "not minded" to take increases recommended by the Independent Review Body which sets councillors' allowances. No other cabinet members have taken the suggested increase. Nominations for the leadership of the group will be opening shortly and if there is a contest, the election will take place at the September 20 meeting. Speaking after today's group meeting, Cllr Phil Thomas, a close colleague of Cllr Fisher, said: "Mike has been a really good leader for the town over the last eight years and I have enjoyed working with him because he is a Croydon man through and through. "He pulled the town up by its socks, brought Westfield and Hammerson into Croydon and resolved the financial mess the previous Labour administration had left us in. "Mike was good for Croydon and it is a pity he has had to resign in these circumstances."
