Croydon Green Party is delighted to announce that Peter Underwood has been selected as our candidate for Mayor of Croydon.
The Green Party is the clear challenger to the failing Conservative and Labour parties.
At the general election last year, the Green Party got the third most votes in Croydon. Our vote went up more than any other party while votes for both Conservatives and Labour went down. You know you deserve better than more misery under Labour or Conservatives and that’s why you need to vote Green at the next election.
Peter was chosen as our candidate for Mayor as he has a long track record of working as part of the community to make Croydon a better place to live. His professional experience also means Peter can get on with tackling the dysfunctional Council and get it back on the road to serving the public.
The Green Party campaigned against have a Mayoral system because we don’t think all that power should be put in one person’s hands. The last four years have provided plenty of evidence of why this dictatorship style of leader is not what we want.Voting Green is also the first step to getting rid of the wasteful Mayor system and moving to the committee system used in better performing Councils. Peter’s commitment to work with residents and community groups mean that voting Green is the best way to truly put power back in the hands of the people of Croydon.
Peter’s key aims as Mayor
I know people in Croydon have had enough of the Conservative and Labour parties who have worked together to ruin our borough.
We desperately need a change for the better and that’s what the Greens are offering.
I believe that the only way we are going to make Croydon better is by working together. I stand against those politicians who stir up division and hatred. I stand against those politicians who only want to help some people and make life worse for others. I want to bring our communities together to make life better for all of us.
I also believe we need to bring honesty back into politics, you deserve politicians you can trust. We all know the dreadful state Croydon is in and so I’m not going to make the sort of fake promises and false claims we’ve all heard before from other candidates.
I will make clear promises that you can rely on:
- I will fight for fair funding for Croydon and work with other Councils to put pressure on the Government to provide the money we need to keep the Council running
- I will change the way Croydon Council is run to cut the amount of money wasted on consultants, too many senior staff, and senior Councillor allowances, and put that money back into employing front line staff and delivering the services we actually need
- I won’t just claim to be listening to residents, I will be actively involving residents in the decision-making process. I will be inviting community representatives and people who have the experience of using Council services to help develop new ideas, help make decisions, and become part of the whole process of improving the way the Council works.
I don’t believe that one person has all the answers and so I will be working with our brilliant Councillors Ria Patel and Esther Sutton, and the other fantastic Green candidates who will be standing for election all over Croydon to truly make this a people’s campaign. I intend to be a Mayor who truly works with the people of Croydon and for the people of Croydon.
We have suffered for too long under the Conservatives and Labour. If you vote for those same old parties, you will just get the same old politics.
You know you deserve better and that’s why this time you need to vote Green.
About Peter
Peter has lived in Croydon for over twenty years and is very active in his local community. He is on the committee of his Residents’ Association and his local woodland Friends group. He is a former chair of Croydon Friends of the Earth and was also a member of the Croydon Climate Crisis Commission.
Peter was brought up in the midlands of England, the son and grandson of coal miners and car factory workers. Peter went to his local comprehensive school and, despite becoming homeless when he was 17 years old, successfully gained a place at Oxford University where he studied Philosophy and Psychology. Peter also has a Master’s degree in Business Administration.
Peter spent the first half of his career working in the civil service. He started off offering benefits advice in Croydon and over the years moved through many different government roles and promotions to end up leading the team that wrote the UK’s renewable energy strategy. He has worked in both the UK Parliament and the European Parliament.
For the last ten years Peter worked for environment conservation charities, working to support volunteers looking after our local parks and woodlands as well as working on large rewilding projects in Scotland. People is also currently a trustee of a charity that aims to improve planning rules and our living environments across London.
Peter has been active in the Green Party for over ten years and spent over four years as a member of the Green Party governing body. Peter has also represented the Green Party of England and Wales at European conferences.