Conservative Party candidate Jason Perry has been re-elected as Mayor of Croydon.
Perry was the incumbent Mayor and has held the position since the establishment of the borough’s mayoralty in 2022 – he has been a member of Croydon Borough Council since 1994.
In an emotional speech he thanked his “amazing” party team, for a hard but “well fought campaign” fighting for the “hearts and minds of the people of Croydon”.
He said: “We’ve done so much in the last four years and there is so much more to do and I very much look forward to delivering that for the residents of our borough.
“This is a borough that has been through so much, but it is a proud borough, it’s a great borough and it’s a borough that we are all proud to call home and that’s what really matters at the end of the day and we must deliver that proud home to our residents in Croydon.”
Perry just edged out Labour runner up Rowenna Davis – gaining 35,871 votes to Labour’s 34,758.
Davis said: “Whoever the leader of Croydon is, Croydon is a special place.”
This election had been one of the most closely watched in London mayoral elections due to the closeness of the polls.
Third and fourth were Peter Greenwood who represented the Green Party with 19,404 votes and Ben Flook who represented Reform with 14,467 votes.
Croydon Borough Council has had a difficult few years having been effectively bankrupt three times since 2020 and is currently under monitoring from Government inspectors.
Perry concluded that he was proud to carry on as Mayor of Croydon and was glad that this vote had been “smoother” than in previous years.
Votes for the council elections will be counted on Saturday.
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