Voters in Croydon will take to the ballot boxes next month to choose who will lead the borough as its directly elected mayor.
The mayoral election will be held on May 7 on the same day as the full Croydon Council elections, when all 70 councillors across 28 wards will also be chosen.
The Mayor of Croydon is elected by voters across the whole borough and is responsible for leading the council, chairing the cabinet, setting its budget and directing overall strategy.
Residents will receive a separate ballot paper for the mayoral race and will have one vote to choose from eight candidates.
Those standing to become Mayor of Croydon are:
Jason Perry – Conservative and Unionist Party
Rowenna Davis – Labour and Co-operative Party
Richard Howard – Liberal Democrats
Peter Underwood – Green Party
Ben Flook – Reform UK
Benjamin Goldstone – Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
Michael Pusey – Taking The Initiative Party
Jose Joseph - Independent
This is the second election to use the directly elected mayoral system in Croydon, following a referendum held in October 2021.
In that vote, residents backed a change from the council’s previous leader-and-cabinet model to a mayoral system, giving a single elected figure greater executive power over decision-making.
The first mayoral election took place in May 2022, when Conservative candidate Jason Perry was elected as the borough’s inaugural executive mayor.
Under the new structure, the mayor works alongside elected councillors but holds responsibility for key decisions, including proposing the budget and setting policy direction, which the council can scrutinise and amend.
Share