Southwark (Parliament Politics Magazine) – New data reveals Southwark receives £728 more in funding per resident than Croydon, sparking debate over regional inequality and council resources.
Politicians in Croydon claim that an unjust backing structure that favors nearby communities like Lambeth and Southwark has left the city before.
They contend that times of underfunding have aggravated differences within the city, placing strain on both citizens and vital services, and they’re calling on the government to modernize the antiquated medium that sets council backing.
Both Labour’s mayoral seeker Rowenna Davis and Croydon’s Administrative Mayor Jason Perry have formerly started their own juggernauts prompting the government to give the city with a further indifferent agreement that takes into account its being pressures and growth. Both claim that Croydon is being held back and that investment in public services is being constrained by its antiquated financial deal.
“Anyone who goes up to the border with our neighbours can look across the street and see a visible difference, there is less fly-tipping and it looks cleaner,”
said Labour’s mayoral candidate Rowenna Davis.
The disparity, she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), “highlights how the current funding formula has failed to reflect Croydon’s growing social and economic challenges.”
The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government, as well as Croydon North and Streatham MP Steve Reed, have been urged in a letter by Conservative Mayor Jason Perry to deliver the Fair Funding Review in its entirety and guarantee that Croydon finally gets its fair share of national resources. The evaluation, which was announced in June 2025, is to replace ten-year-old data with a system based on the needs and deprivations of the current population.
He told the LDRS:
“For far too long Croydon has been short-changed by an outdated system that simply didn’t recognise the pressures we face. We’ve stabilised the council’s finances, restored good governance, and shown what sound management can achieve. Now the government must follow through and deliver a settlement that truly reflects need and deprivation.”
Early government modeling, according to Mayor Perry, shows that Croydon may benefit greatly from adjustments that would take into account social issues, population growth, and the growing expense of providing basic services when allocating funds.
Co-signed by other Conservative council members and Neil Garratt, the London Assembly member for Croydon and Sutton, the Mayor’s open letter urges ministers to oppose any attempt to weaken the new plan. According to Mayor Perry, indifferent backing would enable Croydon to keep investing in city centers, repairing services, and reviving the city’s pride.
As the assessment moves forward, he has asked MPs, council members, and mayoral candidates from all parties to support the request and put up a unified front. On the same day, Cllr. Davis launched his own Fair Funding Campaign, which aims to urge the government to take action by mobilizing the public through street stalls and petitions.
She told the LDRS:
“For decades Croydon has not been fairly funded. The funding formula dates back to a time when Central London was very deprived and outer London was relatively wealthy. That has clearly changed.”
Cllr Davis argues that Croydon now faces some of the deepest social challenges in London but receives less for education, adult social care and environmental services.
She added:
“Also, if you look at the asylum seekers we take in, we do not get the support to help those people in their communities. It is time for that to change. Croydon cannot be ignored anymore the council is at breaking point and its people are at breaking point.”
Each seeker has claimed to be the first to start the design, indeed though both juggernauts are championing for further indifferent backing for Croydon. In advance of the largely awaited May 2026 mayoral election, their conditioning also drew attention to the political divides and strategic positioning.
While Cllr. Davis attributes the problem to what she refers to as decades of mismanagement under prior administrations, Mayor Perry has structured his campaign on financial stability and competent management.
How would Fair Funding Review changes affect Croydon?
The Fair Funding Review changes are anticipated to appreciatively affect Croydon by furnishing the city with increased backing relative to former allocations. Croydon is among the London megalopolises projected to profit from the reforms because the new backing formula better accounts for social and profitable privation situations faced by external London megalopolises.
The proposed plan consolidates lower subventions into larger backing pots, uses streamlined socio- profitable data, and adjusts for area costs and council duty profit capacity. This means Croydon could admit a further indifferent share of government backing aligned with its advanced demand for services like social care and education requirements.
Still, despite these advancements, there are enterprises that the overall backing for London megalopolises would drop inclusively, and not all councils would profit inversely.