Crawley breathed a sigh of relief last week, when the government threw out the awful proposal from Crawley’s Labour Councillors, to bounce Crawley into Surrey. There was a nice sense of irony that this news came on the day after Sussex Day, the 16th of June. Thank you to everyone who supported our campaign to keep Crawley’s Council in West Sussex and who signed the petition.
There was also a sense of irony that it took the Labour Government acting sensibly and doing the right thing for once, to reign in a terrible proposal from Crawley’s Labour Council. The minister’s letter was quite an eye-opener, stating how unsuitable the Council’s submission was in not being worthy to be considered.
Crawley must never forget that Crawley Labour’s Councillors gaslighted the entire town in trying this stunt, as the first stage of a covert two-part plan to ultimately have Crawley and Gatwick absorbed into an expanded London. I’m under no illusion the motivation was to entrench Labour power in Crawley and ultimately seeking to have us coming under the existing London Mayor rather than a new elected Sussex Mayor.
The forced merging of councils in two-tier areas like ours was not in Labour’s manifesto at the general election. It’s very unsatisfactory to conceal and then undertake such a major change, but as the government offer no choice but to merge our councils, it’s important to get on with it and focus on getting the best outcomes for Crawley.
The time and effort wasted on trying to attach us to Reigate and Banstead has been a major distraction and has undermined public confidence of Crawley residents in the entire process. Labour’s Reigate shambles has also attracted public ridicule, including in the comments on the Council’s own Facebook Page, where a created AI image of the Mayor and Council Leader (wearing a joker outfit) was posted, with them holding a flag saying “Reigate Borough” outside Crawley Town Hall.
Hopefully now, we can get down to the serious business of working out the best options for Crawley, remaining as an important part of West Sussex.
Councillor Duncan Crow, Leader of Crawley Borough Council Conservative Group
25th June 2025
