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Good morning, Croydon! ☀️
Two days. That's all that stands between Croydon and the most closely watched local election in the country. Whether you're a Perry loyalist, a Davis convert, or still making up your mind over your morning coffee Thursday is the day it counts. Here's everything you need to know before you head to the polls.
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9th May
The Kiosk open 9am to 2pm The Kiosk Linktree
📰 MORNING PULSE
🎥 Big Brother is watching — and he lives in Croydon
Met Police's six-month live facial recognition pilot on Croydon's streets (The Guardian)
Up to 5,000 faces scanned per hour, hundreds of arrests including a woman wanted since 2004
Civil liberties groups call it invasive and potentially biased
🏫 Teacher vs technocrat: the education debate
NEU put both mayoral candidates on the spot over Croydon's schools
Davis (ex-teacher) spoke to burnout, SEND support, exam pressure
Perry cited the Croydon Education Partnership; NEU noted unions were excluded from it (Inside Croydon)
⚡ Labour's Croydon row: Black women out, Starmer's niece in
Two sitting Black women councillors deselected in Bensham Manor
Replaced in part by Keir Starmer's niece Ellie Sandover
Six sitting councillors deselected overall (Feminegra / Inside Croydon)
💛 HEARTBEAT
A voting aid 1,200 years in the making
Croydon first borough to deploy the McGonagle Reader -- audio-tactile voting device approved by RNIB
Blind and partially sighted residents can vote independently for the first time (Inside Croydon)
Here it is 👇
CROYDON LOCAL PULSE — ISSUE #25
Tuesday 5 May 2026 | Election Countdown — 2 Days to Go
INTRO
Good morning, Croydon! ☀️ [ADD WEATHER HERE]
Two days. That's all that stands between Croydon and the most closely watched local election in the country. Whether you're a Perry loyalist, a Davis convert, or still making up your mind over your morning coffee — Thursday is the day it counts. Here's everything you need to know before you head to the polls.
MORNING PULSE
🎥 Big Brother is watching — and he lives in Croydon
Met Police's six-month live facial recognition pilot on Croydon's streets (The Guardian)
Up to 5,000 faces scanned per hour, hundreds of arrests including a woman wanted since 2004
Civil liberties groups call it invasive and potentially biased
🏫 Teacher vs technocrat: the education debate
NEU put both mayoral candidates on the spot over Croydon's schools
Davis (ex-teacher) spoke to burnout, SEND support, exam pressure
Perry cited the Croydon Education Partnership; NEU noted unions were excluded from it (Inside Croydon)
⚡ Labour's Croydon row: Black women out, Starmer's niece in
Two sitting Black women councillors deselected in Bensham Manor
Replaced in part by Keir Starmer's niece Ellie Sandover
Six sitting councillors deselected overall (Feminegra / Inside Croydon)
HEARTBEAT
A voting aid 1,200 years in the making
Croydon first borough to deploy the McGonagle Reader -- audio-tactile voting device approved by RNIB
Blind and partially sighted residents can vote independently for the first time (Inside Croydon)
ELECTION COUNTDOWN — 2 DAYS TO GO
Jason Perry (Conservative) — incumbent
Rowenna Davis (Labour) — frontrunner in recent polling
Peter Underwood (Green) | Richard Howard (Lib Dem) | Ben Flook (Reform UK) | Michael Pusey (TTIP) | Jose Joseph (Independent)
Polls close Thursday 7 May at 10pm. Bring photo ID.
🏆 ONLY IN CROYDON
First borough to be a live facial recognition testing ground AND first to deploy an audio-tactile voting aid -- in the same election week.
👋 OUTRO
Two days, Croydon. Make them count. Forward it, share it, tell a neighbour. See you Wednesday -- and then on the other side of Thursday. 🗳️
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