A tirade of personal insults from a Conservative councillor on twitter, nasty remarks on locally based right of centre blog sites, another Conservative councillor abusing public resources by asking a question about "Andrew ‘Banker’ Pelling" at a council meeting (hardly the best use of time for a lazy Council that’s not meeting again for another 121 days) and a critical letter in the local media signed in a name not actually on the published Waddon electoral register purporting to be from a Labour supporter in Waddon who will not vote for me.

I know that this is all typical of the immature bear pit of pointless back biting that Croydon local politics has become that turns off voters.

I am, however, coming to the conclusion that some local Conservative party activists are not pleased that I am a prospective candidate in next year’s local council elections. They seem determined to do their utmost to draw attention to my likely candidacy.

Perhaps the mildest comment came from Gavin Barwell who told the Croydon Guardian that "I think everyone knows he is a Conservative at heart".

Certainly, if I am adopted as a candidate, I intend to secure support from a lot of Conservative voters in Waddon who are clearly astounded that Croydon Conservatives have lost their attachment to value for money.

Waddon council taxpayers, whose services are being cut, are not impressed by a council whose first priority is an expensive new HQ.

Waddon residents’ concern is only heightened by the secrecy surrounding the contract regarding the new council HQ, the details of which the council keeps secret.

The people who pay the council tax don’t know what hidden costs there are in that contract and they are not impressed that the council has got involved in a dangerous Croydon wide property speculation on the rates in partnership with a private equity player.

All this on top of the broken Conservative promise not to degrade Waddon’s environment by dumping an incinerator in the local community.

As regards local Conservatives’ vilification of my former profession as a banker, take that as a message to the many people in Croydon who work in financial services: Conservatives don’t want your vote.

Look instead at a Croydon Labour party with a positive message about doing the best possible with reduced funds for local government by giving power to users of council services to decide how precious monies are best spent frugally.

Andrew Pelling, Croydon Labour party