Wednesday 19th April, 2023
The Colchester Liberal Democrats have released their manifesto ahead of the May 2023 local elections:
Our brighter vision for our historic borough and new city!
Don’t you just LOVE exclamation marks!!!!
The manifesto focuses on several key areas, including honest politics, financial security, tackling the ecological and climate emergency, celebrating the city, creating a cleaner Colchester, promoting a city that means business, and ensuring happy and healthy lives for residents.
Under the banner of honest politics, the party emphasises the need for politicians to lead with integrity, telling the truth on tough decisions and financial costs.
They aim to deliver an open and honest council in contrast to the national Conservative government’s sleaze. The party also highlights the importance of cross-party working for Colchester.
Note the emphasis on cross-party working. ‘cos the LibDems – AND Labour – are not going to form a majority administration in Colchester anytime soon.
In terms of financial security, the party promises support for the most vulnerable in Colchester with a Colchester Emergency Fund and fairer tax support.
They also aim to achieve financial stability for Colchester City Council, protecting services, driving efficiencies, and investment.
The party plans to secure external investment into the city, with £20 million from the Town Deal and £19 million from the Levelling Up Fund.
Tough times are coming when it comes to the Council coffers. Tough times require a steady pair of hands. Who do you trust on this?
Oh – and it’s nice of the LibDems to take credit for the Tory’s Town Deal and Levelling Up fund, although there was cross-party support at the Town Hall to make this happen.
The party is committed to tackling the ecological and climate emergency, aiming to go net-zero by 2030. They plan to green the housing stock fully by 2030, make every new home built a net-zero house, and plant 15,000+ trees a year, with more street trees, EV charging points, and properly connected cycle paths.
Net Zero by 2030 would be quite an achievement. 2050 looks more realistic. We’d be keen to see how the 10,000+ new homes in the Garden Village play into this.
To be fair, the LibDems and Labour (and the Tories in Chelmsford) have some innovative ideas when it comes to cycling.
To celebrate the city, the party aims to invest in the city centre’s heritage and future, as well as heritage, culture, and the beautiful rural communities. They plan to deliver a better bus station and more fresh public spaces for people to visit and enjoy.
Good luck in finding a central location in the town / city for any new bus station.
The party also promises a cleaner Colchester, budgeting an extra £100,000 for city center cleaning, getting Essex Highways to agree to a fix and repair budget for the city center pavements and roads, and upgrading the waste and recycling system across Colchester, delivering the highest ever recycling rates.
#potholes
The party wants to create a city that means business, working with Colchester Business Improvement District to take business growth to the next level. They aim to build a strong local economy with joint investment by the council and other anchor institutions, delivering business “grow-on-spaces” across the city and new job opportunities at Northern Gateway.
Lastly, the party promises to ensure happy and healthy lives for residents by protecting green spaces, delivering new country parks, and upgrading play areas in communities.
They also plan to deliver new sports, leisure, and entertainment facilities for all to enjoy at Northern Gateway, guaranteeing the council and health services work hand in hand to deliver better, more efficient services.
The Northern Gateway may be a pain in the arse to get to, but it’s a damn fine new facility for the city. Another example of cross-party working.
Jeez. We’re starting to sound like we believe in this Third Way approach ourselves now.
The manifesto has the centrist handprints of Cllr Martin Goss and Leader Cllr Dave King all over it.
There is some internal dissent within the local party. However, being liberal type folk, they respect and handle this rather well.
Anyone seen that Colchester Labour party manifesto yet?
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