Councillors and candidates from Northumberland Conservatives met on Saturday to launch the party’s local election campaign.
Council leader Glen Sanderson unveiled the party’s manifesto for the elections, with a 6 point plan he hopes voters will get behind at the poll on Thursday 1st May. The plan builds on the party’s record over the last 8 years, with an offer of providing quality services, while avoiding tax rises of up to 10%, as proposed by Labour-run Birmingham in February.
The event was attended by the Conservative Party’s Shadow Minister for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Robbie Moore, who represented Alnwick on Northumberland County Council before his election as Member of Parliament for Keighley.
Northumberland Conservatives’ 6 point plan includes:
- A well run council – Don’t risk mismanagement again and council tax rises of up to 10%.
- Quality services – We have kept our promises to invest right across the county and deliver our pledges.
- Roads to recovery – We will spend £130 million on the county’s roads over the next four years.
- Jobs for Northumberland – With a £110 million Northumberland Growth Fund we will create thousands of high quality, well paid jobs for Northumbrians.
- Free parking – We will keep parking free in market towns across the county.
- Homes for Northumbrians – We will continue to build affordable homes in the county while fighting Labour’s plans to concrete over the county’s greenbelt.
Council leader Glen Sanderson said:
“We have kept our promises we made four years ago and we will keep them again if our residents give us their support on May 1st. We will fight Labour’s plan to concrete over the greenbelt. We will protect free parking in Northumberland. And we will spend £130 million on the county’s roads.
“It is a huge honour to represent our residents and we take our responsibilities very seriously - so we have used your money sensibly to protect our frontline services, to invest in the future by bringing huge investment and jobs and improved our services across the board.
“There is more money coming into Northumberland than at any time in the past - it is a County that is leading the way and we will keep it that way.”
Robbie said:
“Voters in Northumberland have a clear choice between a well run council and quality local services with the Conservatives or mismanagement again and tax rises of up to 10% with Labour.
“Taxes are going up in Labour areas across the country, while bins are going uncollected and services aren’t being delivered. That’s what Labour will bring to Northumberland if successful on 1st May. Meanwhile, Reform candidates are showing a clear misunderstanding of what a local council is responsible for, focusing on national issues with no plan for Northumberland.”
“Only the Conservatives are promising to protect market towns by keeping free parking. Only the Conservatives are opposing Labour’s attacks on rural communities. And only the Conservatives are focused on the local issues that the council can address, like spending £130 million on the counties roads, protecting the greenbelt and investing in young people with state of the art education facilities.”
