The leader of the opposition Labour group on Brighton and Hove City Council has spelt out his plan for the coming four years.
Councillor Warren Morgan wrote on his blog that under his leadership – if Labour wins the local elections next week – tenants would get a better deal and more homes would be built.
He also promised to “wipe out youth unemployment by 2019” and push for more affordable public transport.
The blog formed the script of a speech delivered at the Argus hustings in Brighton last week (Thursday 23 April).
Councillor Morgan wrote: “Labour has a positive, realistic and ambitious plan for Brighton and Hove. Labour has the leadership, the candidate team and the unity to deliver it.
“Labour will deliver a city that works for you, for every neighbourhood and every community in this city.
“We want to promote a prosperous economy that delivers better opportunities and better wages for all, that helps move some of the thousands of people in our city out of low-wage, in-work poverty.
“It is a scandal that thousands of our neighbours now rely on food banks for something to eat. There were just two food banks here in 2012. Now there are a dozen.
“It is a scandal that dozens of people sleep on the streets of our city, a prosperous city in a prosperous nation.
“We will do whatever we can to end reliance on food banks and end the scandal of street homelessness.
“We will set up a landlord licensing scheme to tackle bad landlords, end rip-off lettings agent fees and get a better deal for tenants in the private rented sector.
“We will build at least 500 new council homes and as many more truly affordable homes as we can possibly deliver to tackle the enormous housing crisis in our city.
“It will not be an easy task but it is one to which we are firmly committed.
“No one should be denied access to a decent and affordable home because of high rents, the buy-to-let student market or the thousands of people escaping rocketing house prices in London.
“A Labour council under my leadership would get the city moving again and push for more affordable public transport especially for those starting training or apprenticeships.
“We will wipe out youth unemployment by 2019.
“We will make our city’s streets cleaner, deliver a refuse collection service residents can rely on and get our city’s recycling levels at least back up to where they were before the Greens took over.
“We will ensure a new secondary school is built and that all pupils have access to excellent and accountable education under powers restored by a Labour government.
“We will prioritise work on improving mental health, on tackling domestic violence, on combating prejudice and on putting council services back into the heart of our neighbourhoods.
“Achieving all this under pressure from massive Conservative government cuts will be hard but we will work in partnership with communities, charities, businesses and others, providing leadership based on our values of fairness and co-operation, setting a new tone and direction towards a city that is cleaner, fairer and more prosperous, a city we can all be proud of and a council that works for you.”
“It is a scandal that thousands of our neighbours now rely on food banks for something to eat. There were just two food banks here in 2012. Now there are a dozen.” Says Morgan, yet he personally instructed his councillors to vote with the Tories to impose a 76% rise in council tax upon the poorest households in the city (having only months earlier declared that the residents could not afford such a rise). Warren is a true politician!
The targets are uninspiring, recycling rates are on the up and it will not take much to reach the rates of 2010, already several hundred council houses are in the pipeline. The Labour Party of 2015 feels as out of place and conservative as the Conservative Party of Mary Mears in 2007.
Like the national Labour Party, there is no mention that austerity is to remain; the council budget will continue to be cut. Where will the axe fall? Vote Labour and find out!
Thank you for the partly political message from the green party.
Instead of voting Labour, people could, of course, vote ‘green’ and have above inflation increases in council tax every year to fund their grandiose vanity projects and then they still won’t be able to provide basic services such as road sweeping, rubbish collection, recycling, road and pavement repairs, and cutting grass verges.
According to Jason Kitcat, we’ll all have to do those jobs ourselves, whilst the council tax gets diverted to the ‘green inspired’ social projects that always seem to fail as they ignore the needs of residents across the city and focus on imposing their ideological activist agenda.
And, naturally, in neighbouring areas where they have responsible, competent parties running the councils they will keep on getting their core services provided.
And of course it doesn’t matter, as the greens think that they can ignore austerity – money just ‘grows on trees’ to them.
If you want to maintain services, then revenue must a least remain stable once efficiencies have been exhausted. The council has done exceptionally well squeezing more from less, but this can’t continue. You either increase council tax in face of grant cuts or cut services. Of course, your pet hate projects are unaffected, as they are grant funded or come out of parking surplus.
Labour’s lack lustre manifesto, as reported, does not say where the money is coming from. Of course, when last in power, Labour increased council tax well ahead of inflation.
Surprised you are defending Labour, they have agreed in principle to all your “vanity” projects, as have the Conservatives. It’s Kippers for you on Thursday.
I might vote UKIP, or Conservative, or Labour, or Liberal Democrat.
Why do you have to make so much of the fact that I openly admit that I would never vote for a party that needs the support of ‘celebrities’ such as Russell Brand?
Surely it is much more embarrassing to admit that you actually support the greens?