Labour Party ready to lead Canterbury Council

The Canterbury District Labour Party say they are ready to lead Canterbury City Council and that the local elections on Thursday 4^th May will allow people to show just how unhappy they are with over a decade of Conservative failure locally.

Amongst many other promises, Labour are proposing to scrap the Tory plans for traffic zoning and will also scrap the Eastern Bypass in Canterbury. When Labour wins control of the city council in May, they will also introduce better cycling, walking and bus routes to help ease congestion and help the district ‘breathe’ more easily.

With candidates now in place, Labour will make sure that climate change and biodiversity underpins each and every aspect of council policy and decision-making.

Among a number of fully-costed policies given in their local manifesto, Labour will:

• scrap the Eastern bypass and the Tories’ crazy city travel ‘zones’;
• reopen the Sturry Park-and-Ride and launch a similar publicly-run service for Whitstable;
• provide free Park-and-Ride to all residents in the district;
• double the number of council homes built each year by building on land the council owns and by capping council rents so that they can be afforded by people with the lowest incomes in our area;
• make affordable homes available only to local people, with council tax on second homes doubled.
• hold water companies to account, introduce on-street recycling and establish a District Climate Commission to become carbon neutral by 2030.

Alan Baldock, Leader of Canterbury City Council’s Labour Group, says:

‘We’ve got to tackle the big problems and not put our heads in the sand. Canterbury, Whitstable, Herne Bay and the villages deserve better than this tired Tory council. People are sick and tired of dirty streets, cuts to key services and excuses.

Listening, co-operating, developing and improving how the council works is key. We know people are struggling, and we want you to know that Labour is on your side.

Labour is asking for your vote in this election because we believe there’s a better way of doing politics and it’s time for change. Our council is in considerable debt – and the Tories have put us in that position.

Our message to people is that the power is in your hands’.

Labour is also reminding voters that this set of local elections will be the first at which photo ID is mandatory for voting in person.

Alan adds, ‘If you’ve got a passport, a driving licence or a concessionary bus pass, bring it with you on polling day. A full list of approved ID is on the Gov.uk website. If you don’t have any, you can apply for photo ID online. Even easier, a postal vote gets your vote in early, and avoids the need to vote on the day.”