Garden boards, canvassers, piles of leaflets through the door: it can only mean one thing – election season is upon us.
Elections to Cambridge City Council are taking place, with one out of three councillors in each of the 14 wards up for election (with an additional by-election in Trumpington).
Thursday 7 May is polling day.
So, what do these elections really mean for people living in Cambridge?
For the last 12 years, Labour has had the privilege of running Cambridge City Council, listening to and working for you, putting support for working people, residents in need, and our natural environment at the heart of everything we do. We’ve built 700 new, energy-efficient council homes, with 300 more currently on site; we’ve halved the Council’s carbon emissions; planted over 4000 new trees and worked hard to protect our precious chalk streams; given over £1m every year to charities and community groups, built new community centres and play parks; and so much more.
All of that good work is at stake in this election. The Greens and Liberal Democrats talk about national issues, not focusing on the key challenges facing our city. In fact, the Greens have opposed desperately needed new council homes and a bathing water designation to help clean up our rivers, and, last year, they voted against capital funding for tree planting, play parks, swimming pools, home insulation and more. The Liberal Democrats at the County Council have scrapped holiday meal vouchers for 20,000 families across the county, left our roads in a dire state and, when in power at the City Council, did not build the council homes our city needs.
Labour has a positive vision for a future Cambridge that is fair for all, and the experience and commitment to run the Council effectively and with compassion.
One of my favourite moments of the year came when I joined children from Galfrid School for the official opening of the new 3G football pitch at Abbey leisure. Seeing the pure joy and excitement on the children’s faces showed exactly why facilities like this are so important, particularly in areas of the city, like Abbey, that don’t always get the same attention as other areas.
We are here to serve residents and to strengthen our communities, improving quality of life for everyone in Cambridge, particularly those in the most need: that is what motivates me and my fellow Labour councillors every day. In a city where health, wealth and opportunity are spread unequally, we are determined to level the playing field.
We’re investing in new and improved facilities across the city, including community centres, nurseries, swimming pools, play parks, splash pads and sports pitches. We offer free or discounted sports and leisure activities for residents, children, and people with disabilities and their carers, as well as free events for all: like Active Families, Music in the Parks, and Fireworks Night. Working with our city’s fantastic charities and community groups, we support families with debt advice, council tax relief, access to nourishing, affordable food through social supermarkets and holiday lunch clubs.
We want to see a city with high quality, affordable housing for all; currently, too many people are priced out of Cambridge. Labour has plans for 1300 new council homes in the next decade, as well as an ambitious draft Local Plan with new communities, housing and infrastructure all built to the highest environmental standards. We’ll put record funding into tackling homelessness, and bring empty homes back into use, and we’ll champion renters’ rights and tackle rogue landlords.
And that vision of a city that is fair for all extends to our impact on the natural world. We must play our part in urgently tackling the climate crisis: that’s why we’re building a solar farm to power our electric bin lorries, and working with the University and colleges to create a renewable district heat network, which would cut carbon emissions in city-centre buildings by 93%. And we will continue to protect and restore our precious chalk streams, foster new nature reserves, and aim to make Cambridge a Nature City, embedding biodiversity throughout the urban environment.
If these issues matter to you, use your vote for your local Labour councillor, who will work tirelessly for a Cambridge that is fair for all.