Your guide to the Melton Borough Council local elections PART ONE

This is part one of our guide to the policies supported, and issues campaigned for, by the 48 candidates who will be standing on May 2

In this one, we look at those standing for the Labour, the Green Party and the Independents.

You will find part 2, which focuses on candidates for the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats and UKIP, on another page on our website.

This year’s candidates are made up of 27 Conservatives, seven Independents, seven from the Green Party, five from Labour and one each from the Liberal Democrats and UKIP.

Nineteen of the 27 current borough councillors are standing for election again.

The current council is made up entirely of Tory councillors apart from one Independent and one vacant seat following the death of Labour member Michael Blase in January this year.

The participating parties say they are campaigning on the following issues:

LABOUR PARTY

We are local people who have brought up our families in Melton, and we love the town.

But we’re sad to see its decline and we worry that our children & grandchildren see little to keep them here.

We see traffic getting worse, shops closing, and more buses stop running.

Our children and family services are cut, the queues for decent housing get longer; it is even left to unpaid volunteers to clear rubbish left to rot!

Meanwhile we worry about crime. We need more police in Melton, and we also believe the Council should put fairness and social justice at the heart of its work, to rebuild our community and prevent crime.

Labour councillors will work hard to:

- Build sufficient high-quality homes for young families

- End Melton’s traffic misery - with a Southern Bypass built before the new homes

- Tackle Melton’s shameful homelessness record.

- Protect our bus services from Tory plans for further vicious cuts.

- Re-vitalise the town centre by shifting investment to Melton’s historic town centre

- Develop our local economy by attracting high skill, high pay jobs

We cannot afford more of the blues in Melton. Complacent Tory Councillors know the COST of everything, but the VALUE of nothing.

We cannot afford more years of miserable cuts and austerity so let’s “Paint the Town Red” on May 2!

No wonder so many people – especially young families - feel let down. We ask you to give us the chance to try and do something to make Melton better!

GREEN PARTY

We will listen to residents and work with you for a sustainable future.

Green Councillors will:-

1 Protect and improve our environment: oppose fracking; support local green spaces, sustainable planning policies and development, local communities, promoting sensitive design in character with the local area, wildlife corridors, renewable energy and water saving.

2 Support local farmers, businesses, community groups and community facilities in both the town and villages. To help the local economy thrive, we will encourage people to visit local attractions and shop and socialise locally.

3 Campaign for affordable rental, social and Council housing for local families, single people and those who are homeless; fight for better services for the vulnerable, elderly, disabled, and those in need of support to live well in their own homes and for young people.

4 Fight closure of local bus services, supporting integrated and greater frequency of taxi, bus and rail public transport from one central location: encouraging alternatives of public transport, cycling and walking, to car use.

5 Encourage recycling and re-use of waste locally, reducing the carbon footprint of refuse, transportation, and disposal.

Our work is local, but it is informed by the urgency of the situation that we face as a planet - climate change, extreme weather conditions and pollution of our natural environment require action.

We are destroying natural habitats at an unprecedented rate.

The Green Party offers a positive change that cares for the planet, cares for people, and stands for fair shares for everyone.

INDEPENDENTS (a representative view from candidate Elaine Holmes)

I have been a Melton borough councillor for 26 years and for the vast majority of those years I have stood as an Independent.

I’ve never seen the role of a councillor as being political and this is why people like me stand as Independents.

We don’t want to be constrained in our views by a party whip.

I like to think for myself and put my own views across.

It has been quite hard being on the council when every other councillor is representing one party.

I don’t think party politics should be part of local government so it would be nice to see more of my Independent colleagues get elected this time.

Councillors should always look at the bigger picture and try to make things better in the borough where we all live.

I am passionate about the countryside because that’s where I live and I want to make things better, not only for people living here now, but for future generations.

As an Independent I want to challenge things I don’t agree with on the council, like the new public toilets which have been built for an enormous amount of money when the previous ones were perfectly adequate.

I also think we allow far too many old buildings to be knocked down, and I will continue to speak out against that.

I couldn’t care less about party politics, and like the other Independents standing at this election we will speak up for what we think is right, rather than following policies set down by a political party.