Curly’s Corner Shop, the blog!

Mini manifesto for South Tyneside

The local government elections to elect one third of South Tyneside council take place on Thursday 1st. May, yesterday I published the local Labour Party’s plan, and today it’s the turn of the Conservative opposition group.

Here are their thoughts on how they would like to run our council.

CONSERVATIVES : A GREENER, SAFER, MORE PROSPEROUS
SOUTH TYNESIDE

POTTS. MILBURN, WOOD PROMISE CHANGE, PROSPERITY AND OPTIMISM

The South Tyneside Conservative Group believes in a greener, safer and more prosperous Borough. A Conservative Administration will work to protect our already dwindling greenbelt from over development, help and not hinder our excellent police officers, teachers, doctors, nurses and fire fighters and work wherever possible to free them from the shackles of red-tape and bureaucracy. We will also promote South Tyneside as an attractive base for both domestic and European business.

In a Conservative South Tyneside business and enterprise will be embraced and our entrepreneurs will feel valued and appreciated. This in turn will reduce unemployment and regenerate our Borough. Conservatives want people to be in control of their own lives; to have dignity and to feel proud of their achievements and of their community. We will embrace a ‘can do’ philosophy and our watchwords will be change, prosperity and optimism.

Our initiatives will be ambitious and innovative, whilst at the same time practical, costed and achievable.

Conservatives will ease the burden on local businesses by steadily lowering business rates. We will achieve this by working with, not against, the business community. By withdrawing from the £1.6B Joint Waste Management strategy which could see a pollution spewing waste incinerator sited in our Borough, we will instead offer financial incentives to business operators and residents to recycle more and set the green agenda for our region.

By attracting more business to the Borough we will in turn significantly drive down domestic council tax rates.

We will establish a new International Trade Office (ITO), administered by employed council officers but led by a board of some of our most talented local business people. The board will be bipartisan and will comprise soley of our brightest and best. The ITO will be charged with promoting our Borough as a gateway to the important regional central business districts of Newcastle and Durham as well as other regional and national commercial centres and emerging provincial markets. The ITO will liaise with and lobby UK and wider European Business representative bodies as well as individual corporations to persuade them to invest in and bring their enterprise to South South Tyneside.

Low cost, turn key commercial accommodation will provide attractive investment potential to both the domestic and European business communities. However, we pledge to do this without touching an inch of greenbelt land. We will utilise brownfield sites and regenerate our town centres. Local residents will be our first priority, and real consultation will ensure consensus.

Our education policies will ensure that no child is left behind. The admissions system will be reformed to ensure that parents have real choice over which school their child attends. Looked after children who are willing will be given the opportunity to sit an entrance exam to a regional boarding school. Should they pass then they will have the opportunity to enrol and enjoy a first class education paid for by the local authority. This will save money and that money will be invested directly into our culture and leisure services to improve South Tyneside’s appeal to tourists and ensure that local people have the services they need.

Conservatives believe that a strong South Tyneside is a South Tyneside based upon strong families and strong communities. That’s why we will work to ensure that, wherever possible, communities are strengthened, and where regeneration projects do take place, neighbours and families are not moved away from one another into areas they don’t want to live in. Flexibility and compassion will be reinstated within the system. The days of the robotic ‘computer says no’ attitude will end.

A comprehensive management and board restructure will take place within the totally discredited South Tyneside Homes to ensure that we have the brightest and best running the show. We will ensure that no tenant lives in sub standard conditions and will put a halt to politicians interfering in individual cases.

Under the Conservatives people will once again have trust in the system. It will be fair, competent, impartial and efficient.

The scandal of taxpayers’ money being manipulated for political gain will be ended. We will immediately scrap the “On View” publication, instead we will ensure that an annual statement of accounts in a plain and easy to understand format, not accountancy jargon, will be mailed to every resident. It will detail exactly how and where the council’s budget is being raised and spent and will not feature comment from any politician. This will ensure transparency and a truly bipartisan publication.

The money saved from “On View” will be invested in democracy promotion schemes. We will work to drive up participation in the electoral process, particularly amongst 18-25 years olds, traditionally the lowest turnout group.

Each and every ward will be given a fair and equal allocation of council resources for every day problems such as road repairs and other street scape schemes. There will be no cynical manipulation of the financial pot.

Conservatives believe that South Tyneside can become a regional centre of business excellence. We are proud of our Borough’s talent, ambition, cultural diversity, stunning natural scenery and potential for economic growth and regeneration. It’s time to utilise our assets and make South Tyneside a great place to live, work and visit. Only the Conservatives offer the real agenda and policies for positive change. Together we can do it, together we can make South Tyneside the jewel in the crown of the North East.

VOTE CONSERVATIVE ON MAY 1st AND BE PROUD OF SOUTH TYNESIDE!

COMMENT BY Cllr. DAVID POTTS
On behalf of South Tyneside Council’s Conservative Group

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::