This week’s politics column in the Times & Star was written by the Conservative Councillor for Wigton in Allerdale Borough Council, Councillor Alan Pitcher.
"Over the last four years, the Conservatives in Allerdale have held the Labour administration to account for their disastrous policies and decisions, which disproportionately affect the poorest in our society.
We have seen council tax increasing every year, services cut, frontline jobs cut while senior management jobs increase, and wasteful spending on an unprecedented scale. Council borrowing is at an all time high and will have more than doubled under this administration by the end of this year.
Streetscene officers and rubbish collections have been cut, and it shows across the borough. Huge swathes of Allerdale feel neglected completely, and people feel disconnected from their community leaders. Coupled with the disconnect between elected councillors and decision making that my colleagues have talked of in this column before, we have an ever-increasing gulf between you who elect the council, and the decisions taken that affect your everyday life and impact on the pound in your pocket.
The elections on May 2nd give you the chance to reboot Allerdale. The chance to choose a whole new raft of councillors to deliver a new vision for your community.
Like me, you don’t want to see your councillors play at being pretend businessmen with your money.
You don’t want your council jumping into bed with companies based in tax-havens, while the family silver is sold off.
You want the best services, delivered as efficiently as possible. You want them to protect your council tax as if it’s their own. The bin chaos we have witnessed over the last two weeks is a prime example of what happens when councillors try to fix things that aren’t broken.
Instead of paying lip service to the problems we have across the borough, you want to see real action on street cleaning, rubbish collection, dog fouling and affordable housing. You want to see a planning system that protects and enhances our towns and villages – one that encourages growth but listens to residents and brings real benefits along with it.
That’s why Allerdale Conservatives have a positive vision for Allerdale – A council that works for every resident, across the whole borough. A council that encourages and invests in sustainable communities and facilities, particularly where they can be used to tackle social exclusion or encourage our young sportspeople. A council that delivers a cleaner, greener Allerdale – without squeezing every last pound that we can out of you.
That’s why we will freeze council tax, increase street cleaning, create a new anti-social behaviour team to make our communities safer, and end the wasteful borrowing and spending.
You can see our vision for Allerdale at allerdaleconservatives.com, and I hope that when you cast your vote it’s in support of that vision."
