Have Suffolk Conservatives changed their priorities overnight?

Yesterday, I noted that Suffolk Conservatives have decided that improving their incredibly poor performance on education is not one of their key priorities. Here's their top 5 pledges, courtesy of Colin Noble...

Our top 5 pledges are

No increase in council tax for the next four years

High-speed broadband across Suffolk

 County-wide ‘No Cold Calling’ Zone

 A new Travel Card for young people

 £270million investment in care facilities.

Looking for education... looking for education... not finding education.

Ah, but I now have a leaflet from my local Conservative candidate and incumbent councillor, Gary Green. What does it say?

"To ensure our children get the resources they need to get the best education"

So, is this a pledge for Suffolk, but not a key pledge?

On the reverse, the leaflet has a picture of two people standing outside a school in Haverhill and under it are the words;

"Committed to driving up educational attainment..."

So, does that mean that they're committed to it now, in which case why isn't it a key pledge, or are they claiming that this is their ongoing stance, in which case why has Suffolk performed so badly relative to the rest of England and Wales since they took power in 2005?

It's still not one of their five pledges to you though. Suffolk Conservatives - still not caring about your children.

P.S. One last thing, if any local Conservative is reading this - it's Chilton Fields, not Chiltern Fields that you're pledging to protect...

The 2013 Manifesto: Suffolk Liberal Democrats (part 6) - the Local Economy

I'm not one of those people that believe that local government should be the primary driver of economic growth. However, local government can remove barriers and make strategic decisions about using the contracting process to support and encourage local provision.

Create a thriving local economy

More and more local businesses are feeling the crunch - even closing

The Tories have failed to drive economic development and oppose much of the green economy

Liberal Democrats will:

• give local businesses equal opportunity to supply the County Council and ensure contracts do not penalise local companies

• help local shops and businesses find loans and investment

• educate for local employment

• lobby Government to allow local plans to be developed and changed in realistic timescales

• promote the development of the green economy and the growth of local green jobs

• support and encourage sustainable local travel and tourism

• use the Council's substantial level of reserves as a temporary cushion against funding reductions that cause significant harm to frontline services and the economy

Like a number of other people, I worry that contracting out services in big parcels tends to encourage a small number of national providers who can resource such services, leading to the risk of effective monopolies such as can be found in refuse disposal. Yes, relatively low-grade jobs are retained in the area, because most local government roles require someone to be physically present, but the profits leave the county or, worse yet, go offshore.

And yet, smaller providers can supply a more flexible, local service, and we have to ask what the overall effect of a contract is on the local economy as part of the tendering process.

The 2013 Manifesto: Suffolk Liberal Democrats (part 5) - Libraries

It was Suffolk Conservatives who placed the County's library service under threat, and I admire their audacity in claiming to have protected them. But the brutal fact is that they only did so when it became apparent that closures were incredibly unpopular, and their cynicism in announcing that they would be saving them just before key local elections shouldn't be forgotten.

Safety for our Library service, including mobile libraries

Under the Tories the situation of Suffolk Libraries has been perilous.

Liberal Democrats will:

• support ALL our libraries to meet current needs and satisfy foreseeable trends

• enable mobile libraries to continue to provide a service in rural areas

• ensure that the new business structure for libraries is stable and that long term finance is guaranteed

In particular, I take an interest in the mobile library service, living in a small village. The halving of the number of visits to villages such as Creeting St Peter has increased levels of social isolation, and makes it easier to withdraw the service altogether, so I am naturally sceptical of any Conservative promise to protect a service that they have already cut.

The 2013 Manifesto: Suffolk Liberal Democrats (part 4) - Environment

It seems sensible to follow on from transport policy, covered yesterday, to the environment. As a relatively recent transplant into the county, one of the things that I really value is our natural and built environment, and we need to ensure that we do all that we can to protect it.

More and better focused environmental action

Liberal Democrats will save money and cut greenhouse gas emissions by:

• cutting non-essential County business mileage

• promoting LED lighting, insulation and natural source heating in domestic housing, County and commercial buildings 

• encouraging use of the waste heat output from the Great Blakenham incinerator for district heating 

• introduce a weekly kitchen waste collection service

I do have some doubts about the incinerator at Great Blakenham. However, we're committed now, so we have to make the best of it.

I'm also aware that there are parishes who are struggling with the costs of replacing old street lights with new, lower-cost LED lighting, and I would want to find ways of supporting them as they do so.

The 2013 Manifesto: Suffolk Liberal Democrats (part 3) - Transport

Welcome to the third part of my look at the 2013 Suffolk Liberal Democrat manifesto. Yesterday, it was the turn of adult and social care policy, and today, I turn to transport...

Transport recognised as a human right

Neither Labour nor the Tories have had any great interest in supporting the bus network, yet it is essential for work, health, socialising and education.

Liberal Democrats will:

• lobby for better, more integrated public transport, especially for rural areas

• reinstate important evening and weekend bus services that provide essential community links and benefit the economy

• begin investment in efficient cycle infrastructures round schools

• encourage use of Park and Ride and assess the impact of the new fare structure

• ensure that the re-introduced youth discount travel card can be used on all buses and allow disability pass holders to travel for free 24/7

• ensure that action on speeding, parking, and road maintenance meets local needs

• where communities request it, consider 20mph speed limits

On a personal note, I will be looking to promote the use of the Suffolk Links services, as they provide a realistically priced, reasonably flexible service to rural communities, but are woefully under-promoted by the County at present.

The 2013 Manifesto: Suffolk Liberal Democrats (part 2) - Adult and social care

Yesterday, I started with education policy, and today it's time to look at how we would address concerns about looking after those who receive, and give care;

Appropriate Care provision, for all who need it

'Care' has been the Cinderella service of this Tory council.

Liberal Democrats will:

• make sure the Tory divestment of our Care Homes does not produce a worse service

• support Family Carers with fast, targeted, assistance, recognising they are the bedrock on which the county depends!

• scrutinise the impact of the Suffolk Circle and, work with local organisations to develop new ways to help vulnerable people

• improve public health by recognising and using the links between education, transport, nutrition and health

• deliver on the new public health responsibility of the Council

Suffolk has a very significant elderly population, one which is expected to grow steadily over the coming decade. Personally, I don't have a fundamental objection towards private provision in this sector, but there is a question about democratic accountability regarding how those services are provided, so I particularly support the promise to closely scrutinise the impact of divestment of the county care homes.

Tomorrow, I'll be turning my attention to transport, one of my personal key issues.

The 2013 Manifesto: Suffolk Liberal Democrats (part 1) - Education

As promised, here's an opportunity for anyone who wants to know what I, and my fellow Liberal Democrat candidates, are promising if elected. Today, I start with education...

Bring back Quality Education

Eight years ago, Suffolk had an enviable education system.

After eight years of Tory mismanagement the County is almost bottom of the English league table.

Liberal Democrats will:

• get Suffolk back again into the top fifty Local Education Authorities, by increasing support to struggling schools and helping teachers to succeed

• ensure any free schools are fit for purpose and appropriately sited

• stop the use of Bed and Breakfast Accommodation for children in the care of the council

• avoid the need for expensive out of County placements for children in care by developing in-county services

• meet the needs of children in care after they reach sixteen

• support youth services and walk-in youth clubs.

The Conservatives have been entirely silent as the performance of our schools, relative to those elsewhere in England, has declined. Indeed, education doesn't feature at all in their five key pledges, so perhaps they think that Suffolk voters would rather save money on their council tax than have well-educated children. Given that you can only build a thriving economy if you can offer a well-educated workforce, I beg to differ.

Tomorrow, I turn my attention to adult and social care...