HSPCA

Our manifesto for the local elections taking place on 6 May is now available for download. Please click on the link below:

Download: Camden Conservative Manifesto 2010 now!

Writing in the Foreward, Cllrs Marshall and Davies give their over view of what we need to achieve in Camden.

We know that the next few years will be difficult. The Labour Government has spent money that it doesn’t have and, over the next few years in Camden, we will have to be part of paying back the debt.
Camden is an excellent borough in which to live and work. The Council does many things that are excellent and is highly rated for many of its services. However, some major things are wrong, and many others can be improved.
Conservative councils are greener, helping to improve the local environment and protect green spaces in our cities and countryside. They are safer, fighting the crime, anti-social behaviour, vandalism and graffiti that ruin people’s quality of life. And, at a time when people are being hit by the economic downturn, they offer better value for money.
Over the past four years, we have frozen Council Tax for three out of four years, improving efficiency and delivering better value for money. Over the next four years, Camden’s finances will need the qualities seen in many Conservative authorities up and down the country, focusing effort on what is necessary and where the council can add value, and then harnessing the creativity and talent of the Council workforce to put this into effect.
Everyone knows Conservative councils provide better services at less cost.
Like the Conservative Party in Parliament, The Conservative Team on Camden Council is ready to take control, ready to take difficult decisions to move Camden forward. Not only are more of our councillors elected in 2006 re-standing than is the case with Labour or LibDems, but we have never had such a strong, diverse and committed group of new candidates, from Holborn to Fortune Green.

Working for a Council Tax freeze in Camden until 2013

Camden’s Conservative councillors have today called for a further two year freeze in council tax until 2013, following from the freeze this year the Conservative group has already secured.

Conservative Shadow Chief Treasury Secretary Philip Hammond recently reconfirmed, in a meeting with Cllr Andrew Marshall and other London council leaders, that in the first two years of a Conservative government, any council that keeps its underlying council tax increase to 2.5% or less will get extra funding to bring its council tax rise down to zero – thus incentivising councils to find more efficient ways of doing things.

This is too good an offer not to take up, so Camden Conservatives believe the Council should work to deliver a two year council tax freeze from 2011-13, following the freeze in the coming year (2010-11) we have successfully pushed for. We’ll be analysing how to make this happen as we prepare our manifesto, given that Council tax bears down particularly harshly on many elderly people and those working on modest incomes.

While there is at present a significant budget gap of £59m forecast for the next three years, this is based on assumptions which can shift, and we have seen how the council has closed budget gaps of £20m in a year in the past. We do not underestimate the challenge, but we believe over three years the Council has the capacity in its senior management team to make these savings while prioritising front line services.

Conservative Group Leader Cllr Andrew Marshall said: “This will require significant savings – doing many things differently and more cheaply. This will include more outsourcing and shared services with nearby councils – Camden should do what it is good at, but shouldn’t do everything itself. We’ll learn from what Conservative councils such as Westminster and Hammersmith & Fulham are doing well, while always remembering we need the right local solutions for Camden. Above all, we simply don’t believe in the current climate it will be acceptable to close this budget gap through above-inflation council tax increases.

“We believe that with a Conservative Council in place, a council tax freeze to 2013 would be compatible with progress on our core priorities: creating more secondary and primary school places; renewed urgency in tackling anti-social behaviour and local crime; protecting the local environment; sensible sustainability measures; and ensuring good universal services such as libraries, sports facilities, rubbish collection and highways. We’re also determined to change the culture of our council housing management, devolving more powers to residents and leaseholders to run their estates.

“This last year, despite the inevitable compromises of a partnership administration, we have shown the effective influence we can bring – we successfully persuaded our partners to back our proposals to freeze council tax for this year, and we have made considerable progress towards a new primary school in the north-west of the borough.

“We are certainly entering a long period of tight public finances, locally and nationally, but Conservative councils in London have shown that it is possible to combine high quality services for residents with low council tax. It’s widely accepted that Conservatives are best able to improve value for money in public services when money is limited – we’re confident that this message will resonate with local voters as we put the case for a Conservative Camden Council this spring.”

For further information:

Cllr Andrew Marshall 07808 579563

Our PPC, George Lee, has had a letter published in the Sunday Telegraph today on the subject of the Lockerbie bomber’s release.