oldham conservatives 2011 manifesto

A RECORD OF ACTION A PROMISE OF MORE

The Conservative Manifesto for Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council elections on 5 May 2011

MESSAGE FROM THE GROUP LEADER

2 A Record of Action, A Promise of More

A PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM THE CONSERVATIVE GROUP LEADER

Dear Resident This year has been a particular difficult year for this

Borough. In dealing with the effects of the economic

crisis, the Council has had to find savings of over

£40 million, while working to protect the services

that our communities value.

Yet despite the difficulties, we believe we have

succeeded. We have made the necessary savings, while at the same time

fulfilling the pledge we made at the last election of freezing Council Tax.

We also protected our valued community assets; our libraries, parks, leisure

centres and swimming pools from closure, and were shortlisted for this

years prestigious ‘Most Improved Council’ Award.

There is still much more to do. Next year, we will have to find another £25

million of savings, and a further £16 million the year after. Identifying these

savings will not be easy, and difficult decisions will have to be made.

However, I am confident that, with your support, we can meet the

challenge. We have already embarked on a significant programme of

change, designed to ensure our Council continues to deliver. Our vision is

of a more democratic Council, enabling responsive and value for money

services, and working to empowering our communities to take decisions

over the issues that matter to them.

When you come to vote on 5th May, please support your local Conservative

candidate, and help us to make Oldham a place we can all be proud of.

COUNCILLOR JACK HULME

CONSERVATIVE GROUP LEADER, OLDHAM COUNCIL

DELIVERING A BETTER OLDHAM


DELIVERING A BETTER OLDHAM AS PART OF THE JOINT ADMINISTRATION, LOCAL CONSERVATIVES HAVE HELPED DELIVER REAL IMPROVEMENTS OVER THE PAST YEAR. BUT THERE IS STILL MORE TO DO. SOME OF OUR KEY ACHIEVEMENTS AND ASPIRATIONS ARE SET OUT BELOW:

A RECORD OF ACTION A PROMISE OF MORE Council Tax frozen in Oldham at its 2010/11 level, helping families across the Borough through difficult economic times.

We will deliver a second Council Tax freeze for 2012/13.

Made savings of £1 million in management costs by cutting the number of senior jobs in the Council

We will continue to review the Senior Management of the Council to ensure it is fit for purpose and delivering value for money.

Recognising the financial pressures the Council faces, the majority of Conservative Councillors took a voluntary 10% cut in their allowances this year.

We support proposals to reduce the number of Councillors and the frequency of elections, further cutting the costs of managing the Council.

Delivered the most improved Children’s Services nationally, with services rated “Excellent” by OFSTED

Focus on driving up service quality across the Council by reviewing the way services are delivered, and making greater use of expertise from outside the Council.

Successfully lobbied Ministers to secure £52 million investment in our schools through the Academies and BSF programmes

We will ensure our new and refurbish schools are operating as soon as possible, and will work to attract investment into schools that have not benefitted to date.

Protected all of our libraries, swimming pools, leisure centres and award winning parks from closure, despite the financial pressures the Council faces.

Conservatives will fight to defend these key frontline services from closure as further savings are made from the Council budget.

Invested in our heritage, taking action to stabilise the Oldham Town Hall, and started work on a major programme of improvements to Oldham Coliseum,

While we continue to protect our existing cultural facilities, we are committed to developing new ones, and are pursuing opportunities to bring a cinema to Oldham.

Listened to tenants wishes, and supported the transfer of 12,000 social houses to First Choice Homes, releasing nearly £150 million for improvements to their properties.

We will look to improve the availability of quality, affordable housing, support regeneration initiatives and explore opportunities to build more social housing.

TRANSFORMING OLDHAM COUNCIL


TRANSFORMING OLDHAM COUNCIL

OLDHAM COUNCIL: READY FOR CHANGE

We are proud of what we have enabled Oldham Council to achieve. Compared to how it was just three years ago, the Council is unrecognisable. Despite everything we have achieved, we believe the Council needs to change if it is to continue to deliver for local people. Our vision is to deliver a Council that listens to its citizens, and is able to respond effectively to the changing needs of our Borough. We will do this by: • Strengthening democracy and

accountability by increasing local decision making, putting power back where it belongs: in the community.

• Getting ’more for less’, by working

with a wide range of charities, community groups and businesses, using their expertise and knowledge to deliver better Council services.

• Working increasingly with other

Councils and partners across Greater Manchester to share services, increase efficiency and bring investment to the Borough.

Conservatives will work to transform this vision into a reality; to deliver real value for money, modern, fit for purpose services that are focussed on the needs of our communities.

Some people say that the Council should directly provide all the services it is responsible for delivering, and argue quality will suffer if anyone else is involved.

Yet many of our best services are already provided by others - businesses, charities and not for profit organisations. Did you know that:

• Many of our highly regarded Children’s Centres are run by charities, including Barnardo’s, the Children’s Society and Action for Children.

• Our swimming pools and leisure centres are operated by Oldham Community Leisure - an independent Community Benefit Society.

• Our social housing is owned and managed by First Choice Homes, an independent, not for profit registered social landlord, currently investing nearly £150 million into its properties.

We believe that involving these organisations brings real benefits to our communities, and improves the services we are able to offer.

PROVIDING SERVICES DIFFERENTLY—DID YOU KNOW?

We will always work to find the best and most efficient way of delivering services - with decisions based on evidence and not ideological prejudice.

PROTECTING THE FRONT LINE / NO TO AV

A Record of Action, A Promise of More 5

CUTTING THE DEFICIT, PROTECTING THE FRONT LINE Conservative Councillors are committed to ensuring high quality services are provided to Oldham citizens. Yet we also believe that the Council needs to take a critical look at its costs, and ensure it is making the best use of public money. In 2000, Council Tax on a Band D property was £962 per year. Now it currently stands at £1542 per year—an increase of over 60% in just ten years. Despite this huge rise, we don’t believe that Council Tax payers have received value for money. That’s why we delivered on our pledge to freeze Council Tax this year, and have committed to doing again next year. We believe that in these difficult economic times, with the cost of fuel, food and heating rising, hard working citizens deserve a

break from spiralling Council Tax bills. Alongside this, we also recognise that the Council has an important role to play in ensuring our key public services are protected, and are delivering for local people.

A RESPONSIBLE APPROACH TO MAKING THE SAVINGS • Delivered a Council Tax freeze during 2011/12, and pledge to

do the same during 2012/13. • Protected all of our libraries, leisure centres and swimming

pools from closure • Targeting savings where the front line impact will be minimised

- in senior management, renegotiating contracts and through better procurement.

SAY NO TO AV ON MAY 5TH Oldham Conservatives believe that changing our voting system isn’t the answer to the problems our society faces.

It won’t get rid of safe seats, discourage negative campaigning or improve accountability.

Some of our most respected historians have publically criticized AV as breaking the central principle that every vote

WHY SAY “NO” TO AV? AV is unfair: Supporters of minority parties get their vote counted many times, whereas those supporting mainstream parties only once.

AV is expensive: It can take days to work out the results of an election

Av isn’t proportional: The results can be even less proportional that our current system.

AV doesn't work: The candidate the receives the most votes won’t always win the election

should be equal, and adopting it puts at risk the fundamentally fair and historic system of majority voting.

By voting for your Conservative candidate at the local election, you are voting for a candidate who believes the Council should be smaller, should cost less, and should be focussing on those areas that really matter - our roads, schools, environment and civic facilities. With your support, we can strike the right balance between providing the services our citizens deserve and expect, and ensuring a fair deal for the hard pressed Council Tax payers of the Borough.

Join us in voting ‘No’ on May 5th

THE CHOICE ON MAY 5TH


THE CHOICE AT THIS ELECTION Conservatives present a clear alternative at this election. Under Labour, Oldham Council failed: our finances were in a terrible state despite favourable funding from Government, services were poor and unresponsive, and residents paid the highest rates of Council Tax in Greater Manchester. Let’s not go back to the bad old days: Vote Conservative on May 5th.

CONSERVATIVES LABOUR

Conservatives campaigned for Council Tax freeze and delivered on this. We have frozen council tax for 2011/12 and will freeze it again for 2012/13

Labour have doubled Council Tax since 1997 - an increase of over twice the rate of inflation. Labour said: People have been having council tax increases at twice the rate of inflation”. This under Labour.

Conservative Cllr’s voted in favour of £149 million worth of investment for all First Choice Homes properties, installing new kitchens and bathrooms.

Labour opposed the £149 million investment and voted against it, despite the overwhelming majority of First Choice Homes tenants voting in favour.

Joint Conservative budget is signed off early. The Accounts were signed off early for the first time in a number of years. Oldham Council is no longer in the ‘at risk’ category, and is now rated as an improving council.

Under Labour the budget was not signed off early and the Council was nearly put into special measures. The Council was ranked 147th out of 148th and with a £13.6 million black hole in its accounts for 2008/9.

Conservatives have protected our libraries, leisure centres and swimming pools.

Labour run Manchester City Council has planned to shut libraries, leisure centres and swimming pools. Will Labour do the same in Oldham?

Conservatives plan to cut the cost of democracy in Oldham, by cutting a 1/3 of Councillors, reducing the cost to the tax payer of £350,000 a year.

Oldham’s Labour leader Jim McMahon opposes the plans to slash the number of councillors by a third.

Oldham is to get more police on the beat. The extra officers come on top of changes to neighbourhood policing which have put an extra 40 officers on the streets of Oldham.

Labour said there would be cuts to the number of Police in Oldham.

THE CHOICE ON MAY 5TH

A Record of Action, A Promise of More 7

THE CHOICE AT THIS ELECTION Conservatives present a clear alternative to the Liberal Democrats, Over the past year, the Conservative Group has worked very successfully with Liberal Democrat Councillors. After the local election of 2010 resulted in no single party having overall control of the Council, Conservative Councillors took the decision to form a Joint Administration. This decision was not taken lightly, but was done in the best interests of the Borough, ensuring the Council had a stable and effective leadership to deal with the challenges Oldham faced. Our participation in the Joint Administration allowed us to ensure Conservative voices really counted in the decision making process, and keep the Council focussed on improving value for money. Despite this successful joint working, the Conservative Group retains a strong, independent identity and distinct vision for the Borough.

Oldham Conservatives were key in delivering a freeze in Council Tax this year. It is only by voting Conservative

that we can deliver another freeze for Oldham residents in 2012-13.

YOUR CONSERVATIVE COUNCIL TEAM

YOUR CONSERVATIVE COUNCIL TEAM

COUNCILLOR JACK HULME CONSERVATIVE GROUP LEADER CHADDERTON NORTH 7 Coventry Grove Chadderton Oldham OL9 0AX Tel: 0161 425 4504 Email: [email protected] Webpage: www.chaddertonconservatives.org.uk

COUNCILLOR JOHN HUDSON CHADDERTON CENTRAL 7 St Mary’s Drive Greenfield Oldham OL3 7DT Tel: 01457 87 3518 Email: [email protected] Webpage: www.chaddertonconservatives.org.uk

COUNCILLOR EILEEN HULME CHADDERTON CENTRAL 7 Coventry Grove Chadderton Oldham OL9 0AX Tel: 0161 425 4504 Email: [email protected] Webpage: www.chaddertonconservatives.org.uk

COUNCILLOR PAUL MARTIN FAILSWORTH EAST 4 Elvira Close Failsworth Manchester M35 9WE Tel: 0161 684 1538 Email: [email protected]

Promoted by Jack Hulme on behalf of Oldham West & Royton Conservative Association, 9 Cardigan Street, Royton, Oldham

OL2 6RA

oldham conservatives 2011 manifesto

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