Norfolk Labour Party Putting Norfolk First - MANIFESTO 2013
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Norfolk MANIFESTO 2013 Labour Party Putting Norfolk First
Building a
better future Labour’s No 1 priority is to ensure
for Norfolk a prosperous future for all
Norfolk’s citizens.
Education, To do this we want to achieve 3 goals,
Infrastructure,
1 A well-educated population equipped with
the proper skills and training.
The Tories in Norfolk have failed our children for
Jobs
years.Under this Tory County Council, our schools
are ranked amongst the very worst nationally and
regionally
2 An infrastructure of roads, rail and other
transport fit for the 21st century.
Under successive Tory Governments and decades
of Tory County rule, Norfolk has become a
transport backwater.
3 Norfolk Labour would enhance the
Council’s Economic Development Department
and put it at the forefront of activities.
We will make Norfolk a Living Wage county.
We need to do much more to attract new high-
quality business investment and jobs which need
the best skills and have the best pay and conditions.
Under almost a century of Tory domination at
County Hall, they have been content to see Norfolk
as a low-wage, low-skills, under-employed county,
cut off by poor communications and held back by
poor educational attainment.
Norfolk Labour will make increased Economic
Development our top priority, because everything
else we want to do for Norfolk’s people would flow
from this.
Economic
Development
This has always been something of a
Cinderella department under the Tories,
starved of funds and under-resourced.
Norfolk Labour will put the task of attracting private
Adult social
and public investment at the forefront of council
services. It goes hand in hand with education and
infrastructure in building a decent future for all
Norfolk citizens.
We must show that Norfolk is not just open for
care
business – we must show the world that we really
mean business. This means getting the very best
brains and skills to lead our Economic Development The preventative services must and will be our
team. Norfolk Labour will be judged on whether we number one priority in Social Care.
can measurably improve on the Tory record by Norfolk Labour will increase, not cut, investment in
bringing well-paid good- quality jobs to the people of the services that help our older and more vulnerable
Norfolk. Nothing less will do! residents to continue living in their own homes. The
It seems as if the Tories, who’ve run Norfolk for overwhelming majority of people wish to stay in their
over hundred years, don’t want businesses that own homes and be independent with a good quality
pay good wages to come to Norfolk. of life. More extensive use of assistive technology
They may be content for Norfolk to lose out. can make this wish a reality. Norfolk Labour will work
Norfolk Labour isn’t with the NHS, voluntary organisations and housing
providers to ensure that everyone who wishes to
continue living in their own home can do so.
We will always examine every proposal that will help
us to deliver the best service in the most cost
effective way. Under this government Social Services
are being starved of funds and we need to make
every penny go further but, unlike the Tories in
Norfolk, we will not force changes through against
the wishes of those of our fellow citizens who de-
pend on the service and the advice of care
professionals.
It simply isn’t fair to make Norfolk’s most frail and
vulnerablebear the brunt of the cost of Tory
Economic failure
The Tories have cut social services in Norfolk to
the bone. We will not compromise when it comes
to looking after our fellow citizens who depend
on the Council to ensure their care.
Education and
Children’s
Services
Norfolk Labour is ambitious for our children
and schools.
We will always put the interest of Norfolk children’s
first and dogma a long way behind.
We cannot any longer tolerate a situation where half
Evening News
of our schools are judged to be failing.
We will move Norfolk from being one of the worst
performing local authorities in England to one of the
best. We will look at every aspect of schooling from Roads,
Breakfast Clubs to longer school days which can help
achieve this ambition. Transport and
Infra-structure
Credit where credit’s due, Norfolk’s special schools
are judged to be performing well – so let’s learn from
the professionals there. Our heads and teaching staff
don’t want to see
Norfolk’s schools failing our children – and parents Norfolk Labour can’t fulfil its ambitions, or serve
certainly don’t. So why are we putting up with it? the people of Norfolk, if the county continues to
Norfolk Labour will put greater emphasis on and more be left behind in the prosperity and jobs stakes
funding into protecting all Norfolk’s children. because of poor communications.
We will work tirelessly to ensure that children who For decades, we’ve been hearing the same truth -
are or have been in our care are not disadvantaged in established businesses move from here and new
later life. ones simply don’t come here because the road
After almost a hundred years of Tory-run Norfolk system is so dire. There is probably not a family in
County Council, we can no longer afford to trust Norfolk who can’t point to someone who has lost a
them with our children’s future. job over the years for that very reason.
They’ve failed Norfolk’s children too often. Transport is a key priority. Norfolk Labour will work to
improve bus services (including community transport)
in rural and urban areas so that they are more fre-
quent and affordable.
Work has started on dualling the remainder of the
A11 but improvements to the A47 and A140 are
nowhere to be seen. Whether it is investment in
roads, rail, air or ports and harbours, Norfolk Labour
has and will fight harder for investment
All governments are culpable but the Tories have
been the Government for the vast majority of the last
century. Tory MPs have represented the majority of
Norfolk most of the time and the Tories have run the
County Council for all bar eight of the last 130 years.
The Tories may be content for Norfolk to be left
behind, Norfolk Labour isn’t.
Safeguarding
Norfolk’s
Residents
Norfolk County Council is responsible for many
aspects of residents’ safety and well-being in
addition to Social Services. From the Fire
Service to Trading Standards, the County
Council has a duty to protect us.
Protecting our
Norfolk Labour has always placed a high value on our
emergency services and pledges to say NO to any
further dangerous cuts to fire stations or services.
We also value the work of our Trading Standards team
in fighting rogue traders, loan sharks and anyone else Heritage
who preys on Norfolk people in these tough times. It
goes without saying that Norfolk Labour will always
put flood protection and prevention at the top of our Whether you were born here or have chosen
agenda because we know the cost of not doing so. to spend your future in Norfolk, our County’s
The Tories happily cut everything from flood heritage is one of our greatest prizes.
warnings systems to fire stations and coastguards. Our historic cities and market towns, our varied coun-
They like to talk about how they care for Norfolk – tryside teeming with wildlife, our coast, rivers and
their actions say otherwise. broads - all these are beyond price. Our rich inherit-
ance of paintings, art and culture, brought together in
our Norfolk museums, enhance our quality of life.
Norfolk Labour will never willingly or knowingly put
our environment at risk. We will fight to protect
Norfolk from dangerous and unwanted developments
that would endanger your quality of life.
We will also put a high value on protecting our rich
legacy of buildings and town and village communities.
We will promote the arts, music and culture so that
our rich heritage is made available to all, not hidden
away or kept as the preserve of a privileged few. Our
environment is not only valuable as our inheritance –
it also helps to promote a prosperous and
sustainable tourist industry that will provide
better-paid jobs prospects in the future.
After almost one hundred years of Tory rule in
Norfolk, we can see where their policy of taking
money out and not re-investing in our towns,
countryside and coast has led.
We see what value they put on local people’s
environmental concerns when they ride rough-
shod over their views - as they did and continue
to do with the proposed Kings Lynn incinerator
Keeping our
small towns and
villages alive
Norfolk Labour will set up set up a
subsidiary company to build small groups of
houses throughout Norfolk.
This will mitigate the effects of homelessness, rural
decline, second homes and rising house prices that
have seen local people being priced out of the
communities that they were born and brought up in.
The company will develop sites which the County
Council already own to generate further profits to
cross-subsidise the provision of homes in areas where
private developers would not be interested.
Additional
specific We will not close any fire stations or reduce fire cover
in Norfolk
pledges We will not sell off Norfolk’s Farm estate, which is
the first rung for young tenant farmer who would
otherwise never have a chance to work in farming. It
has been used as a cash cow in the past and the net
We will help Norfolk’s young people by promoting a estate has halved over recent years. Under Norfolk
Travel Card that will give 14-19 years olds reduced Labour there will be no reduction in its overall size.
fares and help encourage their use of public transport. Norfolk Labour would put all unused and under-
Sports facilities, school buildings and grounds will be utilised
properly maintained council land and buildings to good use.
We will not sell any more school playing fields We will replace the complex museum charge system
and halve entry charges in most cases.
There will be a Breakfast Club in every primary phase
school We will not close any library branches or reduce the
mobile service. We will also abolish the charge for
We will urgently review (with local police and others)
reserving books
the
Tories streetlights switch-off and, where there is We will ensure that all public footpaths and rights of
evidence that a streetlight blackout is unsafe for resi- way are kept open and that council taxpayers don’t
dents, we will restore lights in those communities. subsidise landowners by paying them to keep paths
open and maintained – as has been happening under
We will use all legal means to suspend any plans for
the Tories.
building any incinerators in Norfolk so that a detailed
study of current, suitable methods of waste disposal We will protect biodiversity and create paths and
can be undertaken. cycleways to enable more sustainable travel around
the county.
Promoted by Alan Pawsey on behalf of Norfolk Labour Party and Reproduced from electronic media, all of St Mark's Church Hall, Hall Road, Norwich NR1 3HL
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