Conservative Group Leader Ian Grant took part in a Q&A with the local media on why you should support your local Conservative candidate on May 3rd.
Here are his responses.
What will your party to do to provide our children with a better chance for the future, give them more things to do and guarantee the education they deserve?
Local Conservatives have invested significantly in facilities for children and young people. We have refurbished many of our public parks, including in Ormskirk, Skelmersdale and Burscough, which were left to rot under the previous Labour administration and have worked with partners to deliver a first class new facility for West Lancashire College. The Conservative council has also helped deliver 61 new apprenticeships through the West Lancashire Challenge Project, where we’ve worked again with West Lancashire College and also the CVS. We’ve also put our money where our mouth is and employed apprentices ourselves. We have encouraged our new housing repairs contractors to provide new employment opportunities. This is something we will be seeking to expand when contractors are appointed for the £8 million of housing improvements agreed in this year’s Conservative council budget. This demonstrates that Conservatives are investing in West Lancashire despite tough times.
What will your party do to tackle the widespread issue of antisocial behaviour and crime, at a time when high levels of unemployment, particularly young unemployment, is creating the potential for a future timebomb?
Thankfully, West Lancs as a whole has a low crime rate but there are areas of the borough where it is an issue. Labour’s last Home Secretary Alan Johnson categorically said he could not guarantee police numbers if they won the General Election. However, this Conservative council has expanded CCTV significantly since 2002 and in our budget just a few months ago, we announced an extra £250,000 investment to extend it even further. We have also called for our frontline community PCSOs to be given extra powers, something which Labour voted against. Latest figures show the number of people claiming Jobseekers’ Allowance in the West Lancs council area fell month on month to 3.6%. That is lower than when Gordon Brown called the General Election and significantly lower than at the height of Labour’s recession, when almost 3,000 West Lancs people were looking for work.
What will your party do to tackle the scourge of dying business and boarded up shops?
There’s no getting away from the fact that times are tough as a result of Labour’s recession, the longest and deepest in living memory. However, Conservatives are the party of business and enterprise and we are determined to help our local traders – the lifeblood of our communities - to bounce back.
In Ormskirk, Conservatives have cut parking charges in real terms, improved our historic Ormskirk Market and invested in environmental improvements. We are also working closely with and supporting local businesses with the Mary Portas funding bid to bring in more investment.
In Burscough, Conservatives have invested in the village centre which is massively improved compared to when Labour were in control of West Lancs.
And in Skelmersdale, it is this Conservative council which has unveiled major plans for a new town centre, with restaurants, a cinema, another supermarket and shops – bringing jobs, investment and prosperity to our area.
What will your party do to promote sports and leisure development in West Lancashire, particularly in light of it being the Olympic year?
This is a special year for sports and we are proud to be welcoming the Olympic Torch to West Lancashire. A major achievement of this Conservative council is the investment into local leisure facilities. We have invested large amounts into our local parks and play areas right across West Lancashire, making them bigger, better and more attractive. Labour left them in a sorry state – particularly Stanley Coronation Park in Skelmersdale and Coronation Park in Ormskirk. Both have now been given a new lease of life thanks to Conservative investment. We have also secured investment by setting up West Lancashire Leisure Trust – something which West Lancs Labour councillors vocally opposed. It is also because of this Conservative council that new, state of the art facilities have been delivered at Blaguegate sports fields in Skelmersdale – more investment despite tough times. We will continue to work with the University to provide community facilities.
What ONE thing will you do to make the lives of people living in your community better?
Conservatives are at the heart of every community and have councillors and candidates from every part of West Lancashire. Our central mission is to be a strong voice for our communities and ensure the delivery of quality and affordable public services.
In these tough times, we are continuing to invest. We’ve built the first council homes in 15 years, announced £8m of housing improvements, delivered new play areas, cut parking charges and councillors’ allowances, and secured jobs in West Lancs – all against a backdrop of a three year freeze in Council Tax. Nobody wants a return to the dark days of Labour who cut services and hiked up councillors’ allowances whilst hitting families with an eyewatering 15% Council Tax increase. West Lancashire has had the lowest cumulative council tax increase over the last ten years in the whole of Lancashire – prudent budget management by Conservatives.
Despite what others may say, these are local elections about local issues and it is local Conservatives who are standing up for local taxpayers.
The full list of candidates for the WLCA area is as follows:
- Ashurst - Stacey Griffiths
- Aughton & Downholland - Una Atherley*
- Birch Green - Jane Marshall
- Burscough East - George Pratt*
- Burscough West - Jason Grice*
- Derby Ward - Adrian Owens*
- Digmoor - Ryan Waite
- Halsall - Doreen Stephenson*
- Knowsley Ward - David Meadows
- Moorside - Cindy Miller
- Scott Ward - Edward McCarthy
- Skelmersdale North - Amanda Shaw
- Skelmersdale South - David Gallagher
- Up Holland - Ruth Pollock*
- Wrightington - Carolyn Evans
(* Denotes sitting councillor)
Promoted by Graham Jones on behalf of Stacey Griffiths, Una Atherley, Jane Marshall, George Pratt, Jason Grice, Adrian Owens, Ryan Waite, Doreen Stephenson, David Meadows, Cindy Miller, Edward McCarthy, Amanda Shaw, David Gallagher, Ruth Pollock and Carolyn Evans, all of WLCA, 72c New Court Way, Ormskirk, L39 2YT.