Lib Dems Pledge a Fair and Green Hounslow

Seven promises constitutes party's manifesto for local elections

Hounslow Liberal Democrats have today launched their manifesto for the 2006 Hounslow Borough council elections which take place on 4 May.

The manifesto is titled “For a fair and green Hounslow”. As well as 7 easy-to-remember pledges, the manifesto is packed full of innovative new ideas to improve peoples lives in Hounslow.

Each section of the manifesto highlights the Green Action required to reduce Hounslow residents’ impact on the local and global environment.

The Hounslow Liberal Democrats’ headline policy commitments are:
1. Build an open and honest Council
2. Increase the effectiveness of education spending
3. Put policing back in the community
4. Fight for our local health service
5. Rebuild our roads and pavements
6. Defend our green spaces
7. Invest in our young people

Andrew Dakers, Lib Dem Parliamentary Spokesperson for Brentford & Isleworth and candidate in Brentford ward – one of the Lib Dems’ targets to win – said "This is a radical and progressive manifesto, that offers local residents a real choice at these local elections. We Lib Dems recognise people want to feel safe in our communities and want access to decent, reliable local services. The people of Hounslow want clean and sustainable neighbourhoods and we want fair taxes we can afford to pay.

"Unfortunately these simple aspirations are drifting out of reach. Labour and Conservative have spent decades taking power away from local people. We have been denied our right to choose our own policing priorities. Unfair and painful taxes have been imposed. And faceless bureaucrats make decisions about local schools and hospitals they never visit and will never use.

"That has to stop. It’s time to give power back to people and to our local communities. By putting our policies into practice on the ground all over the UK, Lib Dems are making our country safer, greener and fairer. So if you want to make a difference for our community in Hounslow, vote Liberal Democrat on 4th May."

Ray Fincher, Liberal Democrat Group Leader on Hounslow Council, commented “Local government touches the lives of every resident. From nursery education to rubbish collection, councils have a responsibility to ensure that local services are provided in a responsive, efficient and effective manner, in accordance with the needs and wishes of local people. The Local Council elections on Thursday 4 May will decide how local services costing £310 million are run and how they are paid for.

“Voters elect 60 councillors to represent the 212,000+ residents of Hounslow on the Council. But in Hounslow, 35 years of Labour control have ensured that local government does not fulfil its responsibilities; real decision-making is remote from local people and conducted in an arrogant manner. So your votes matter.

“The people of Hounslow have a clear choice at this election: a choice between four more years of Labour muddle, or the opportunity for a fair and green approach to change Hounslow for all our citizens.”

A summary of some of the ideas:

Honesty and Openness
 Rotate full council meetings between different local areas to increase public attendance at full Council meetings;
 Introduce community participation in budgets to increase accountability;
 Establish a Community Future Council that will have an advisory and scrutiny role on economic, social and environmental sustainability matters. It will ensure long term sustainability is central to all the council’s work;
 Drive a reduction in Hounslow’s environment impact by using ‘ecological footprinting’ as a key measure.

Education
 Involve teachers, staff, governors, parents and students in decisions about the local education service;
 Increase the opportunities for nursery and pre-school education by working imaginatively with the voluntary sector;
 Start a programme ‘Stand up to make science fun’ - in response to diminishing interest in science and engineering - that uses comedy performance in schools to sneak in facts and figures as part of the show. This idea has already been successfully applied in Australia.

Reducing Crime
 Continue to argue for more police on the beat, with support from community wardens and support officers. In conjunction with this, local policing contracts, can give communities a greater say in how the police operate;
 Set up a graffiti and vandalism hot-line and an instant response squad to rapidly repair vandalism and remove graffiti;
 Use intermediate treatment such as restorative justice where victims can confront offenders and other community-based activities for young offenders.

Community Health
 Debt is now a major burden on Hounslow and West Middlesex Hospital Primary Care Trusts (PCTs). Liberal Democrats in Hounslow have called for PCT management to be given a fair deal on inherited debt and realistic targets that do not increase the debt problem further;
 Limit light pollution for better health and spectacular skies. Light pollution at night is thought to increase sight problems, cases of insomnia and can damage the immune system as it impairs production of the hormone melatonin;
 Encourage the take up of Modern Foreign Languages which can be a major benefit financially, culturally and perhaps surprisingly for a person’s long term mental health too;
 Provide targeted support to ensure greater provision of local, organic and seasonal food by small restaurants, catering companies and food shops.

Transport and Planning
 Establish a costed plan to complete and maintain Hounslow's cycle network;
 Continue to campaign against an expansion of Heathrow airport and retain 'runway alternation', as well as a strengthening of aircraft noise controls;
 Work actively to extend Hounslow’s recycling service to include plastics on the doorstep. Longer-term, the Council will have to consider ‘designation’ of containers for waste;
 Work with companies owning service stations in Hounslow to facilitate the early introduction of biodiesel pumps across the borough;
 Lobby Transport for London (TfL) to pilot an 'eco-miles' programme, linked to Oyster cards, to encourage greater use of public transport;
 Ensure Public Transport Accessibility Levels (PTAL) rating is sufficient to support any proposed high density developments. This must be monitored carefully as the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Mayor of London are creating a combined pressure for more housing developments across London;
 Apply common sense and community involvement in traffic calming schemes. While officers are overstretched, there is often a great deal of knowledge and expertise amongst local people. By working together more effectively, higher quality schemes can be agreed at no greater cost.

Children and Young People
 Give young people a much greater say in the administration of funds going to youth services in Hounslow;
 Consult secondary schools on the possibility of having a student representative on their Boards of Governors.

Housing and Social Services
 Introduce a simple and easy-to-understand Housing Points List across the Borough;
 Ensure that affordable moorings are available on the borough’s waterways, particularly where Hounslow Council holds the rights to waterside, to benefit people on low incomes seeking to moor house boats;
 Establish a matching scheme in which families and elderly people who want more company are brought together to join in activities and develop friendship;
 Invite community associations to request advance planning approval for micro-power generation on groups of streets, thus creating 'renewables zones' and reducing the cost for home owners wanting to install solar and wind turbines.

Enterprise and Employment
 Enhance local shopping centres and encourage policies that support local shops. Consider, in partnership with retailers, jointly funding Town Centre Managers to promote initiatives to improve town centres;
 Throw employment parties to boost confidence of jobseekers in partnership with organisations like Job Centre Plus. Guests would offer gems of advice, lists of contacts and examples of outstanding resumes, arming jobseekers with a surge of confidence;
 Support small businesses across Hounslow struggling to recycle their waste by seeking central government and grant funding to put in place a co-ordinator or outsource the operation of a low cost recycling service for small businesses.

Libraries, Leisure, Recreation & the Arts
 Set up free wireless internet (wifi) access points in public spaces by providing funding through local area committees;
 Seek to make the service more accessible by extending mobile library services and exploring options such as 'taster' collections in work places, supermarkets and pubs;
 Establish a network of book clubs across the borough supported by author visits, study guides and book discussion groups.

April 13, 2006