Battle of the ballot box: Who gets our vote?

LOCAL ELECTIONS 2010

The party leaders of the Liberal Democrats, Labour Conservative, BNP, Respect Party and the England First Party state their cases here in an effort to persuade you that they deserve your vote.

Find out about all the candidates by clicking here  

What we said, we did

HOWARD SYKES, Liberal Democrat leader

 Words are cheap, actions are what people make judgements on. We stand on our record — warts and all. Here are just some of our achievements.

We said, we did: kept council tax increases at 2.5 per cent or below. April, 2009, increase 2.5 per cent (lowest rise in Greater Manchester); April, 2010, at 1.9 per cent -— one of the lowest.

We said, we did: tackled the shambolic Oldham Council budget, sorted the £21m black hole, protected frontline services, reduced managers and back-office staff but increased apprenticeships and offered real work opportunities to local people.

We said, we did: invested £2.65m in priorities which citizens told us they wanted. These would have been axed if Labour and Conservative had got its way.

We said, we did: make our streets the cleanest in Greater Manchester (according to the Tidy Britain Group), instituted a programme of clearing rubbish and weeds from rear passageways and cleared dozens of grot spots.

We said, we did: addressed the shameful legacy of Oldham Town Hall with £1.6m investment over the next two years to secure and improve the building reversing decades of decline. We are also bringing Metrolink into Oldham town centre and have delivered on a regional science centre.

We said, we did: open Central Library and Gallery Oldham on a Sunday and funded additional investment in the Oldham town centre Christmas campaign.

We said, we did: invest in improving recycling performance taking Oldham from worst to top three in Greater Manchester.

We said, we did: fund additional gully cleaning teams to clear backlog of blocked grids, created the Pot Hole Mole to repair roads and allocated further resources for the worst winter in living memory.

We said, we did: District Partnerships — gave them real money, £100,000 each and real power for our districts.

We said, we did: implement Bloom and Grow programme in Oldham town centre — awarded Best Town Centre in the North-West in 2009 — rolling out into Royton in 2010 and found nearly £500,000 in funding for alleygating/crime prevention measures.

We said, we did: Passport to Summer 2009/Half Term 2010 programmes delivered a 27 per cent reduction in anti-social behaviour across the borough — more than double that in some parts. Now part of Go Oldham.

We said, we did: assist businesses and citizens to ride out the recession, reduced car parking charges, vastly improved performance in paying invoices, funded CAB for debt advice and saved hundreds of families from losing their homes.

With 30 Lib-Dems, 22 Labour and just six Conservatives on Oldham Council the choice is stark at this election — more steady affordable progress under the Lib-Dems, accepting there is still a long way to go or a return to the bad old days under Labour.

Remember a vote for the Conservatives will just help Labour sneak back in.

Catch up with the candidates at www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/news-features/elections/
Living within our means

JIM McMAHON, Labour leader

Two years ago, when the people of Oldham voted for change, they did not expect to get a change for the worse.

Two years of a Liberal Democrat council, supported by the Conservatives, have been nothing if not eventful. Their list of failures, cock-ups and blunders has gone beyond being a joke; they are now putting our borough’s future at risk.

A forward-thinking Labour leadership will invest in Oldham’s recovery. We want you to share our vision of a future that is fair for all.

It’s not right that Oldham is always the last to benefit from a strong economy and the first to suffer when times are hard. We believe that the people of our borough deserve better; we believe that Oldham can be better with the right leadership. A Labour Oldham Council will be a public servant accountable to you and here to serve you, not to dictate to you. Contrast this to the out-of-touch Liberal Democrats closing youth centres and libraries then funding lavish refurbishment projects in the Civic Centre.

Out-of-touch Liberal Democrats cutting the funding for Oldham Beer Festival then spending thousands of pounds on luxury residential meetings in four-star hotels.

Out-of-touch Liberal Democrats cutting transport for vulnerable adults then ordering a new luxury car which they use as their taxi.

All of this matters because effective public servants should not put their own interests above the people of the borough.

We believe that Oldham Council should live within its means and not waste our money when essential services are being cut.

Will the Liberal Democrats fund their huge overspend of £250,000 on their press and propaganda by saving money on our galleries and libraries?

The Liberals always cry poverty, yet Oldham Council has one of the largest budgets in the region. Labour believes that if people pay for a first-class service they should not tolerate a third-rate council.

We will make our borough cleaner, greener and safer through real investment.

Labour wants to provide for the young people of Oldham what we expect for our own children, grandchildren and future generations.

Labour wants to ensure that everybody in the borough has the same chances in life; the same access to strong supportive communities, to good quality housing, to great education and to quality job prospects.

We won’t hide if something goes wrong and turn up for a good news photo shoot the day after.

Catch up with the candidates at www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/news-features/elections/

Time for a better deal

Jack Hulme, Conservative leader

We all know that despite Oldham remaining one of the most heavily-taxed boroughs in Greater Manchester, our local services provide poor value for money, and satisfaction with the council is the lowest in the country.

We believe it is time for a better deal for Oldham, and by supporting your local Conservative candidates you can join us in taking the first steps towards a brighter future for our borough.

The recession and taxes levied by this Labour government have hit the pockets of people across Oldham.

We don’t believe we should make matters worse by raising local taxes too.

This year we were the only council group to speak in favour of freezing council tax, and we continue to demand a fairer deal for residents, with a freeze next year.

We will under no circumstances support proposals that would increase council tax by above the rate of inflation.

We are committed to local democracy. We recognise the diverse nature of our townships, and believe decisions affecting each area are best taken by local people

Working with the community, Conservative councillors have brought real benefits to local areas; a school safety zone to reduce road casualties, a no cold-calling zone to protect elderly residents, and tackled anti-social behaviour using CCTV.

Knowing the benefits of local decision making, we will campaign to devolve more power and budgets to your district, giving you and your local councillors more influence over what happens in your area.

Our heritage is a vital part of our identity and should be a source of pride, yet many of our historic buildings remain disused, neglected by Labour and Liberal Democrat politicians. We believe in celebrating our heritage, and will work to bring these buildings into use to benefit the community.

We have already made a start, developing Failsworth Town Hall, restoring the grounds and facade of Chadderton Town Hall, and are committed to ensuring the future of our other historic sites across the borough.

The guiding principle of Conservative councillors is to act in the best interests of the people of Oldham.

Our voting record over the past year demonstrates our independent and pragmatic approach.

We will continue to act as an independent voice for Oldham. Should no single party have control of the council, we will not enter into an alliance with the Liberal Democrats or Labour, but will offer our support only to specific measures, where we believe they will benefit local people.

This election provides an opportunity for real change; a chance for Oldham to unlock its potential.

Catch up with the candidates at www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/news-features/elections/

All the failings can be rapidly repaired

The British National Party has a full set of policies covering all the issues and problems which affect Britain and the British people.

Our policies range from, economy, education, crime and justice, energy and transport, sovereignty and the EU, defence, environment and farming.

The main thrust for this election campaign however is our promise to return our troops home safe‚ from areas of conflict that have nothing to do with British interests, illegal wars such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

We promise to put an end to the burdening tax grab‚ in the name of the mythical man-made global warming scam. And we pledge an end to the open-door policy of immigration which takes houses, jobs, educational and hospital placements from British people.

It is clear that under successive governance, our economy, education and sovereignty have declined rapidly.

The British National Party believes that all of the failings can be rapidly repaired.

We believe that by concentrating our energies on Britain’s own needs and interests we can best serve those nations that benefit from Britain also.

Only the BNP puts British interests and British people first!

Catch up with the candidates at www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/news-features/elections/

Respect Party

Need to create jobs

Three old parties and not a new idea between them!

All promise a return to Margaret Thatcher’s devastating cuts in our public services. How can this be fair? Why should we be made to pay for the recession?

Respect offers real investment in our vital public services.

Slashing public spending will deepen the recession. Instead, we need to invest and we need to create jobs.

Too many people on average or low incomes are paying too much tax. We cannot afford to allow the super rich to get away with tax dodges.

We need to save the environment.

Instead of wasting billions on new Trident nuclear weapons, we should invest in green technology.

Many parents struggle to find the money for school meals.

We could provide free meals for every child for a tiny fraction of the cost of the banking bailout.

Our housing waiting lists are a scandal. We need a massive house-building programme to reduce waiting lists and overcrowding.

We should be proud of our diverse and vibrant town. Everyone is equal no matter their race, religion or lifestyle.

Catch up with the candidates at www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/news-features/elections/

England First Party

Abolish assemblies

Ethnic English Oldhamers have been discriminated against for years in the provision of basic services, yet our council is able to fund a language shop for translation services covering 30 languages spoken in our town — mainly Urdu, Punjabi, Sylheti, Bengali, Gujarati and Polish.

Yet neither the council nor the police have yet found the right words in any of these languages to stop violence and drug-dealing.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own Parliament/Assembly, but England doesn’t. Our political establishment aims to destroy any idea of England and break up our country into meaningless “regions”.

By abolishing the regional assemblies we can fund an English Parliament at zero cost.

Current immigration levels will see our population rise to 70 million within twenty years — within the same small island which only a century ago held only 40 million.

We need to stop all further immigration and start a programme of voluntary repatriation.

Catch up with the candidates at www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/news-features/elections/