West Norfolk Council’s Labour Group leader Francis Bone on what can be done locally to support change Government is seeking to achieve
This week’s Friday Politics is written by Labour Group leader Francis Bone…
As the results came in on July 5 I had an overwhelming sense of elation - obviously as the Leader of the Labour Group in West Norfolk, but also I felt the weight of responsibility – what can we do locally to support the change that the Government is seeking to achieve.
National priorities set out by Sir Keir Starmer are seriously reflected in our area.
Not enough affordable housing and access to the property market;
Skills shortages and a weak labour market to meet the needs of all employers in West Norfolk;
Supporting people with health-related barriers into employment and,
Putting pressure on the water companies to end sewage discharge on our lovely beaches and waterways and clean up our rivers and streams.
As the GCSE results are about to be released, no doubt the West Norfolk secondary schools will yet again be towards the bottom of the league table – a place they are used to being. This is not the fault of those working hard every day in our schools but a lack of focus for a decade in this area. Our kids have been let down by Norfolk County Council and its councillors for not doing enough to turn round this performance.
The Labour Group is determined to put pressure on the council and county council to develop and deliver an improvement plan to bring our schools up to par with the best of Norfolk and work with our school leaders to make this happen. Hopefully, with his new portfolio as shadow minister for education, our MP will finally put his weight behind this initiative.
You cannot go shopping these days and not see the impact of retail crime in our area. People seem able to steal at will and it’s working people who pay the cost. Labour will launch a programme to work with our newly elected Police and Crime Commissioner, local police and retailers to develop an action plan to address this growing blight in our society.
In addition, there is real evidence that anti-social behaviour is rising and we must join up locally with the national initiative to restore neighbourhood policing with thousands of extra officers and equip officers with the powers they need.
Clearly, these initiatives will require some funding and Labour’s Campaign to Keep it Local is all about making the most of the second home council tax bonus to make real improvements to our area.
It is wrong that the lion’s share of the funding goes straight to the county council. This money is raised here and we will be campaigning to ensure those funds are spent in this area, benefiting our local communities.
Our job locally is to provide the leadership for West Norfolk to benefit from the change that the Labour Government will make in the coming months and years, work to support local people, improve our economy and quality of life and create real partnerships to deliver positive change.
