Fixing life’s everyday problems is a promise from English Democrat

Small improvements that will make a big difference - that is Stephen Goldspink’s selling point to voters. The English Democrat politician wants to use hundreds of millions of pounds of government funding, if elected as mayor, to put right the inconveniences which frustrate residents every day, such as bottlenecks on the roads. He said: “I did stand once in the Cambridgeshire County Council elections and I looked at all the things that upset me as a local resident, and I put them all on my newsletter and I found I had an enormous response from people. That’s why I say that residents are a key resource to be used because they know where the problems are. “Local residents will be aware where they get stuck every night and every morning. I’ll be inviting some sort of consultation exercise from across the whole county to look at ideas where we can make small improvements that will make big differences.” The mayor and the Combined Authority of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough - which he or she will lead - will have a devolved transport budget, £170 million for housing (of which £70 million is ringfenced for Cambridge) and £20 million a year for the next 30 years to spend on growth for the county. Mr Goldspink said: “I’m in favour of the motorcar as the preeminent means of transport in our largely rural country. I’m not in favour of vilifying the motorist, particularly when you live in a rural county. “I would like a fair division of the funds to deal with both motorcar traffic issues and public transport issues.” One specific area he mentions is increasing the number of trains at Whittlesea Rail Station. With housing, Mr Goldspink wants ‘starter homes’ for people currently living with their parents to move into, and tailored accommodation for the elderly. He also suggested that local authorities which are best at bringing derelict homes back into use, and are willing to give away their land to developers, are more likely to receive a bigger share of the housing pot of money. Speaking of local authorities, Mr Goldspink is complimentary about the Conservatives at Peterborough City Council, where he was deputy leader. He said: “I think they’re doing as well as they can do in very difficult circumstances. Because there’s less money there’s less flexibility for grand schemes and pet projects.” As for how Peterborough would benefit if he was elected mayor, he adds: “I hope that people will see a much more co-ordinated approach on transport and on housing, and they would be less inclined to say every morning, ‘oh dear, this still hasn’t been fixed,’ because I would want to see some real progress. “At the end of the day I want the residents to be the people who provide the ideas and I want the mayor to put the ideas into action, and I want a co-ordinated approach with the councils so that it actually does make a difference.”