FIGHT FOR SECOND
Conservatives keep it clean and local
IF someone was to create a ‘wordcloud’ around Birmingham Conservatives leader Robert Alden as he speaks about the forthcoming local elections, ‘rubbish’ would feature heavily.
The state of the streets takes top billing in the Conservative line of attack on the current Labour administration, though congestion, a focus on the city centre over the suburbs, the ‘dire’ Clean Air Zone and the Low Traffic Neighbourhoods scheme also feature heavily.
But there would be a gaping hole in the cloud where Boris Johnson should be.
Cllr Alden doesn’t mention the Conservative leader by name once. It’s clear that the asset the PM might once have been around these parts is no more.
The focus instead is local.
Most of the Tory candidates have, like Alden himself, opted for the Local Conservatives party moniker, instead of the more traditional Conservative Party.
“We are asking voters to look at the local council and back me and the team in Birmingham to attract investment and get things done,” he says. “We are the only realistic alternative to Labour. People are fed up with the way rubbish has been piling up on our streets, the way bins aren’t collected on time, the way road layouts have been changed (in places like Kings Heath and Lozells) causing increased traffic. Your only solution is to vote for the local Conservative candidate.”
Despite national polls and predictions suggesting at least a 5% fallback for the Tories in these elections, Alden hopes to add to the 28 existing Tory councillors in the city.
“Something has to change locally. The Labour council has been in charge for ten years and so many people feel let down.
“The voters have to send a message to this Labour council that they will not put up with it,” he says.
Alden, a father to two children aged six and one, is passionate about raising the life chances of young people.
“Everyone needs to have the chances in life to be able to succeed.
“Residents are really fed up with a council that is just focusing on the glitzy city centre, going to big events abroad to promote the city centre, at the expense of the rest of the city.
“That’s why we’ve not seen investment in places like Newtown, Kingstanding, and here in Pype Hayes. We deserve better.”
He hopes voters will keep faith with their ‘go-getting’ local Tory councillors. “We have a collection of really dedicated councillors who work for the local community, who get involved day in, week out, and people recognise that.”
By contrast, the Labour administration is too often letting people down at a local level, he claims.
“What they see in the Birmingham Labour Party is a political party that doesn’t care about places outside the city centre, that doesn’t seem able to get the streets clean, or the roads fixed. The council leader (Ian Ward) is always looking for someone else to blame rather than taking ownership and responsibility.
“They’ve been running the council for 10 years, yet the same problems persist.”
Also in the line of fire is what Alden refers to as the Labour administration’s ‘wastefulness’ of relying on hiring consultants and interim officers, often because of a ‘lack of faith’ in existing council employees or a lack of pulling power, he adds. It’s money that could be spent on making a difference out on the ground, says Alden.
The Labour leadership’s handling of the school to home transport scheme for special needs (SEND) children has left a bitter taste too, he adds. “The Labour council sat on a report (the Weightmans Report) that explained just how many people with positive DBS disclosures were driving vulnerable children in the city to school. That is frankly disgraceful.
“These people were hiding from families that the driver of the bus taking their vulnerable child to school was potentially an offender.
“The council needs to understand it has got to start being honest with people and bring these things into the light much sooner.
“What we see year after year under this administration is the same mistakes repeated, particularly around home to school transport and SEND services, affecting our most vulnerable children. So you might conclude this Labour council isn’t fit to look after your children.”
One of the hottest local topics is how to best manage air pollution and improve lives. Alden says: “You have a real contrast and choice here.
“You have a Labour administration that tax vehicles and close roads, increasing congestion, versus a Conservative council that wants to clean the air and use green technology while not penalising those that rely on their vehicles to get to work.
“Under our proposals we would get rid of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods in places like Kings Heath, we would keep the tunnels open to keep traffic flowing through the city. We would insert green walls, city trees and other bio technology to deliver cleaner air.
“We would look to introduce an urban freight consolidation centre outside Birmingham (a type of park and ride for lorry cargo) like they have in Denmark, with goods shuttled in to shops and businesses, reducing congestion in the city.
“We would also focus on public transport heavily to give a genuine alternative.”
Alden said technological developments would drive a natural improvement in air quality over the next ten years as vehicles got cleaner and the Tory plans would deliver improvement in the meantime.
He added: “Some of the least well off communities in the council are being punished by the Clean Air Zone.
“Those on the outskirts of the ringroad, in places like Ladywood, Newtown, Aston, they will soon be penalised for driving to their homes, charged to park there, and if they work inside the zone will have to pay a levy to park there too – without any of the cleaner air benefits. It is a poorly thought out scheme.”
What they see in the Birmingham Labour Party is a political party that doesn’t care about places outside the city centre
Robert Alden