West Lindsey District Council: Party leaders outline their promises

Voters will be rushing to the polls on Thursday, May 4 to have their say on who they want to represent them.

Candidates for the district wards are listed here .

The council is currently made up of 16 Conservatives, two Gainsborough independents and one independent (all of whom are aligned to form the leading West Lindsey Administration Group), along with 13 Liberal Democrats, two Lincolnshire Independents and two independent unaligned members.

Here is what each party leader has promised to deliver.

Conservative – Owen Bierley

With your support in the local elections, the West Lindsey District Council Conservative Group will continue to work hard to enhance and promote our area as somewhere that people enjoy living, working and visiting.

We will further develop our award-winning services to make them ever more responsive to the expectations and needs of residents, businesses and communities, innovating wherever possible to maximise their cost effectiveness and reduce their environmental impact.

Our community grant schemes have enabled highly committed voluntary groups to deliver many projects to the benefit of all and we keenly anticipate building on that success.

We fully recognise the importance of working in partnership with others and will take every opportunity to strengthen and extend relationships to deliver the best possible outcomes in, for example, access to services, economic development, planning, health, well-being and housing, leisure, environment and heritage and in roads and public transport.

We would greatly appreciate your vote to enable us to continue to serve you.

Labour – Jess McGuire

The local elections provide an opportunity to vote for change.

Labour is completely committed to making a positive difference in our communities.

Everyone deserves to feel safe in their own home and to have access to well-run local services. Local businesses who are fundamental to our high streets deserve to be supported so we don’t see the empty shops that we see in so many areas of West Lindsey.

Labour would tackle fly tipping, support people during the cost of living crisis and campaign for new homes to be affordable for all.

Labour also strongly opposes the plans for Scampton from both an investment perspective and a humanitarian one. This is a historic site, with a £300 million investment that was already on the table. It is very obvious to us that the plans are inhumane and unworkable, and we would continue to campaign against this.

Vote Labour on May 4 for a greener, safer West Lindsey where community comes first.

Liberal Democrats – Trevor Young

The last year has been very tough for all of us.

The cost of living crisis, overseen by a Conservative government, has led to increased fuel bills, mortgages and weekly shopping bills. This all makes the thoughtful and targeted management of local resources increasingly important.

West Lindsey Liberal Democrats are widely recognised by residents as the only team that shows any interest in this community between elections and have a history of working hard on community issues across the district.

The Conservatives’ decision to convert the Scampton airbase into a camp for 2000 migrant men is naturally of great concern.

While leaving residents fearful of the impact on local amenities and services, this plan provides yet another example of widespread Tory mismanagement now impacting negatively on communities.

There is little or no sign here of local Tories being supported by their government counterparts. It’s simple, vote Liberal Democrat.

Liberal Party – Charles Shaw

Lincolnshire Liberals believe in the power of the communities in West Lindsey and believe Gainsborough and West Lindsey should be a Unitary Authority in their own right.

Size is not the issue – it’s the capacity and quality of the leadership which matters.

In areas like Bardney Ward, it is important to have the best representation. Too much power in any one person cannot serve the community well which means we need different people for county, district and parish councils.

Only the Liberal Party – Keep Local Liberal team are speaking up about this and about the need for better public transport for villages, community shopping facilities and arguing. against the closure of local GP surgeries.

Stick with your local liberals which means the Liberal Party independent from Liberal Democrats. Trade Unionist & Socialist Coalition (TUSC) – Michael Hancock

We need an alternative; the capitalist parties are offering little to no solution for the difficulties we face.

Housing – we need much more council housing. Taxpayers pay huge amounts in housing benefits to private landlords for sub-standard housing. With proper housing, people can get on in life and be more productive in communities while also reducing health bills and anti-social behaviour.

Services – paying more and getting less. There is a direct correlation between a rise in billionaires and cuts the rest of us are facing. The people are left to pay the bill again and again as the ruling class sort out their mates and leave us to rot.

TUSC offers an alternative to the one rule for them and one rule for us culture, put an end to divide and rule tactics, racism and scapegoating.

Tweaking the capitalist system with party change has not given results. Green Party and Reform UK

Representatives from the Green Party and Reform UK to take part in this article but have not responded at time of publication.