‘From basket case to better future, thanks to Lib Dems’

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Published: 16 April, 2010

Liberal Democrats are proud of their record and will do more to make Islington fairer, says Terry Stacy

• Without a doubt, Islington will be one of the places to watch on election night. One of its Labour MPs was elected by the skin of her teeth in 2005, and the council is evenly balanced between the LibDems and Labour.
The media often present Islington as nothing more than Upper Street.
Of course, there are parts of Islington that are undoubtedly wealthy and there are great places to eat and go out. But Islington also suffers from some of the highest ­levels of social deprivation in Britain.
On so many issues, the Labour government has let Islington residents down:
• the lack of affordable housing
• youth unemployment
• the proposed closures of the accident and emergency unit at the Whittington ­Hospital, and Finsbury Health Centre
• 12 post offices axed
• civil liberties trampled on and
• the gap between the rich and poor wider than ever.
This is a record to be ashamed of.
Bridget Fox, our parliamentary candidate in Islington South and Finsbury, is fighting day in, day out on these issues. After 13 years in government nationally, there are plenty of reasons not to vote Labour. Even Labour locally pretends Gordon Brown’s government is nothing to do with them.
But Islington’s future is too important to be left to Labour. Their leading lights locally are the same people who nearly bankrupted Islington last time they ran the council. These very same Labour councillors gave us one of the highest council taxes in Britain. The council under Labour was a genuine “Nightmare on Upper Street”. Labour may pretend they’ve changed. But if Tribune readers want a taster of what a Labour council would be like, look at last year when Labour councillors hiked up our council tax by the highest amount in inner London – in the middle of the worst recession in generations.
So why vote Liberal Democrat in Islington? Liberal Democrats have turned Islington Council round from the notorious basket case it was under Labour. But we’re not just fighting on our record. We are campaigning for an even better future for Islington. Our key pledges to residents are to:
• give our young people a fair start with continued improvements in exam results, new school buildings and apprenticeships. We will also give more housing points to our young people to give them a chance to get on the housing ladder.
• make our borough safer by putting more police on the streets at the times they are really needed and cracking down on rowdy bars and clubs across the borough.
• create a fairer, greener Islington with new jobs in local energy generation schemes to reduce fuel bills, record levels of recycling and continuing Liberal Democrat Islington’s trailblazing work reducing carbon emissions.
• keep Islington’s council tax down and among the ­lowest in London.
Anyone who knows me will know my passion for improving housing in the borough. So Liberal Democrats will finish our record investment programme to improve all the council’s estates and street properties as well as our homebuilding programme for local families on the housing list.
Liberal Democrats introduced area committees – in the face of Labour opposition – to take decisions out of the Town Hall. We will hand more power back to our communities by introducing local ward committees with budgets.
And above all, the council needs to step in and take real action on reducing poverty in Islington, something the Labour government has failed us dismally on.
These are the policies that Bridget Fox and the LibDem Team in Islington are fighting for. I am truly proud to have such a diverse and active team of candidates working with us to achieve them.
The Liberal Democrat team looks like Islington and understands Islington’s issues because they are part of our community.
Islington Labour, meanwhile, just wants power for power’s sake. They think it’s their right to run the council and they truly believe that Islington only deserves Labour MPs. Liberal Democrats are working flat out to remind Islington residents just how much we have achieved since we took control of the council and about our plans for the future.
We are often accused of claiming that it’s neck and neck. But here in Islington it really is!
Bridget Fox was just 484 votes behind Labour at the 2005 general election and both the Liberal Democrats and Labour had 23 seats on the council until the sad death of LibDem Cllr Donna Boffa. Understandably, both the parties are fighting tooth and nail in the battle for Islington.
But only the Liberal Democrats have both a good record running the council and the ideas for real change nationally after so many years of Labour letdowns.
• Terry Stacy is the Liberal Democrat leader of Islington Council