5 Big Questions
What will Liverpool Labour do with my council tax?
Liverpool Labour are committed to keeping your council tax low. Last year we proposed a 0% council tax rise in our budget proposals; this year we pushed through a 0% council tax rise (despite the Lib Dems voting against our plans); and we will continue to keep council tax low next year.
Why can't we build new schools?
Well, we can build new schools, we will build new schools, and we are building new schools.
When Labour was in Government we had announced plans to rebuild all 26 secondary schools in Liverpool, through a huge wave of investment known as Building Schools for the Future.
But one of the first things the Lib Dem / Tory Government did was to cut this £350million scheme, leaving schools crumbling, and school children in the lurch.
Liverpool Labour is committed to rebuilding our crumbling schools. It isn’t good enough that the Lib Dems and the Tories were happy to stand by and watch as these schools crumbled.
So we’ve developed an innovative scheme, where we will still be able to rebuild 8 of the schools which are in the most urgent need.
Despite what the Government have done, Liverpool Labour is fighting back, and winning.
Can’t we get more apprenticeships in the city?
In the last year of the Lib Dem council, Liverpool Council took on just 7 new apprentices.
The Labour Party in Liverpool believes, however, that apprenticeships have the potential to transform the lives of young people. They can provide jobs and employment, as well as equipping tomorrow’s workforce with the skills it needs to drive our economy forwards.
So, in our first year, we delivered 133 new apprenticeships, working with partners to take on young people and to give them a stake in our city.
We’ve since brought that figure up to alost 650.
And we’re committed to taking on hundreds more apprentices in the next 3 years. By the time our current plans are in place, 1,300 new apprentices will be working in Liverpool.
With the Lib Dems joining with the Tories to cut the Educational Maintenance Allowance and slash university places, Labour is the only party which has anything at all to say on providing apprenticeships for young people.
Why does Liverpool have so many boarded up houses?
Under the Lib Dems, there were 23,000 people on the housing waiting list. At the same time, we had 13,000 boarded up homes in the city.
The Lib Dems admitted that they had turned parts of the city into ‘war zones’, such as the Norris Green ‘boot estate’.
For Labour, having a decent home to live in isn’t something that should be kept to a privileged few. It is something to which every single person in Liverpool has a right.
That’s why we have announced plans to build 2,500 new homes in Liverpool over the next three years.
That’s why we’re bringing hundreds of boarded up homes back into use.
That’s why we’re providing help for first time buyers, and why we’re providing money to help people get mortgages.
And that’s why getting rid of the boot estate and replacing it with new affordable homes was Labour’s top priority. It has been bulldozed, and in its place are 200 brand new, affordable homes for families to live in.
The Lib Dems turned parts of our city into War Zones – their words, not ours. We want to make these war zones things of the past. Our top priority is to eradicate the legacy the Lib Dems left, and to provide new homes for people to live in.
What can I do to help Liverpool Labour?
Join us! We are a growing party. Since the 2010 General Election, we have added hundreds of new members to our party across all parts of the city. We campaign regularly in every ward, delivering leaflets and speaking to voters. We hold policy forums throughout the city, giving every member of the Labour Party the chance to feed into the policies of the Labour Party on the city council, as well as the Labour Party nationally. And we meet with our MPs and councillors, to share our views on local, national and international topics.
You can join the Labour Party by visiting www.labour.org.uk/join.