SOLIHULL’S Liberal Democrats have launched their manifesto for council elections next month with the promise of pushing for affordable houses, keep services at Solihull Hospital thriving and fighting for better funding deals for the borough.
The Lib Dems have set out their vision for the borough ahead of polling day on May 2.
We will bring you other parties’ manifestos pledges in the coming weeks.
The Lib Dems say Solihull must play its part in building houses to meet local needs.
The manifesto says: “We’ll push for affordable housing for first-time buyers, plus social housing. For areas facing large-scale development pressurising local services, more consideration must be given to impact on schools, GPs, parking, shops, open spaces and roads.”
On the NHS the Liberal Democrats want to keep services at Solihull Hospital rather than running it down.
They will also push for better coordination between social services and the NHS to reduce bed-blocking.
The group say: “Prevention is better than cure, so we oppose cuts in Council funding to local organisations and charities which help prevent illness, keeping people out of hospital. Such cuts are short-sighted.”
They will also campaign for more support for the volunteer carers across the borough.
The Lib Dems say children are waiting too long for mental health assessments and youth services are urgently needed.
They are pledging to ‘fight unfair allocation of council funds, wherever we find it’ as the party wants a ‘fair, free and open society – balancing liberty, equality and community – so no-one is enslaved by poverty, ignorance or prejudice.’
The party claims Solihull is ranked sixth worst for robberies out of the 36 national Metropolitan Councils and say it is due to funding cuts.
It says it will fight for better policing, focused on community.
It also claims to want a better education funding deal for the schools in the borough.
On climate change the group says: “Councils must contribute to fighting climate change.
“Solihull should lead the way.
“The Council disposes of millions of single-use plastic items annually, meaning you foot the bill in Council Tax. We can’t recycle our way out, we need to use less plastic.
“We must promote public transport, not by penalising drivers but by making buses and trains easier and cheaper. Repeated bus service reductions have brought more cars to already congested roads.”
