Go for Gold - Manifesto 2000

A programme for improving Cambridge

A New Broom for Cambridge

We cannot offer a magic wand, but a new broom means new choices and we want you to help to make them. Given a mandate to run the City Council, the Liberal Democrats will begin on Day 1 Emergency Action to make an immediate and visible difference to our city.

With your involvement we will set a New Direction for Cambridge with imaginative policies aimed at better basic services for all of us.

Democracy means Power for People. We will make the Council more open and welcoming to the public and we will devolve real powers to the neighbourhood level, because You Pay and You Matter.

Read this programme and if you share our vision of what our city could become, and are fed up with the neglect it has suffered under years of Labour, support the Liberal Democrats in May's City Council elections and give us your authority to make this vision a reality.

First things first...emergency action

On Day 1 we will begin a programme consisting of:

A New Direction for Cambridge

Thereafter we will set new priorities for Cambridge:

Power for People

First things first...emergency action

On Day 1 we will begin this programme:

Clean up Cambridge

Time after time people complain to their local councillors, or write to the newspaper, or just quietly despair about the shabby state of our streets and public places. In any city, let alone a great one like Cambridge, this is just not good enough and we are determined to put it right, and quickly. Our programme of urgent action will mean we can all enjoy being out and about in our city.

We will therefore employ more resources to improve performance on:

Better bus services

The poor bus service in Cambridge is a joke to people who don't need it, but it is no laughing matter for those who use it, or would like to. A bad service deters people from using buses, and this situation cannot be allowed to go on. The City has as yet unused powers to subsidise bus services and we will use these to introduce: We will also:

Down your Street

We will divert money to make our streets and homes safer and better places to be:

Free Swimming

Swimming for children is vital for fitness, safety and fun and we will introduce:

Where will the money come from?

We can and will make money immediately available to fund this emergency action:

A New Direction for Cambridge

Even with finances that are inevitably limited, we can set new priorities for Cambridge. Your involvement will help us make sound choices.

Action on basic services

We believe that providing first-rate basic services is the key job of the Council. We will certainly encourage ambitious private and voluntary sector projects for shopping and leisure where we think these are desirable, but we will concentrate our spending on improving fundamental services, in a way that is fair to all citizens.

By shifting resources and priorities away from gimmick policies and unnecessary bureaucracy into the front line, we will deliver much needed action:

Action on Transport

Traffic congestion is so bad in and around Cambridge now that it is essential to provide realistic alternatives to the private car. Our approach is to work for improvements in all these alternative methods of transport - buses, trains, taxis, cycling, and walking, so that people will need to make fewer journeys by car. Only if there is a reasonable alternative is it acceptable to penalise the car driver. Likewise, we need policies which bring fewer large lorries into the city. Our strategy will be in line with this approach:

Action on the Environment

Apart from action on transport and basic services, we are determined to protect and enhance the environment of our city into the future. Some more radical ideas will be pursued, as well as the more mundane.

Action for the community

As Liberal Democrats we are fundamentally committed to the needs and aspirations of local communities. We want people to feel in control of their community life, so that they are encouraged to be active and responsible citizens. The Council's job is to provide the wherewithal, not to interfere with the choices of local communities, and our policies will reflect this.

Action on housing

Since privately owned or rented homes are beyond the reach of many people in Cambridge, the Council plays a crucial role in providing affordable homes, both directly and through working with housing associations, but its work is hamstrung by lack of government support. We will take action to:

Action for the City's future

Change is inevitable and welcome if it is well planned and managed. But Cambridge has many great qualities which we are determined to see preserved for future generations. Our policies will be shaped by this approach. Full public involvement in this process will be a central principle.

Where will the money come from?

However much other parties may protest to the contrary, it is possible to make choices about spending, and a Liberal Democrat Council can afford to carry out its policies - some immediately, some in the next two or three years, some in the longer term.

Here's how.

Shifting resources

The Council's total expenditure is around £60 million per year. Around 70% is committed in the long term, but this leaves around £20 million per year over which the Council can exercise some discretion. We estimate that around £4 million per year can be considered as 'available' for shifts in short and medium term spending.

Reducing waste

Increasing expenditure on one thing can mean reducing it on another, and spending cuts will never be popular with everyone. But we will make cuts where we judge that money is being poorly spent and could be better directed elsewhere.

Reducing budget surpluses

In addition, the Council holds reserves which have under Labour become unnecessarily large (around £5 million). Of course, prudence is needed, but we believe that Council tax payers want as much of their money as possible spent on services and not stuck in the bank.

Our tax policy

Subject to central government tax policies, we pledge that we will raise levels of Council Tax ONLY if we are sure that money for vital services cannot be found from existing funds. We will reduce tax provided this will not compromise our ability to deliver services.

Power for People: the challenge for democracy

The Liberal Democrats are worried about the declining turnout of voters in local elections, and we want to reverse this trend. We believe this has happened because people often feel their opinions are disregarded, they feel powerless to make themselves heard, and they are confused about what goes on in the Council. Sometimes they feel that the Council treats them in a patronising or manipulative way. As a result they feel frustrated and alienated from the whole local government process.

We want people to have more real power to make decisions: we believe that if people feel part of the decision-making process, they will be more likely to use their votes and get involved in contributing their ideas and their expertise. We aim to make people feel interested, curious, hopeful, confident, excited and determined about what the Council does on their behalf.

To help with this, we will take action to:


Published by Keith Edkins on behalf of Cambridge Liberal Democrats © March 2000
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