Cambridge Liberal Democrat Manifesto 1998 Conclusion

In 1998, there is a clear choice between a Labour-run and and a Liberal democrat-run city council. Labour has had two years in office, and in that time has achieved little. It has cut services for the most vulnerable, such as Garden Aid for the elderly, help for the homeless and the Children’s Festival, refused to tackle fundamental problems, such as public transport, and has made council decision-making more secretive. It has cut the Council’s road safety and environmental improvement budgets to nothing and is chipping away at popular and useful services such as the noise call-out service. It has done nothing about everyday concerns such as the state of the pavements, bus shelters and public lavatories. It claims to consult, but ignores what the public says. It has expanded massively what the council spends on public relations in an attempt to cover up its own inadequacies with spin doctoring.

Cambridge deserves better than this. A Liberal Democrat council will take responsibility for public transport in Cambridge. It will improve basic services. It will restore cuts in help for the most vulnerable. It will ensure that traffic and environmental problems are tackled throughout the city, not just in politically-favoured areas. It will restore open government and expand citizens’ democratic rights. It will stand up for those, such as lone parents and students, who are under attack from the New Labour government. And it will rely on a record of solid achievement, not the manipulation of public opinion, to win people to its cause.

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