The Conservatives say they would try and prevent "financial incompetence" at Nottingham City Council if they were able to form a strong opposition after May's election. The party has released its manifesto ahead of voters in Nottingham choosing their councillors for the next four years on May 4.
The Conservative manifesto this year is one-and-a-half pages long, in contrast to the 18 pages of policies released in 2019. The party also seems to be fighting the election with the ambition of forming an opposition group, rather than having enough councillors to take control from Labour and lead Nottingham City Council.
That is despite 41 Conservative candidates standing in May, well above the 28 members needed to lead the city council. It is also once again in contrast to the 2019 manifesto, which repeatedly said the Conservatives wanted to lead Nottingham.
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But the first of eight pledges in this year's manifesto instead says the Conservatives will provide a "strong opposition to Nottingham Labour." It says: "Nottingham Conservatives will bring a strong and much-needed opposition to the financially incompetent, secretive and dogmatic Labour-controlled City Council.
"Only the Conservatives can provide the necessary opposition to Labour and we were the first to warn of the financial disaster of Robin Hood Energy. Labour have run up our city's debt to £1.175billion through their incompetence, and we are now paying interest and charges of over £1 million per week on that debt."
Other pledges in the manifesto include voting to limit any more council tax increases, fighting to keep parking permits for Nottingham residents free and championing local community groups so they can take a "much more proactive role in shaping the future of our city."
In terms of Nottingham's economy, the manifesto reads: "Nottingham Conservatives will keep Nottingham open for business by developing a proper plan and taking action to get business and opportunities for jobs and leisure back in our city. The mess of Broadmarsh, the closed Castle and the new Central Library with no books are all testament to Labour's failure."
The manifesto's other three pledges include using Government money "wisely" to fix potholes and deliver road improvements in Nottingham, making sure the council cleans graffiti and clears vandalism and working closely with police to deal with anti-social behaviour.
In this year's elections, Labour will be the only party with a candidate for each of the 55 council seats available. The Conservatives have 41 candidates, the Nottingham Independents have 28 and the Liberal Democrats have 20. Those with a smaller number of candidates include the Green Party with 17, UKIP with two, the Trade Union and Socialist Coalition with one and three independent candidates.
In terms of manifestos from the other parties, Labour launched its own on Friday (April 14), with its document running to 48 pages and featuring 105 pledges. The party's promises included "safeguarding" the city's finances, delivering thousands of jobs and reducing anti-social behaviour.
The Liberal Democrats and the Green Party are set to release their own list of pledges and priorities this week. It is not yet clear when the Nottingham Independents will release their manifesto.
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