Nottingham Labour says it will "safeguard" the city's finances if it retains control of the city council after May's elections, as the party launches its manifesto. With just weeks to go before voters head to the ballot box on May 4 to elect members of Nottingham City Council for the next four years, Labour is currently the only party to have produced a full manifesto of commitments.
Among the 105 pledges made in Labour's manifesto are promises to restore the Old Market Square fountains, reopen Nottingham's caves to the public and fill in 40,000 potholes. The party also says it will clear graffiti from public places within two working days, ensure every Nottingham home has a smoke alarm and provide free sanitary products in its community centres and libraries.
On transport, there is a promise to look at expanding Nottingham's tram network, despite difficulties recently laid out in terms of the finances of that operation. Potential extensions could include taking the network out towards Netherfield and from Phoenix Park out towards the IKEA in Giltbrook.
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One of the manifesto pledges also promises that Labour will "safeguard the city's finances so that the council can continue to deliver high-quality services for Nottingham people." That pledge comes despite huge issues under Labour's leadership of the council, including the collapse of Robin Hood Energy and around £40 million of housing money being misspent.
But Councillor David Mellen, the current Labour Leader of Nottingham City Council, said in relation to those problems: "Robin Hood Energy was set up with all the best intentions to try and protect our people from being exploited by the big six energy companies.
"I used to see people going to the corner shop, paying a huge price to top up their gas or electricity for the morning to make sure their families could have breakfast. In hindsight, and hindsight is a wonderful thing, we weren't equipped and didn't have the staff to do that job as well as we could.
"As soon as I became the leader, we changed the staff to give us a more accurate picture of what was going on and we shut down the company. Now, that has been costly, but all the more reason why we should commit to the people that having financial stability is important."
Other future pledges from Nottingham Labour include opening the Central Library by the end of the year and providing Nottingham residents with free access to Nottingham Castle for at least three days a year. There are also promises to maintain at least 100 playgrounds across Nottingham and to bid for the UK City of Culture by 2030.
Labour's 48-page manifesto was launched at an event held in Nottingham's Antenna building on Friday (April 14). Those speaking at the event included Nottingham's three Labour MPs and Lord Vernon Coaker, who spoke about former Nottingham City Council leader Betty Higgins.
Betty Higgins, who passed away in 2019, led Nottingham City Council on three separate occasions before standing down as a councillor in 2003. Lord Coaker said: "We need to reflect on where we've all come from and a pivotal figure in Nottingham Labour and beyond was Betty Higgins.
"Betty was iconic, the only woman who has led the council, and half of the candidates now are women and that shows the radical nature of the party. Betty will be smiling down on us now and what a manifesto she will be looking at as well."
Since Nottingham City Council became a unitary authority in 1998, controlling all services for Nottingham residents including social care and schools, it has been controlled by Labour. The last time the Conservatives came out of a local election with a majority in Nottingham was in 1987, when the party went on to control the council for 18 months before a by-election saw them back in opposition.
Going into this year's elections, Labour have 50 councillors, the Nottingham Independents have three and the Conservatives have two. But as the only party fielding a candidate for all 55 of the seats available, David Mellen said: "The other parties are not serious in Nottingham, I don't know whether they've given up, it feels like they have. Nottingham Labour will not take any vote for granted and we will fight for every seat."
Other parties, including the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats, are set to launch their own manifestos in the coming days. It is not yet clear when the Nottingham Independents and Conservatives will be publishing one.
The front of Nottingham Labour's manifesto contains its five key pledges which are to help people in Nottingham with the cost of living crisis, provide 1,000 new affordable and social rented homes, keep streets and neighbourhoods clean, become the country's first carbon-neutral city and support 3,000 Nottingham people into work. David Mellen acknowledged that Labour has not gone as far as hoped in terms of delivering its five key pledges from the 2019 manifesto.
Nottingham Labour says anti-social behaviour has reduced by 7.4 percent, when the pledge was to reduce it by a quarter, whilst 9,953 new jobs have been delivered instead of the promised 15,000. But David Mellen said: "We set this manifesto before coronavirus and the cost of living crisis, so it's not surprising that not everything is complete.
"But nearly 10,000 more jobs at a time when business has contracted I think is a significant achievement. To reduce anti-social behaviour overall by 7 percent is remarkable when anti-social behaviour during covid went up, because people were spending much more time at home and in close proximity."
Nottingham South's Labour MP Lilian Greenwood said in a speech at the manifesto launch event: "I've been an MP now for almost 13 years and I have witnessed a Tory government cutting support for our city, hurting our city, damaging our public services and it's hit the most vulnerable the hardest.
"For all his soft words and nice delivery, the Tory Prime Minister now is no different to all the other ones. Working people are paying the price for Tory mistakes and Tory promises."
As well as national leadership, there has been much talk in recent weeks of local leadership after an incumbent Labour councillor, Hassan Ahmed, claimed he was thrown out of the party due to his plan to launch a leadership challenge at Nottingham City Council. Mr Ahmed claimed he was still confident the leadership of the council would be different after May 4.
On that issue, speaking in the event that Labour did return to control the council after the elections, David Mellen added: "Current Councillor Ahmed isn't standing for election in the council, but the decision on who is the leader will be taken by those who are elected as Labour councillors. I don't take that for granted, it's been a privilege and an honour to serve as leader over the last four years.
"It's not been easy, but I will be standing as the leader and that will be a choice of the Labour councillors elected. I don't presume anything."
As well as Labour's 55 candidates, there are 41 Conservative 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.
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