Local Elections 2023: Lincoln party leaders’ promises

Local elections are due to take place across Lincolnshire on May 4 and will see all the district councils along with North and North East Lincolnshire holding a vote.

The City of Lincoln council will be putting a third of its 33 seats up for grabs – one seat for each ward.

The council is currently made up of 22 Labour, nine Conservatives and two Liberal Democrats.

For the full list of candidates, click here.

The vote will decide the fate of 10 Labour seats and one Conservative meaning that potentially, if the Tories took seven seats from Labour, they could take control of the authority.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives don’t stand to lose much, with just one seat to defend, although it belongs to the group’s leader.

The Liberal Democrats could be looking to monopolise Abbey ward after success in previous years.

We asked party and group leaders what they would deliver if elected. Here’s what they had to say.

Conservatives – Tom Dyer

Local elections are your chance to have your say on essential local issues. Labour have run the city council for over a decade and what is their record? A scrapped Christmas Market, overpriced parking charges, inflated management, delays to resolve the most basic housing issues, a failure to tackle fly-tipping and a culture of complacency.

This May, you have the opportunity to elect a new dynamic council made up of talented people from a mix of backgrounds and age groups. The Conservative party locally offer you the only realistic choice to remove Labour from office.

A Conservative-run city council would offer the following:

• To reinstate the Christmas Market.
• Freezing the council’s parking charges.
• Improving local infrastructure with more seating, trees and biodiversity.
• Tackle Fly-Tipping, Littering and Anti-social behaviour with increased fines and enforcement.

This year you have a simple choice in Lincoln – stale and defeatist policies from Labour or a fresh vision for our great city.

Green – Sally Horscroft

As other local authorities have discovered, having a Green in the room makes a difference.

As a small group, or even a lone voice, we will constantly remind other parties of what needs to be done to make our city happier, healthier and more sustainable.

Of immediate concern to residents and business is the cost of living crisis – high inflation and extortionate energy bills but climate change is serious and coming our way very soon.

The City of Lincoln Council has recognised that there is a climate emergency but shows little sign of changing its ways.

Cycle and walking routes and good public transport should be integral to any new development.

Lincoln is in danger of becoming an anonymous city, with chain stores squeezing out independent shops and boarded up shops making our city centre unappealing.

The environment is bleak with few trees and little green space for socialising. With tough times for business, the Council must make the local economy more resilient.

Labour – Ric Metcalfe

Labour has a very good track record of achievement in running the City Council.

We will be continuing to work hard to support people through the cost of living crisis, whilst looking in the longer term to increase opportunities for more and better paid jobs in the City.

We continue to build more council homes to rent to help people desperately seeking affordable homes, with a further 42 new homes at Rookery Lane just ready for occupation.

We will continue to invest in our parks and open spaces with more investment planned  and linked to a new programme for helping people with their physical and mental health

We are strongly committed to playing our part to stop global warming and have made very significant progress in getting the City Council carbon footprint reduced and influencing others to do the same. This work will continue with a real sense of urgency.

Liberal Democrats – Clare Smalley

Local elections are about what happens on your doorstep. It’s about public services and who will stand up for you.

It’s also a chance to send a message to the Conservative Government and their shambolic trashing of the economy and public services – but voting Labour would just mean more of the same in Lincoln.

Labour’s record speaks for itself. Christmas market cancelled without consultation, bus shelters axed, hundreds of damp homes needing mould treatment.

Residents are telling us on doorsteps that Lincoln needs some TLC. From street cleaning to housing repairs, play areas to bus shelters.

The Liberal Democrats are listening to residents and working hard to tackle local issues. During budget discussions, Lib Dem councillors proposed a bus shelter improvement fund and a fund to develop local communities – sadly Labour voted against them.

Voting Liberal Democrat is a vote for hard working councillors that will take action to protect frontline services and invest in communities. Together we can take Lincoln forward.

Liberal Party – Charles Shaw

The Liberal Party is committed to an empowered Lincoln.

The interests of Lincoln will be best served by an enhanced Lincoln City Unitary Authority free of the shackles of the County Council.

Improvement to the misplaced badly signed temporary parking restrictions in parts of the city and and the constant drain flooding.

Preserve The Commons but ensure that they are looked after properly.

Waste and litter in the city are worrying, as is the unnecessary cutting down of trees in many of your tree-lined streets.

In all this we need to preserve the environment and history of our great City whilst moving forward.

Trade Union and Socialist Coalition – Nick Parker

On Thursday 4th May, over 5,000 voters in Carholme ward have the opportunity to vote TUSC.

TUSC believes that we face many challenges including the cost of living, housing and climate crisis, and threats of cuts to our jobs and services.

Blame for all this lies with the main capitalist parties – whichever colour their rosette – and the capitalist system that they support.

If elected, I’d be a socialist voice in the council chamber against cuts and privatisation, for investment in jobs, homes and services, and to support workers’ campaigns.

Like many of you, I support NHS workers, teachers, uni staff, posties, rail workers and civil servants striking to defend their living standards, jobs and services. I’ve proudly supported trade union picket lines and rallies.

Take the fight from the picket line to the ballot box, and send a message against cuts, the cost of living, climate crisis and capitalism.

Vote TUSC.