Peterborough politicians make their pitch for your vote at city council elections

The city council has 60 seats, with the Conservatives currently holding 31 of them.

The Peterborough Telegraph asked the five parties putting up candidates in multiple wards for 250 words on what the biggest issue in Peterborough is, and how their party would fix it.

We also asked parties putting up a single candidate, and the lone independent, if they would like to send in 80 words on the same issue.

Here are the responses.

Nick Sandford - leader of the Lib Dem group

A big issue in the city council elections is undoubtedly lack of trust in politics and politicians. And that disillusionment applies at both the national and the local level.

It’s about the type of councillors we have and how they work with local people.

This coming December the Conservatives will have run Peterborough for 20 years. That is too long for one party to have absolute power, power which is entrenched by the “leader and cabinet” system. We have a diverse and growing city but also one that, under Tory control, is over centralised and where people feel that the council does things to them rather than works for them.

People see a council which spends millions on ripping up and replacing paving slabs in the city centre, whilst neglecting other areas of the city. People see a council that builds on local green spaces against the wishes of local people, yet also fails woefully to provide enough affordable housing for a young and growing population.

Local children are put at risk as the council refuses to introduce 20mph limits to tackle speeding traffic and cuts investment in public transport, leading to even more cars on our roads.

Lib Dems have a candidate in every council ward, so everyone has a chance to vote for a council that does politics differently, empowering all councillors but empowering local people and communities too. See www.peterboroughlibdems.org.uk to find out more about our ideas.

Shaz Nawaz - leader of the Labour group

One of the biggest issues in Peterborough is housing. We are simply not building enough homes to keep up with demand; this has led to a visible increase in rough sleeping on our streets and young people finding it increasingly difficult to afford their first homes.

The Conservative administration has tried to hide some of the problem by shipping people in Travelodges far from our city and at great expense. The way forward is to commit our city to building more: Labour has a fully costed proposal to build 3,000 council-owned homes over the next five years. We want to build homes using modern construction methods such as modular housing; the expertise to do this already exists within our city.

Additionally, we should use our money to support the local economy: we spend far too much on companies which ship their earnings back to their head offices in London and elsewhere Our procurement policies must be focused on supporting local businesses and employment.

This policy has been implemented in other cities including Preston and has improved both public services and bolstered the local economy. When Labour is elected, we will make housing and boosting the city’s economic growth our top priorities.

Julie Howell- Green Party councillor

The greatest issue in Peterborough at the moment is undoubtedly the housing crisis as this has strong links through to employment, education, health and mental wellbeing.

Too many families live under the shadow of potential homelessness. They are unable to plant stable roots for themselves or their families when they don’t know for how long they will be living at their current address.

The Green Party calls for a living rent for all through rent controls and more secure tenancies for private renters, with an end to all letting fees and mandatory licensing for all landlords. We also want a major programme to build affordable, zero carbon homes, including 100,000 social rented homes nationally each year by 2022, a percentage of which could be built in Peterborough. Housing insecurity has a detrimental effect on the educational progress of primary-age children, another problem Peterborough is also presently wrestling with.

I would like to see more people housed in homes that meet their changing needs, for example, as families grow and as people age and become less mobile. Homes should be situated in communities well-served by reliable, affordable public transport with accessible local amenities, such as good quality schools and shops and with transport infrastructure that is safe and which discourages car use while encouraging cycling, walking and use of public transport.

I would also like to see more green spaces protected for local people and wildlife, including allotments that encourage people to grow their own food and compost their food waste.

John Holdich - Conservative leader of the council