Political Viewpoint by Liberal Democrat Councillor for Leigh - Peter Wexham
by
THE past year has been a dreadful time for everyone and hopefully we can gradually get back to some kind of normality.
The local elections on May 6 are to decide who is to represent the local area on Southend Council – not whether Boris Johnson has done a bad or a good job in these testing times.
Better services for a better future Like you, I want our town - and our country - to come out the other side of the pandemic to build a better future. I want to see the shops open again and people going out in a normal, safe environment.
But we also need more police back on the beat, proper repairs to our roads and pavements, together with essential moves to cut air pollution and build a greener environment - something I have worked for all my life. We need better, properly funded services. But budget cuts and under-funding over the past 10 years have drained the Council, Police Force, the Ambulance service and the hospitals - many working with fewer staff, putting more pressure on those still employed.
Despite facing so many unexpected challenges, hospital and care home staff and others have come through this crisis with shining colours. They deserve our lasting thanks, but that isn’t enough. Much as I wish Southend Council had complete responsibility for all services, there are some outside our control - the number of police, for example.
This is managed by the Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner, a Conservative at the time of writing. Police numbers in Essex (including Southend) have been CUT by over 300 officers since 2010. There has been money in the Council’s budget since last year to assist with local Policing and we wait for the police to decide how best this should be used.
The Joint Administration running Southend, where the Liberal Democrats are working with the Independents and Labour, is getting things done. We have CCTV cameras on order for The Broadway, Library Gardens and Old Leigh High Street and not before time; they were promised by the Conservatives four years ago!
There are temporary cameras in the Old Town with permanent installations coming for the summer and we have also established a new frontline base at the Heritage Centre for Community Safety Officers and Police on patrol. This will be a deterrent against anti-social behaviour, with groups getting together to converge on the Old Town and the Library Gardens.
At times residents have felt under attack and we all hope there will be no repeat of recent tragic events with officers on the spot and able to respond and obtain evidence to back them up.
We also have a better, properly funded plan to resurface and repair our roads and pavements instead of years of neglect or shoddy maintenance under the Conservatives.
Falls on badly maintained pavements have real costs for the NHS and for those injured; some older people never get over a fall.
Leigh – or Shoebury? I’m continuing to work on giving the Old Town a future with our cockle and fishing industry. EU fisheries grants are no more, and we are waiting to see what the Government criteria will be for grant money to rejuvenate fishing ports and harbours to bring jobs back to the industries.
Certain Leigh Conservatives want to divert any money towards the development of a fancy, posh new Marina in Shoebury for both ocean-going yachts and commercial fishing boats - they are also reported to be looking for money from Qatar.
This hasn’t met with much welcome in Shoebury, but if it happens Leigh could lose a thousand years of tradition and a great industry from the Old Town.
Key members of the Council’s Joint Administration, including your Lib Dem councillors are actively talking to potential funders about improving the fishing facilities at Leigh Port. This is not pie in the sky like the Marina, which could jeopardise those discussions. It’s really surprising to see local Leigh Conservatives involved in something of detriment to their own area. Just whose side are they on.
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