1) Reduce deprivation
Manifesto pledges:
· Prevent further unnecessary increases in council tax
· Establish a Poverty Commission for Swindon
· Increase the numbers of jobs paying the Real Living Wage
· Help break the “lowest income, highest cost” trap
2) Remove health inequalities
Manifesto pledges:
· Increase quick access to mental health facilities for young people
· Reintroduce Wardens into residential care homes
· Create a loneliness reduction strategy
· Increase specialist housing for SEND
· Create a homelessness reduction strategy
· Introduce a Renters’ Charter
3) Create a greener, cleaner, safer environment
Manifesto pledges:
· Re-introduce Park & Ride as outlined in the Labour alternative Local Transport Plan
· Ring fence 4% of the highways budget for cycling
· Air pollution monitors outside all schools
· Set up a loan scheme to retrofit houses, creating new green, jobs
· Target deep carbon reductions for Swindon by 2030
· Tackle air pollution by placing monitors on bin lorries
· Increase the number of electric car charging points around Swindon
· As part of our procurement process reform, we will favour local companies with strong green credentials
· Support biodiversity and pollinators in our open spaces through re-wilding schemes
4) Start supporting local businesses and creating local jobs
Manifesto pledges:
· Prioritise local companies for public sector procurement contracts
· Seek to meet the needs of small and medium-sized firms, not just larger ones
· Re-open the Oasis
· Transform the town centre
· Expand access to university level education for Swindon
5) Transform the physical and social landscape of Swindon into a more pleasant place to live
Manifesto pledges:
· Fix all potholes for the long term
· Continue with the Labour group‘s efforts to introduce 20mph speed limits where residents want them
· Convert all damaged grass verges to parking bays where residents want this
· Increase parking and parking enforcement
· Build 1000 affordable homes within 5 years
· Seek to find ways to restore all the historic buildings in Swindon
· Keep Lydiard under council control and invest in Coate Water
· Develop a cultural quarter with a new theatre and art gallery