Interview: Harlow Labour leader taking campaign to the doorsteps
Elections / Sat 16th Apr 2022 at 02:08pm
THIS was supposed to be a short “as we were passing” interview with the leader fo the Harlow Labour group, cllr Chris Vince.
But instead it was close to a quarter of an hour.
In that time, we discussed the issues that he and his fellow campaigners had been discussing on the doorstep.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the cost of living crisis, the local Tories record over the past year and lots more.
We also wanted to ascertain if Labour had a vision for the future of the town.
From Tuesday, we will be getting around the wards and be speaking to a number of candidates in Harlow.
Marie Compton
2022-04-16 17:16:24
Come on Mr Vince, you were in power for 10 years and had potholes throughout. As for the ‘party gate’ incident that occurred over 2 years ago, Harlow Council will do nothing about. Michael Casey is right. You have no vision whatsoever for the town. You never have. You waffle on, making it up as you go. It is absolute nonsense. Harlow needs the new administration to deliver on its programme. Your Labour administration let the town down badly for decade. Harlow cannot afford a return to Labour incompetence, tax increases and waste. You are whinging about issues over which you have no influence. As for regeneration you did absolutely nothing. The Conservatives have made more progress in a year than your shower in a decade.
Dave
2022-04-16 17:31:39
Marie as you know they were not in charge of potholes the conservative county council were and always have been. Party gate is likely the first of many incidents while the government locked at us home they were partying through the pandemic, not to mention they broke the laws they made and lied. The majority of all tax increases during labours time running Harlow council were made by the conservative county council not the local council, someone is ignoring the facts. The conservatives who want to pave over the story have done little over the last year and block anyone who asks a question.
Marie Compton
2022-04-16 18:00:33
Dave, check the Council website. Labour increased the taxes by the maximum permitted each year for the Harlow portion, which the Conservatives have cut frozen until 2024. These are facts. Furthermore, Partygate pales into insignificance when compared with Labour Blair’s blatant lies to Parliament and the nation to lead us into a bloody, useless war in Iraq resulting in hundreds of thousands of casualties. He has never answered for that, which is truly shameful.
gary roberts
2022-04-16 18:11:52
Mr. Vince, I hear a lot from local councillors' about listening to residents: so listen to this again [you heard it in the chamber on the night] and then commit to delivering it. Not just to the Potter Street area but to the town in general. It calls for radical change and total commitment. If not then expect a poor turnout and an even poorer result for the Labour party and politics in general in this town and the country. https://www.yourharlow.com/2022/02/06/potter-street-resident-wants-to-see-return-of-community-services-to-area/
Dave
2022-04-16 18:49:06
Marie, I am sure you can post a link to the evidence as I cannot find it. Harlow takes in 15% of the overall taxes which they increased by 2% the county increased theirs by 5% on the 70% of the taxes they take so the conservatives increase taxes for more, happy to see the evidence if you have any. A local freeze using the towns reserves isn’t smart and the county council will still increase their part by 4-5%, facts. Boris Johnson voted for the Iraq war so blood on both their hands. I’m not a fan of either of them the truth should be used in politics as in life, no half truths or attempts to mislead
Nick
2022-04-16 22:54:54
Dave, based purely on Harlow Council data excluding the essex and police and fire elements which Harlow only collects on behalf of the others, since 1996/7 Harlow's element of the council tax has increased by 59.97% in real terms, that is an increase since 1997 of £957.32 at Band C. during that period labour were in control or in coalition with the Lib Dems a total of 18 years of that they increased CT 16 times, cut it once (1997) and froze it once (2001) Conservatives were in control or coalition with the Lib Dems a total of 6 years of that they froze it 4 times cut it once (2004) and increased it once (2010) because the budget had been set by the Lib/Lab coalition and it would have cost more to change that (similar to the situation they found themselves in last May) The full data set is available in the link below (an independent survey of all councils by the Taxpayers Alliance) https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/taxpayersalliance/pages/9325/attachments/original/1515684647/Twenty_Years_of_Council_Tax.xlsx?1515684647 The evidence is very clear if you strip away the smokescreen about the elements that are purely collected by Harlow Council, that Harlow's Labour administration costs all of the council tax payers in Harlow a great deal year on year compared to the Conservative administration who either froze or cut council tax when they were in control of the Council.
Michael Hatton
2022-04-17 05:55:31
Some interesting facts outlining the absolute waffle, and misleading rubbish from the ' foot in mouth ' candidate from the Momentum leader in Harlow. I noticed that Ms Asghari doesn't think that local elections are worth standing for, bigger fish to fry, perhaps ? Mr Vince really isn't up to the job and is a poor example as a leader, every time he expounds his theories about the political scene he really does put both feet in the proverbial. So folks, if you want chaos for a neighbour,. vote labour.
Dave
2022-04-17 06:11:57
Nick, your table does show an increase but the sheet you have selected shows increases wrapped up with the county increases so you need to break that down into who increased it when and by how much. It also shows that overall conservative councils have raised taxes much more, Epping (70%) hambleton (97%) Runnymede (107%) all much higher rises than ours. The slide you are looking at is by area when the county council part is removed it shows a 12% real terms increase from Harlow council and a 62% real terms increase from Essex county council over that period, the conservatives have been in charge of the county council since 1998 so have increased these costs. I think it’s you who are using the smoke screen. I don’t care for either party but the facts speak for themselves.
Connie
2022-04-17 06:27:35
Dave, in this year’s budget, the Conservatives showed clearly that the Council had accumulated excess reserves over a number of years, notwithstanding Covid. They should that they could cut the Harlow Tax element with no threat to services. It is not up to them to do this arbitrarily as it must be signed off as secure by the Council’s Section 151 Chief Financial Officer ( as was the case). Recent claims by Labour in their pathetic rag, ‘Harlow Rose’ that the Tories have left a hole of £900+k in Harlow’s finances is a blatant lie. If a Council accumulates excessive reserves, it is either taxing residents too much or not investing/spending enough on services. In Labour’s case, it was clearly both. Vince and his Momentum buddies are unfit to run Harlow.
Nostradamus
2022-04-17 07:23:55
Ya Boo, Ya Boo, taxes are basically good. How else can services be maintained and improved? What Councils need to be judged upon are outcomes and consequences. Conservatives want to build a mini city: trash the Stort River Valley, create a green desert, destroy ancient oak trees and habitats, create congestion with a badly thought out transport scheme, build 3 x 20 story high rise future slum blocks in the middle of town, increase the frequency of flooding homes and sewage discharges. build a hospital out of town on land they haven't secured and are in process of build grid locking road developments, in short totally destroying the town to line the pockets of their donors : property developers whilst managing to build 10000 homes in East Herts. Not a set of actions and outcomes to which anyone who understands the brilliant visions upon which the town was built, give their vote. Let the other parties address these issues.
Silvia Martin
2022-04-17 07:56:31
Taxes are good if they are well spent/invested in services and actions that people support, otherwise they are theft. Every penny of tax should be accounted for. Good Government rests on the principle of consent. As for the HGGT project, this was a Harlow Labour project since 2017 and confirmed in their December 2020 Town Plan. If you have such genuine strong feelings on this, as appears to be the case, then you might consider the Green Party. I think both Labour and Conservatives are tainted by this project. I am between Green or not even voting.
novoman
2022-04-17 10:12:16
Totally disappointing that Labour is not disowning itself with strategies it got wrong in the past and that Torys support. eg destruction of the Stort river Valley and the hospital for instance. The current site has sufficient space to expand especially upwards. This could start tomorrow rather than pie in the sky plans for an out of town site on land not yet secured. The town centre plan is a recipe for disaster : a plague on both your houses. What are the Lib Dems or the Greens doing? Looking forward to hearing their responses on YH.
Nicholas Taylor
2022-04-17 11:23:57
Nostradamus never posted a truer statement that 'Council's should be judged upon outcomes and consequences'. Both Political Parties both nationally and locally are collectively at fault for where we find ourselves now. The destruction of the Green Belt in the rush to satisfy the shareholders of house building firms, the failure to best use existing resources whether it be land or existing homes and condemning other countries who destroy the environment when we as a country are doing just the same, it goes on and on. Much has been said by certain posters here, about Labour's Local Plan. The fact is, the Tory Party did not raise any objections about the Plan when it really mattered, that is, when the Government appointed Planning Inspector was tasked with reviewing and commenting on the Plan. Only the Harlow Alliance Party did so, we attended all of the public examination sessions and argued that some green spaces should not be built on, the Planning Inspector agreed with us, which saw 6 sites earmarked for development taken out of the Plan.
Mark Spencer
2022-04-17 13:12:54
Harlow Labour has nothing to offer. The two p They were in power for a decade until last year and did nothing. The two party system is seriously broken. Local government needs to focus on local issues, not the constant two party circus. I urge people to look to the Green Party as an alternative. They can’t possibly be worse!
Susan Collins
2022-04-18 13:03:53
I have received and read the Labour paper, “Harlow Rose”, apart from the numerous grammatical errors, it is devoid of any concrete proposals. As a standing Labour voter, I am very disappointed that Chris Vince appears to offer no plans or ideas. I was tempted not to vote, but have decided to give my vote to the Green Party.
Lisa Fenton
2022-04-19 05:27:10
Mr Vince, you are just so out of touch. You and Harlow Labour failed for many years and nothing has changed. You are no match for the Conservatives. The only viable alternative is the Green Party. I wish them every success in May.
Geoff Pritchard
2022-04-19 07:30:22
Some comments above are a little harsh. However, the fact remains that Labour has not excelled in the many years they were in administration and in opposition have no clear plan or policies for the town. I can no longer vote for them with any conviction. I am very pleased we have a strong Green Party presence. I am optimistic that many discontented voters across the spectrum will give them support.
John Carling
2022-04-19 11:52:01
As a disillusioned Labour voter, I am frustrated with the friction within the Party: Starmer v the Corbynists. A divided party is never a viable prospect. I have I would not vote Tory, but am happy to support the Green Party this time. Our local politics has become stale.
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