THE LEADER of Harlow Labour has slammed Conservatives in Harlow,, Essex and the whole country.

Councillor Chris Vince said: “It is ten months since the Conservative’s took control at Harlow council and residents in Harlow still have nothing to show for it!  They’re only now talking about making good on their election pledge to lower council tax, nearly a year later than promised, and only for a single year and at the expense of the medium and long-term future of the council. 

Meanwhile the Conservative’s at County Hall and Police, Fire Crime Commission’s office are putting up council tax by the maximum, they too have suffered from 12 years of their own Conservative government cutting off huge slices of their budgets and for what?  £3.5bn wasted on a failed track and trace system and millions squandered giving PPE contracts to Matt Hancock’s mates.  No money being spent to support residents in Harlow that’s very clear.

Which leads us on to the national Conservative Party, which are even worse, in the past 12 years they’ve cut Harlow Council’s funding by 70%, threatening the services that Harlow residents rely on.  Perhaps we should count ourselves lucky the local party have nothing to show for their time in office. 

The Conservative Government have plenty to show for it.  A trail of failure, misery and distruction with residents in Harlow paying the price.  Let’s be clear this cost of living crisis has only just started to bite and it is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.  Fuel prices up by an average of £300 a year for Harlow families, the yearly cost of a weekly shop up by nearly £400.  Hard working Harlow families are going to really struggle over the next few years, with many having to decide between heating their homes or feeding their children.  Not a choice anyone wants to make.  

The Conservative government will do everything they can to point the fingers at others, citing the pandemic for the issues in the NHS for example, but they’ve been in government for 12 years now and it’s their political choices that have had the greatest effect.  Their response, raise national insurance, which will hit people far more than any other tax rise.  The Conservative MP for Harlow may now be speaking out against the rise but that’s little comfort to the people of Harlow, afterall he’s part of the government who proposed it.

Meanwhile we’ve seen what 12 years of Conservative austerity politics has had on our communities, over a decades worth of front line police cuts mean crime is going up, in fact its become embedded, people in Harlow don’t feel safe in their own communities.  Meanwhile the NHS now faces record waiting times.  I feel desperately sorry for the staff at Princess Alexandra Hospital who are doing their best in increasingly difficult times, unable to provide the care they want for Harlow’s residents when they need it the most.  Sadly the promises by the Chancellor are going to do little relieve their burden.
However, do we see much concern on the faces of Boris Johnson and his front bench?  They’re only concerned about their own jobs.  Let’s remember that it’s these same senior Conservative politicians who were busy partying while the Queen was mourning the loss of the man she’d been married to for over half a century.  One thing is clear, this Conservative government is not on your side.

If you want to send Boris Johnson and co. a message in May then vote Labour.  Hopefully a poor showing for the Conservatives in May will mean back benchers like Halfon finally do what’s right and give him the boot!

The next Labour government will ensure that we have a progressive tax system where those who can pay a little more do and that no parents have to make the impossible choice of feeding their families or keeping them warm.  We’ll also tax large energy companies, who are still making billions ofpounds profit, but not passing any of that onto savings for customers. 

The next Labour government, and the next Labour led council, will truly be on your side, doing what’s right for the people of Harlow is our number one priority.

Chris Vince