Birmingham Conservatives have launched their manifesto for the forthcoming local elections on Thursday 22 May. This follows on from last weeks unveiling of their six key pledges to local residents.
The Conservative Manifesto aims to put devolution back at the heart of local government. District committees would see their budgets rise by approximately 50% in the first year, with a long term strategy to transfer power and budgets to district committees in the long term.
The manifesto focuses heavily on restoring pride in our great city following two years of a Labour Council that has axed 20% of street cleaning, introduced charges for bulky waste collections and garden waste collections, resulting in our City having bags of rubbish dumped across Birmingham.
A Conservative administration would reintroduce pride in local communities and hold yearly, the long promised, Birmingham History Week to teach future generations about the common bonds that grew our City and led the world during the Industrial Revolution. A Conservative administration would lead a step change in the way Children Services are run, learning the lessons of other local authorities to duplicate successful measures that turn around young peoples lives.
Deputy Leader Cllr Robert Alden (Erdington, Conservative) said at the launch "We are delivering a full manifesto which covers key pledges in different areas all across the Council, focused on ensuring the City Council delivers for hard working Brummies.
"The current Labour Party administration have let Birmingham down, they would rather leave stickers on bags of waste than actually have them cleared up. Our City is a great City, one we should all be proud of, but a Labour Council that leaves litter on the street is letting the side down. When businesses visit the City they will not want to invest in creating more jobs locally if the area is untidy and unloved, our manifesto would change this transforming Birmingham into a City of Pride and Aspiration.
Cllr Robert Alden added "If we win control of the Council this May then our first action will be to scrap the Garden Tax, refund those who have paid and reintroduce free Garden Waste collections to increase recycling levels above and beyond what they where before Labour started charging residents".
Download the Manifesto and six key pledges below