Following the hustings in Great Preston, the views of the Independent, Labour and Conservative candidates for the Garforth and Swillington ward have become clearer. Some of the candidates have illustrated some of their views on social media, too.
The current incumbent, Mark Dobson, representing the Independents, believes in leveraging local knowledge to aid the area. The topics that have been spoken about most by him in the hustings include advocating for reducing council tax for the citizen, helping to reduce large housing developments built on greenfield land, and calling for children’s centres nearby to be re-opened. He is critical of the mayoral model.
The Labour candidate, David Nagle, believes in more community policing and more council housing (especially social housing) being built nearby, with at least 15% being social housing. The issues that are important to him include more funding for local transport, supporting higher-paid home care for the elderly and more money for care home workers. He says that Labour has been struggling financially from austerity inflicted by the Conservative Party’s time in government, therefore the Council budget is strained.
The Conservative candidate, Peter Bentley, believes that people nearby need to be listened to and their needs considered. The issues that are important to him include local policing and tackling antisocial behaviour, and encouraging development money to be spent on local infrastructure. He put an emphasis on seeing local issues as a case by case thing and handling specific policies as they become important.
The Reform, Green and Liberal Democrat candidates did not attend the hustings, but from social media we can see some of their advertised priorities.
The Reform UK candidate, David Butterfield, seems to believe that streets nearby need to be fixed and be made cleaner and safer. He also prioritises the issues of utilising West Yorkshire Police to tackle antisocial behaviour, use funding for disadvantaged children and improving road infrastructure.
The Green Party candidate, AJ Bull, doesn’t list any specific areas of policy, but part of his statement reads as such- ‘Being a councillor is an opportunity for me to help improve and give back to this wonderful city which has given me so much. I love Leeds, and it would be a true honour to work for and represent the people of Garforth and Swillington.’
The Liberal Democrats candidate, Rebecca Cecilia Phillips, did not show up to the hustings and does not seem to have any social media presence.
The upcoming elections are on May 7th! Make sure that you are registered to vote 🙂
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