Regular readers may note something new at the bottom of this page. It's known as an 'imprint' and it's a legal requirement for all election candidates to carry. Everything I write and distribute between now and May 3rd is technically published and promoted by my electoral agent, Gwyneth Marsden. If I don't carry the imprint, one or both of us could end up in prison! The only complaint from Gwyneth, who is also agent to two other candidates, is that it looks as though we all live in the same house!
I'm standing for election to Monmouthshire County Council, as the Labour candidate in the Wyesham Ward. So why am I standing? Well, for the last 8 years, Monmouthshire has had a Conservative authority and it shows. Problems are mounting up and priorities are all wrong. Last year the Tories managed to bank £1.5 million in surplus yet cut services to the most vulnerable in our society. Something has to change.
Unemployment is rising, particularly among women, yet the Tories attitude is to close their eyes and pretend it is not happening. We need to support small and medium businesses, the type of business that will engineer economic growth. How? Well, we can make a start by letting them use the council website to advertise job vacancies, saving them a lot of money. Better still, lets have a section where people looking for jobs can upload their cv's, creating an instant skills match. We currently have to wade through pages and pages of self-congratulatory PR before we get to anything useful on the site.
I want to see a local 'kitemark' for businesses, rewarding those who help the local community, have good employee relations and reach their recycling rates. These businesses should be rewarded by being allowed to use council sites for free advertising, be invited to showcase at public functions and helped to reach their target audiences. At the moment, unscrupulous companies fly post and nothing is done about it. Why are our good companies being put at a disadvantage?
Monmouthshire has one of the worst records for paying it's bills. This acts as a death sentence to some small scale suppliers. Labour will guarantee all bills are paid within 30 working days.
The Conservatives are letting pensioners down hugely. My last blog spoke of the appalling way they have been forced to pay for the tax cut to millionaires. Simple things can make lives a lot better. Labour in the Welsh Assembly is working with Age Cymru to enable businesses to open their toilet facilities for senior citizens use. There has been no movement on this in Monmouth. I aim to persuade EVERY pub and cafe in town to display a sign welcoming older people to use their facilities. Simple things to make people's lives easier.
Monmouthshire's secondary schools have been allowed to slip down the Welsh league tables, despite having some of the most talented teachers and students in the country. The news drew a stunningly flippant and complacent response from the Councillor responsible for schools. This reprehensible situation needs to change. The £1.5 million surplus that the council banked last year should be put to use repairing our battered school buildings and employ more Learning Mentors and Teaching Assistants, taking the pressure off teachers and giving our children more one-to-one support.
As a rural county, Monmouthshire has transport issues. The night-time economy suffers greatly from the lack of public transport between the towns. I want to look at new ways of funding buses, to encourage people to travel between the likes of Chepstow, Monmouth and Abergavenny, bringing extra custom to pubs, restaurants and theatres. A night bus service will cut the temptation to drink and drive and end the ridiculous situation of no evening public transport.
Under the Conservatives, Monmouthshire has sunk to second bottom of the league for Council Tax collection. Honest families who work hard and pay their bills are being forced to watch others get away with it because of the Tories shocking level of incompetence. Under Labour, this will change. No longer will people have to see their services suffer because of this poor leadership. The 'Can't Collect, Won't Pay' days will be over.
Monmouth is a county with massive potential, currently being let down by its leadership. After eight years, all the Conservatives can boast is that Council Tax will not rise this year. It's time for a change.
liamstubbslabour@hotmail.co.uk
Twitter - @LiamStubbs
Facebook - Liam Stubbs Labour
Published and Promoted by Gwyneth Marsden on behalf of Liam Stubbs, both at 37 Elstob Way, Monmouth, NP25 5ET
I'm standing for election to Monmouthshire County Council, as the Labour candidate in the Wyesham Ward. So why am I standing? Well, for the last 8 years, Monmouthshire has had a Conservative authority and it shows. Problems are mounting up and priorities are all wrong. Last year the Tories managed to bank £1.5 million in surplus yet cut services to the most vulnerable in our society. Something has to change.
Unemployment is rising, particularly among women, yet the Tories attitude is to close their eyes and pretend it is not happening. We need to support small and medium businesses, the type of business that will engineer economic growth. How? Well, we can make a start by letting them use the council website to advertise job vacancies, saving them a lot of money. Better still, lets have a section where people looking for jobs can upload their cv's, creating an instant skills match. We currently have to wade through pages and pages of self-congratulatory PR before we get to anything useful on the site.
I want to see a local 'kitemark' for businesses, rewarding those who help the local community, have good employee relations and reach their recycling rates. These businesses should be rewarded by being allowed to use council sites for free advertising, be invited to showcase at public functions and helped to reach their target audiences. At the moment, unscrupulous companies fly post and nothing is done about it. Why are our good companies being put at a disadvantage?
Monmouthshire has one of the worst records for paying it's bills. This acts as a death sentence to some small scale suppliers. Labour will guarantee all bills are paid within 30 working days.
The Conservatives are letting pensioners down hugely. My last blog spoke of the appalling way they have been forced to pay for the tax cut to millionaires. Simple things can make lives a lot better. Labour in the Welsh Assembly is working with Age Cymru to enable businesses to open their toilet facilities for senior citizens use. There has been no movement on this in Monmouth. I aim to persuade EVERY pub and cafe in town to display a sign welcoming older people to use their facilities. Simple things to make people's lives easier.
Monmouthshire's secondary schools have been allowed to slip down the Welsh league tables, despite having some of the most talented teachers and students in the country. The news drew a stunningly flippant and complacent response from the Councillor responsible for schools. This reprehensible situation needs to change. The £1.5 million surplus that the council banked last year should be put to use repairing our battered school buildings and employ more Learning Mentors and Teaching Assistants, taking the pressure off teachers and giving our children more one-to-one support.
As a rural county, Monmouthshire has transport issues. The night-time economy suffers greatly from the lack of public transport between the towns. I want to look at new ways of funding buses, to encourage people to travel between the likes of Chepstow, Monmouth and Abergavenny, bringing extra custom to pubs, restaurants and theatres. A night bus service will cut the temptation to drink and drive and end the ridiculous situation of no evening public transport.
Under the Conservatives, Monmouthshire has sunk to second bottom of the league for Council Tax collection. Honest families who work hard and pay their bills are being forced to watch others get away with it because of the Tories shocking level of incompetence. Under Labour, this will change. No longer will people have to see their services suffer because of this poor leadership. The 'Can't Collect, Won't Pay' days will be over.
Monmouth is a county with massive potential, currently being let down by its leadership. After eight years, all the Conservatives can boast is that Council Tax will not rise this year. It's time for a change.
liamstubbslabour@hotmail.co.uk
Twitter - @LiamStubbs
Facebook - Liam Stubbs Labour
Published and Promoted by Gwyneth Marsden on behalf of Liam Stubbs, both at 37 Elstob Way, Monmouth, NP25 5ET
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