Medway Labour Councillors attended the Labour Party Conference last weekend, where Labour’s innovative plans for Britain’s future were announced.

Cllr Vince Maple, Councillor of Chatham Central and Leader of the Medway Labour Group said, ‘After an inspirational Labour Party Conference in Liverpool last week it’s clear that Jeremy Corbyn is the Prime Minister in waiting. The Tories are out of ideas while attempting to prop up a broken system that benefits only the few. This Conservative government have failed on too many counts; from their disastrous Universal Credit scheme to their cuts to school and police funding, their underfunding of the NHS and social care to their failure to invest in affordable housing. The Tories are paralysed by infighting whilst their draconian austerity programme is starving the country and failing millions of people, particularly in deindustrialised towns such as Medway.

‘Labour will rebuild Britain with publically owned water and rail services; with proper funding for the NHS so that services like our local GP surgeries can remain open; and with sufficient funding for schools and childcare so that the opportunity for the best start in life is available to all children. Labour’s green revolution will create high-skill, high-wage jobs which will help to revive our communities and improve our infrastructure. Labour will also invest in communities by undertaking the biggest housebuilding programme in 30 years, and by employing extra police officers to bring security back to our neighbourhoods. Only Labour are committed rebuilding our industry, our economy, and our communities. Only Labour will invest in our public services and will rebuild the country for people, not profit.’

Cllr Teresa Murray, Councillor for Rochester East and Medway Labour Spokesperson for Health said, ‘Despite the fact that working hours in the UK are increasing productivity has nosedived and pay has fallen in real terms, all of which is having a negative impact on economic growth. In response to this the Labour Party have announced a radical new “inclusive ownership fund” policy, in which large organisations would have to put 1% of their shares into the fund every year. This is an excellent way to engage the workforce and encourage economic growth as well as cultivate an inclusive corporate culture through employee ownership of private companies. This includes giving workers a financial stake in their employers and having a larger say in how companies are run, which encourages productivity, transparency, and long-term thinking.

‘The UK is becoming an increasingly unequal society, with a very high level of income inequality in comparison to other developed countries, and this scheme will help to redress this imbalance. Current corporate governance structures prioritise short term profit maximisation and rent-seeking, exactly the type of behaviour that contributed to the 2008 global financial crisis. Creating working environments which are accountable to those relied upon to produce profits will result in more ethical and resilient companies that have a vested interest in their employees, not just their bottom line. This project, which is already popular in countries like Germany, will put power into the hands of workers by rewarding hardworking individuals with a greater stake in their future.’

Cllr Clive Johnson, Councillor for Gillingham South and Medway Labour Spokesperson for Children and Young People said, ‘The Labour Party have pledged an expansion of free childcare open to parents of two, three and four-year olds across the UK. Means-tested subsidised hours will be available in addition to this allowance, which will help to tackle the early years’ provision inequality. Such a policy is long overdue, as research has shown that children’s experiences in their first few years of life have a major impact on their development. At the beginning of the first school year, children from the lowest-income families are already on average 16 months, but this can be redressed by making childcare accessible to all. Not only will this increase opportunities for young children, it will play an important role in the flexibility of parental employment, particularly for mothers, and will contribute to reducing the gender pay gap and ensure more parents are able to stay in work.

‘Under this Conservative government we’ve seen drastic cuts to vital children’s services in Medway, which are now suffering from chronic underfunding, including the closure of much relied upon Sure Start centres across the Towns. The ideologically driven austerity programme driven by this government cannot provide our young children with the best start to their lives, and only a Labour government is committed to reducing early years inequality and providing opportunities for all children and families.’

Cllr Andy Stamp, Councillor for Gillingham North and Labour Spokesperson for Regeneration and Communities said, ‘The Labour Party’s commitment to creating 400,000 new green jobs as part of a “green revolution” will be a fantastic opportunity for towns like Medway and is the most decisive step towards sustainability ever taken by a UK government. Targets including making all UK homes energy efficient by 2030, zero-net emissions by 2050, and subsidies for wind energy, which will bring much needed innovative new industry, technology, and skilled green jobs in local communities.

‘This kind of innovation is necessary now more than ever especially in light of Brexit; there are 7000 Medway jobs linked to the EU which could be threatened by exiting the EU and it’s vital that we create strong new industries and jobs for local people. We can also proudly say that these plans will make the UK one of only two countries on track to meet the climate obligations for developed countries. These ambitious plans will transform our country into world leaders in clean energy and environmental protection.’

Cllr Naushabah Khan, Councillor for Gillingham South and Labour Spokesperson for Housing said, ‘The next Labour government will deliver the radical new approach necessary to tackle the country’s housing crisis. Under this Conservative government we’ve seen rough sleeping double, home ownership for under-45s drop by one million, and despite social housing waiting lists growing by the day we’ve seen the lowest number of new social housing built since 1945. In Medway we also have a significant ongoing issue with children living in temporary accommodation, rouge landlords failing to provide satisfactory living conditions, and a complete lack of affordable housing. Medway’s Conservative MPs have admitted that it will be impossible for the Tory-run council to meet the housing numbers imposed upon them by their own government.

‘The Labour Party have announced that their radical new direction for housing policy will include abolishing the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) borrowing cap. The HRA borrowing cap prevents councils from borrowing to invest in new homes, so lifting the cap for all councils will enable vital investment in new and existing homes. This puts power into the hands of local councils, who are best placed to assess their local housing need and the level of investment required in new homes. Not only will increased house building be a huge step towards solving some of the housing challenges we face here in Medway, it will also help boost the local economy and create revenue generating assets for councils. This radical new direction will be the biggest housing building project in 30 years, and is required to deliver a fairer system and tackle the growing inequality in Tory Britain today.’