Manchester Liberal Democrats Launch 2007 Manifesto

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 16th Apr 2007

Manchester Lib Dems Offer a Real Alternative to Arrogant & Centralised Labour, Says Deputy Leader Cllr Paul Shannon

Manchester Liberal Democrats today launched their 2007 "Manifesto for Manchester." Key proposals include a commitment to clean up the city "all-year-round", to freeze Council Tax and to fund extra police officers for Manchester.

Liberal Democrat Leader Councillor Simon Ashley stated:

"This Manifesto shows how we would make Manchester a cleaner, greener, safer and more local place in which to live and work. Locally, the Liberal Democrats are the only opposition to Labour. The Conservatives have not elected a Councillor here since 1992."

"Our team of 33 Councillors and Withington MP John Leech work hard all-year-round to serve the community and stand up for our residents."

"Our key pledges include:

1) We will freeze Council Tax and wage war on Labour's Town Hall waste. Over £2.2m will be saved by cutting waste, including halving Council subsidy to the costly URBIS, and cutting extravagance such as chauffeur-driven car for top Councillors.

2) We will fund 40 new Police Officers and reverse Labour's cuts to Policing funding for Manchester.

3) We will give communities in every ward in the city an extra £100,000 to spend on environmental and crime & safety local initiatives.

4) We will oppose fortnightly bin collections, make Manchester cleaner and recycle more all year round. There will be extra funding for "Pride in our Parks." We will improve Manchester's recycling service, and launch a FREE hotline to report environmental problems.

5) We will help create local jobs and spread the benefits of regeneration to local people. We will invest an extra £1m for schools-based attendance officers to tackle Manchester's appalling truancy and improve achievement in our schools

Deputy Leader Councillor Paul Shannon concluded:

"This Manifesto for 2007 shows that there is a better way. Manchester's right-wing Labour Council supports ID cards and opposes the Sustainable Communities Bill. They are also far too close to property developers, having taken nearly £30,000 from developers to pay for Labour election leaflets. It's Time for a Change in Manchester!"

END

The 2007 Liberal Democrat Manifesto for Manchester is available in a panel on the left, and here:

http://manchester-libdems.org.uk/resources/index/