WITH the local Council elections taking place on May 6, the Telegraph & Argus has asked each political party fielding five or more candidates to tell readers why they should back their candidates.

The first is a series of pieces is by the Conservative Party.

Councillor Rebecca Poulsen, Leader of the Conservative Group said: “Covid-19 has caused massive disruptions to our lives over the past year but as a democratic country, we need people to be allowed to vote. Conservative candidates are out across the District explaining what a Conservative run council would look like and how it would improve their lives.

“We recognise that for many people, some of the worst impacts of the pandemic are financial, with incomes lost or pay reduced due to furlough and reduced working hours, or expenses increased.

“Minimising the cost to local residents of Council Services continues to be a key priority for Conservative Councillors, which is why we proposed a 1.5 per cent increase in Council Tax without any cuts to core services, rather than the 4.99 per cent increase imposed by the Labour Councillors. Tackling the damaging impact of lockdown on the wellbeing and future prospects of children and young people is a top priority and a Bradford Conservative Council would work closely with the government to implement a four-year emergency plan to help disadvantaged children and young people with their education and training, with additional funding to support young people struggling to find employment.

“It is unacceptable to us that our region has the highest unemployment rate in the country despite there being huge numbers of unfilled jobs due to skills shortages. We would work to see funding directed to equipping local people, to compete for the growing number of vacancies in Tech industries, construction, manufacturing, HGV driving and the other jobs with skill shortages. We aim to encourage the education, training and apprenticeships needed to provide local people with the skills that would attract more employers to create well paid jobs throughout the district, not just the city centre.

“Another urgent priority for us is identifying and helping people whose mental health has suffered due to lockdown particularly, but not exclusively, children and young people. The confinement and in some cases isolation caused by the pandemic has inevitably had a negative impact on a lot of people and it is imperative that we support their recovery and improve their lives.

“A Conservative run Bradford Council would immediately review the Labour Council target of 30,672 new houses, for Bradford District, as it is far more than needed, with many of these houses proposed to be built on the Green Belt, rather than on brownfield sites in urban areas where there are housing shortages.

“We would also create a district wide plan to provide the extra school places, healthcare and other services necessitated by the building of new homes. Services would be provided throughout local communities to meet identified need, rather than being weighted towards the City.

“Specific attention and additional funding would also be given to key services such as street cleansing, fly tipping, enforcing dog fouling penalties, keeping gullies clear and reducing the time taken to repair street lights right throughout the whole district.

"On May 6 please vote for a change at City Hall and vote for your local Conservative candidate.”

Pieces from other parties will follow in the coming days.

For the full list of candidates click here