A Manifesto that CAN be implemented

On first reading, there are two things that struck me about the Green Party manifesto for the local elections. The first is this comment in the introduction:

"We realise many of our Manifesto plans cannot be implemented immediately because the city is starved of cash. But we will not abandon our aspirations, because they offer practical solutions to the challenges the city faces."

This suggests that little attention has been paid to whether or not the ideas in the manifesto could actually be carried out, even if the Green Party were to control the Council. This makes little sense to me. Why produce a manifesto you freely admit you wouldn't be able to put into practice, even if you did gain control? What value does it have, other than simply as a wish list?

Labour's manifesto has been costed out, based on what we know we have in the next budget year, and what we think we will have after that. We're proposing genuine options for the future, and are ready to deliver.

From a ward perspective, the other thing that strikes me is how little is said about one of the biggest issues in Hanover and Elm Grove, the growing numbers of student households. Mention is made of the council enquiry which produced a number of recommendations in 2009. But the picture I have got from talking to residents is that those measures are simply not going to be adequate to deal with the problem, and we must look towards legislation to give communities some control.

Of course there is a need for student housing in the city, as it's a great benefit that we have two large universities. I haven't spoken to anyone I would describe as anti-student. But there are people who are concerned about the concentration of student housing in small areas, and the fact that it changes the local community and creates other issues.

The Labour manifesto contains a commitment to campaign for the reinstatement of planning permission for conversion to HMO's, and to using the existing HMO licensing legislation to introduce tougher controls. This seems to me to speak much more to the immediate and pressing concerns in the neighbourhood - and are specific, practical things that can actually be done.


Tracey Hill