STROUD Labour Party will deliver on Labour’s core value of fairness, and better value for council tax-payers by supporting people to live safe, healthy, productive lives, and promoting equality of opportunity.

We’re encouraging businesses by providing sites for jobs and giving better business support. We support apprenticeships within the council and will help employers employ more. As a living wage employer, the council will encourage employers to do the same.

The council’s housing programme, investing nearly £70 million to transform our housing stock and build new houses, creates work for local companies. Labour will increase affordable housing through new build and in partnership with other social housing providers.

Bad housing affects people’s health. We’ll work with other agencies to support people to live in their homes with dignity, combating social isolation, loneliness and fuel poverty.

Besides contributing to wellbeing from our housing programme, we’ll improve sport and recreation facilities. We shall support agencies coping with people needing relief from debt crises following badly implemented welfare reform.

Labour will fight government changes to planning which allows predatory developers to apply for houses on greenfield sites. We’ll help restore youth services, supporting more jobs and training opportunities.

A new waste collection contract will encourage people to recycle more.

Renewable energy needs new skills and Labour supports the local college’s bid for a renewable energy, engineering and nuclear skills facility at Berkeley.

We’ll work in partnership with parish councils to improve sustainability of our market towns and villages, and rural-proof all council policies.

The Labour-led council has made savings while maintaining essential council services with no increase in council tax in the last two years. Labour is taking the lead for the benefit of all residents to achieve economic, social and environmental well-being and of the district.