Putting people first - MK Lib Dem 2022 Local Election Manifesto

Putting people first.

Listening, caring, and working for the people of Milton Keynes.

Liberal Democrat local election manifesto 2022.

(Click here to download a copy)

The Liberal Democrats value liberty, equality, and community. We exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society. This is our vision for Milton Keynes. This is why, since the last elections, the Liberal Democrats have been listening to residents, caring for them and working for them.

The Liberal Democrats are preparing now for our city's future. We want enough affordable housing so that our children's children can still call Milton Keynes home, and we'll make sure infrastructure comes first. We want to regenerate our historic towns, while putting our city at the heart of the Oxford to Cambridge Arc. We'll protect our green spaces and improve connectivity for the future, because we want a better Milton Keynes for future generations.

For the past year we have been united in a Progressive Alliance with Labour to run Milton Keynes Council. We put people before politics, to make sure that our city has a prosperous, green, and fair recovery from the pandemic, and to take our city forward. We stuck to our priorities and were able to deliver on our promises for the people of Milton Keynes.

We fought back against the Tory government's heartless cut to Universal Credit, their unfair voter ID plans and undemocratic initial planning proposals that would have silenced residents.

We've helped set up community food larders and a school uniform recycling project to help tackle child poverty and put together a budget that has nearly £19 million for mental health support for children and adults and over £18 million of financial support to help struggling residents.

We've invested nearly £500,000 extra for footpath repairs, and an extra £50,000 for road sign replacement. Our budget has more money for fixing potholes and tackling pests and fly-tipping.

We welcomed Afghan refugees to Milton Keynes last summer by organising volunteers and donations and campaigned against violence against women and girls by bringing a motion on the White Ribbon Campaign to Full Council, setting up domestic abuse training for all councillors.

But we cannot stop there. If the Liberal Democrats ran the Council, we would build more truly affordable homes and council homes in neighbourhoods we can be proud of.

We would support our local families and children, and fight for better health and social care. We would invest in our city's bold economy, and make sure that Milton Keynes goes green.

If you want a Council that listens to its residents, one that cares for and works for them, vote Liberal Democrat on 5 May 2022.

Cllr Robin Bradburn, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Milton Keynes Council

We delivered on what we promised in 2021

For the past year we have been united in a Progressive Alliance with Labour to run Milton Keynes Council. We put people before politics, to make sure that our city has a prosperous, green, and fair recovery from the pandemic, and we were able to deliver on what we promised in 2021.

What we promised in 2021	How we delivered
Reduce child poverty	Launched homework plus clubs across the borough, with 960 places made available, and progressed 10 community food larders, with even more in discussion. Set up a school uniform recycling project, providing uniforms for under £20 to more than 300 households. Started a pilot childcare deposit scheme to help parents and carers return to work. Invested 1 million pounds in a new permanent home for local charities, including those that work to tackle poverty, such as MK Food Bank Xtra and Baby Basics MK.
Tackle unaffordable housing and homelessness	Set up a Local Housing Company, which has the potential to deliver thousands of sustainable, high-quality houses, including council housing, affordable rents, and other low-cost affordable housing. Adopted a landlord accreditation scheme, to promote and reward best practice. Dedicated £228,00 to improving the planning service, including setting up a planning academy to help recruit and retain the best planners.
Help our children and young people	Funded a new role in the School Improvement team to help academies improve their standards. Provided over 30,000 hours of activities and 28,000 healthy meals for children and young people as part of the Summer of Play in 2021 and guaranteed £250,000 to run a second Summer of Play in 2022. Launched a care leavers deposit scheme to help young adults leaving care into the property market, following a motion by Liberal Democrat Councillor Marie Bradburn. Created the new role of Youth Mayor and empowered the Youth Cabinet, so we can encourage more young people to engage with local democracy. Supported local projects that help prevent young people from getting involved with anti-social behaviour and knife crime with £350,000.
Fight for better health and social care	Funded 2 dementia nurses to support families across the borough and began the process of making Milton Keynes a dementia friendly city. Invested £19m in children's and adult's mental health support in our budget. Funded a Changing Place accessible toilet facility at Milton Keynes Central Library following a motion by Liberal Democrat Councillor Jane Carr. Campaigned for opt-out HIV testing at Milton Keynes University Hospital A&E by lobbying the Health Secretary.
Look after our neighbourhoods	On track to fix 7,500 additional potholes and install 20 smart bins and 75 dual bins across MK. Started the process of rolling out wheeled bins, following a motion by Liberal Democrat Councillor Kerrie Bradburn, which will help bring cleaner streets and increased recycling. Hired 5 new litter wardens to issue offenders with on-the-spot fines. Clamped down on fly-tipping with our Action Plan, reducing rates to the lowest in 4 yrs. Pushed for flood wardens to be trained to help protect local homes from floods and fought for waterways to be dredged and drains to be cleared. Lobbied for better resourcing for Milton Keynes' police, demanding answers as to when they will receive the resources they so desperately need.
Improve and innovate our public transport	Secured 32 million pounds for a new fleet of electric buses. Improved the MK Connect Service, which now has an average satisfaction rating of 94%, and won the UK Bus Award for Technology and Innovation in November 2021. Launched an electric car share scheme in partnership with Enterprise.
Rebuild the local economy & keep a balanced budget	Passed a no cuts, balanced budget that puts residents and services first. Our £200m budget includes: • Over £18 million of financial support to help struggling residents • A pothole and road resurfacing programme worth nearly £3.5 million • Half a million pounds to help residents during the energy crisis • More funding for stamping out litter and fly-tipping and tackling pests Extended the Economic Recovery Plan to over 3 million pounds, supporting over 900 businesses and 2,350 residents. Invested 360k in our high streets, 85k to support female entrepreneurs and 35.7k in a Dragons Den style scheme to help local entrepreneurs. Backed local businesses by distributing over £74 million worth of grants. Helped victims of domestic abuse return to work with a £66,000 investment in support services.
Create a carbon neutral Milton Keynes by 2030	Began planting 500 trees for the Queen's Green Canopy, as part of celebrations for HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee. Increased wildflower verges throughout the borough. Invested 70k to help businesses go green working with the National Energy Foundation. Secured millions of pounds of funding to boost the energy efficiency of hundreds of local homes. Brought forward a motion supporting the Local Electricity Bill, which if made law would allow local communities, businesses and organisations who generate their own renewable electricity to sell it to local people.

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The Liberal Democrats have been listening to our residents. Liberal Democrats care, and Liberal Democrats will work for you.

Here's how we'll do it:

Create neighbourhoods we can be proud of

Fix more potholes, resurface roads, and keep on cracking down on litter and fly-tipping.
Make sure the roll out of wheeled bins across the borough is done properly and fairly, and that residual (black sack) waste is collected weekly.
Reduce flooding of our homes, streets, and roads by fighting for better maintenance of our waterways, drains and sewers.
Work closely with partners, such as Thames Valley Police and local schools, to help reduce crime, gang activity and anti-social behaviour. We'll invest in projects that help prevent young people becoming involved with knife crime and continue our campaign for better resourcing for Milton Keynes' police.

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Build affordable housing for the next generation

Build more Council homes and start up the Local Housing Company so it can start building its first homes, because the houses being built in Milton Keynes need to be affordable, green, and actually meet the needs of local people.
Continue the 'Housing First' policy that the Liberal Democrats helped create in 2018. Because of this policy, accommodation is offered to every person sleeping on the streets.
Fight back against government changes to the planning system if the proposals disempower local authorities and silence the views of local residents.

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Invest in our city's resilient economy and balance the Council's budget

Work to balance the Council's budget for another year.
Support and develop the existing multi-million-pound Economic Recovery Plan for Milton Keynes. Our city's economy was recently ranked as one of the strongest in the country, and we will make sure it stays that way by continuing to attract inward investment, and actively participating in the Business Forum.
Continue investing in our high streets, regenerating our older towns, and funding innovative business support schemes, such as allowing new business owners and entrepreneurs to use empty units owned by the Council.

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Provide support for local children, families, and communities

Campaign for enough school places and Special Educational Needs and Disability support for our children. The Council does not run all schools in Milton Keynes, but we will fight for the best education and qualifications for all pupils.
Work to increase the number of foster carers in Milton Keynes.
Continue our work to reduce child poverty in Milton Keynes and work towards providing healthy meals in all school holidays.
Support local families who are struggling with increasing energy bills by providing rebates and funding for energy efficiency measures.
Set up a women's listening conference to hear from women in Milton Keynes about the issues that are affecting them, especially in the current cost-of-living crisis.
Support local community groups because our diverse communities are what make Milton Keynes great.

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Create a green Milton Keynes

Make Milton Keynes carbon neutral by 2030 by delivering the Council's Sustainability Strategy Action Plan, so that we can become a truly green city.
Working with the National Energy Foundation, we will look into setting up an advice service for residents on how they can make their homes greener.
Protect our environment and wildlife by continuing to plant trees across the borough and creating more wildflower verges to help increase biodiversity.
Push for more electric vehicles to be used in public transport, support the development of a mass transit transport scheme, and continue to improve MK Connect, as well as encouraging bus operators to start up services where viable, because accessible and reliable public transport is at the heart of going green.

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Fight for better health and social care

Support the expansion of Milton Keynes University Hospital, so that healthcare provision grows alongside our city.
Continue to back local mental health support initiatives, as they face increased demand due to the impact of COVID, especially for our children and young people.
Actively campaign for better access to NHS services, including GPs and dentists.
Work to make Milton Keynes a dementia friendly city by fighting for better care for people with dementia and making changes to our city that make it more accessible, such as clear signage and wide footpaths.