Assess the parties' promises as North West Leicestershire prepares to go to the polls for County Council elections
North West Leicestershire residents are being urged to use their vote in Thursday's Leicestershire County Council elections.
The polls take place on Thursday, May 1, when 55 councillors will be up for election across 53 divisions across the county.
Polls open at 7am on the day, and will close at 10pm. A total of 294 candidates will be vying for the roles.
It is the first time in four years that people across the county have had the opportunity to have their say in local elections.
You will be able to vote for the county councillor representing the area you live in.
North West Leicestershire Wards
• Ashby de la Zouch
• Castle Donington and Kegworth
• Coalville North
• Coalville South
• Forest and Measham
• Ibstock and Appleby
• Valley
• Whitwick
You can find a full list of local candidates HERE
The counts will then take place across seven districts – Blaby, Charnwood, Harborough, Hinckley and Bosworth, Melton, North West Leicestershire and Oadby and Wigston. Council officials have said the election counts will start at around 12.15pm on Friday, 2 May, and finish at approx. 3pm, assuming no recounts.
Here are some of the party promises - in alphabetical order - as told to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
CONSERVATIVES
Road safety, flooding and support for the vulnerable are among the Leicestershire Conservative group's top priorities. As residents across the county prepare to go to the polls for the third time in three years, the LDRS asked the parties vying for their vote what they would deliver if they win control of Leicestershire County Council.
The Conservative Party currently holds control of the authority with 40 seats. It is fielding candidates for each of the 55 council positions.
But what are the party's priorities? The Conservative Group said it would ensure the county council remains a "financially sound and efficient council", providing local services for "you and your family".
The party said it would take action to improve road safety for communities, including introducing new traffic calming, tackling speeding, fixing potholes and encouraging more families to walk or cycle to schools to reduce traffic around them. It would also roll out more "on-demand" transport services for communities.
The Conservative group also said it wants to build on support services already offered to vulnerable county residents. It said it has opened 37 family hubs in the past two years and wants to expand the range of services available at these.
It also wants to grow partnership projects, such as the children's homes it has set up with charity Barnardo's, to help it deliver the "best possible support services at a reasonable cost to taxpayers".
When it comes to health, the party said it would continue to "drive down" the number of people who smoke though "practical help", and will push for community orchards and allotments to be included in planning applications. It will also support the use of remote technology in care homes to help cut hospital admissions, the group said.
Acting leader of Leicestershire County Council Deborah Taylor said: "Over the past four years, Conservatives have continued to ensure that good quality services were delivered locally and within budget. We are about to enter a time of great uncertainty with the Labour Government's imposition of unitary (single-tier) councils and so it's imperative that we return experienced Conservative councillors with a track record of good financial management and find innovative ways to deliver high quality services within our local communities".
GREEN PARTY
Public transport, flooding and access to healthcare are among the Leicestershire Greens' top priorities.
The Green Party currently holds no seats on the council. However, it is fielding candidates for each of the 55 council positions.
It said it is "driven by the concerns [residents] share on the doorsteps", saying its "priority" is "you".
Among the issues the party would champion on the authority are better access to public transport. The Greens said they believe "reliable and accessible public transport is a right, not a luxury" and they want to bring bus services back under "greater council control", with more "comprehensive routes" and "affordable fares".
Greater funding for the authority from Central Government is also high on the party's list of priorities. The Greens said they will "relentlessly campaign" for this, adding council services are "underfunded and struggling".
Support for those hit by flooding, and "accelerated plans" to address such incidents, are also a pledge. The party added: "Flood mitigation requires a holistic perspective and collaboration between multiple organisations, and Greens are excellent at bringing such groups together."
The party also wants to see residents granted "better access" to healthcare. They said they would support local NHS facilities, promote preventative care and "address the social determinants of health".
Clean rivers, opposition to "large-scale, unsustainable housing developments", and standing against the creation of freeports in the county are also among the Greens' priorities.
On the future of Leicestershire's politics, the Greens have said they will be "a voice for keeping the 'local' in local government". The party added it believes the Government's requirements for Leicestershire's two-tier council structure to be reduced to a single-tier structure is "simply a distraction" from the "real issue" – a "chronic" lack of funding.
It did not say which – if any – of the options for the restructure put forward by Leicestershire councils it preferred, but did say it would "not support an expansion of the city boundaries".
The party said: "By electing Green councillors, you are choosing independent voices who will work tirelessly within and across councils and agencies to build a greener, fairer, and more prosperous future for all."
LIBERAL DEMOCRAT
Potholes, bus services and flooding top the Leicestershire Lib Dems election pledges.
Leicestershire's Liberal Democrat group currently holds nine seats on the council. It is fielding candidates for all but one of the authority's 55 councillor positions.
The Lib Dems said they are "campaigning for change to get the basics right".
For them, this means fixing potholes on the county's roads and pavements. These, they said, "make life more difficult for drivers, cyclists, pedestrians and people on mobility scooters".
They also want to see "vital local bus services that have been lost brought back into service". These include the 159 Hinckley to Coalville service.
Keeping council tax down is another pledge that has been set out by the party. They said the county has "for years been bottom of the league table for government funding", accusing the current Conservative administration of "failing to get proper funding" from the Government.
Because of this, they said, residents have "ended up paying more in council tax and getting less in services". Leicestershire has long been recognised as the worst-funded county council in the country, with leaders campaigning for "fairer funding".
"More action" is also needed to tackle flooding issues, the Lib Dems have said. They want to see more funding put into flood prevention work.
Speaking for the Lib Dems, leader of the group on the authority, Michael Mullaney, said: "Leicestershire has had one party Conservative rule for nearly a quarter of a century. We urgently need change. The Lib Dems are the second biggest party on the county council and can provide that change."
LABOUR
NHS, potholes, crime and education are among the Leicestershire Labour group's top priorities.
The Labour Party currently holds four seats on the council. It is fielding candidates for each of the 55 council positions.
The Labour Group said its focus was "fixing the foundations for Leicestershire's future".
The party has pledged to "return law and order to our streets", saying everyone "deserves to feel safe". Labour said it would work with Leicestershire Police to tackle anti-social behaviour, increase patrols in hot spots across the county, roll out new 'Respect Orders' to ban persistent offenders from town centres and take action on illegal motorbikes and scooters.
Roads and public transport also feature in its promises to residents. Potholes "dominate" the streets, making roads "dangerous for both drivers and cyclists", the party said.
Fixing them, as well as wider road safety, is a "top priority" for the group, which said it would create a "long-term plan to fix the problems", rather than "sticking plaster fixes".
The party also wants to make Leicestershire a "more connected county", saying it would work with the Government and Labour-run Leicester City Council to "improve bus services, protect routes and make it easier to get around".
The party has also promised to "rebuild" local NHS services, and promote "local healthy initiatives" in communities. It added: "We'll put our care home system back on track, support our care workers and help our vulnerable people. We'll deliver a Leicestershire with the best physical, mental, and social wellbeing possible."
When it comes to education, Labour has promised to "invest in the next generation", and help cut childcare costs. It added it will secure the additional special needs (SEND) funding announced by the Government.
The Labour Party said: "Labour are the only ones that can deliver the change Leicestershire needs. We'll partner with the new Labour government, and Leicestershire's Labour MPs, to get the best deal for our residents. Our priority is fixing the foundations. We'll make sure no place in Leicestershire is left out or left behind. Labour will deliver a fresh start."
REFORM UK
An American-style financial investigation has been promised by Reform UK if it wins the Leicestershire County Council election. As residents across the county prepare to go to the polls for the third time in three years, the LDRS asked the parties vying for their vote what they would deliver if they win control of the authority.
Reform UK currently holds one seats on the council in the shape of Ashby-based Dan Harrison who recently switched from the Conservatives. However, it is fielding candidates for each of the 55 council positions.
Reform UK said it did not have an official manifesto setting out its pledges for Leicestershire and its residents.
However, a party spokesman told us the group would initially focus on the council's finances if it took control. This would include setting up a team in the style of America's new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which was created by Donald Trump after his return to the White House to cut spending.
The Reform UK Leicestershire spokesman said: "Leicestershire County Council is broken. Having racked up over £200 million worth of debt which is costing local taxpayers £23,000 a day in interest payments alone, it is simply unable to effectively deliver local services. It's no surprise when they are wasting staggering sums. For example, over £35 million on consultants in just three years and over £1 million for interpretation and translation services over the last year."
"Despite this, Leicestershire County Council's CEO is paid £53,000 more than the Prime Minister to oversee this mess, with council tax for residents rising by 25 per cent over the last five years. Reform UK won't make empty promises while the council is in such a state.
"Reform councillors elected in May will introduce a British-style DOGE to audit Leicestershire County Council, cancel the fraudulent contracts and stop the waste. Only then can a Reform-led council start to deliver for local people. Whether that's lowering council tax, fixing potholes and investing in services."
The LDRS asked Reform what it meant by "the fraudulent contracts" and whether it had any proof the council had committed fraud. At this point, the party said it would be "examining contracts" if it won the election to "ensure they were procured properly", meaning it does not have evidence that any such fraud has been committed.
We were told: "Reform councillors would send in a team of businesspeople and auditors to, amongst other things, review contracts awarded by the council and find out how they were awarded, ensuring they were procured properly and deliver value for money for local taxpayers."
Leicestershire County Council did not wish to comment on Reform UK's accusations, saying it would remain neutral on political matters in the run up to the election.
• Polls open to voters between 7am and 10pm on Thursday, with results expected to be declared through the afternoon on Friday, May 2.
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