A message from Ian Gilbert, the leader of the Labour group:

We are passionate about Southend and proud of our Community.

Southend is in many ways a great place to live, with a rich history, great cultural assets and dynamism in our businesses. Yet there is also neglect, decay and severe poverty in many of our neighbourhoods. Our public services are creaking under years of austerity imposed by the Tory government.

We aim to translate values of solidarity, community and cooperation into practical steps to make Southend a more prosperous, more cohesive town with a better quality of life for all. We want a real public service ethos, whether that’s in caring for our elderly, keeping the streets clean or running our children’s centres.

We can support the local economy and make our community more cohesive if we make sure as much of the money spent by the Council stays in the local area. We can use the Council’s buying power to support local enterprise, local charities and local communities. We will promote a real living wage.

We will take tough action against those who damage our town. We will look to strengthen regulation of private sector housing, and create a new enforcement team to deal with environmental crime and low-level anti-social behaviour.

Housing and homelessness will be a critical priority for us. We will recommence the building of social housing for rent, and look to harness public and voluntary sector resources to deal with the causes as well as the effects of homelessness in the town.

Our local NHS is under threat. Labour councillors have been active in scrutinising and challenging damaging proposals for our Hospital. With your support we will work to oppose cuts, downgrades and creeping privatisation that damages patient care. We will work constructively to bring about much needed improvements in primary care in the town.

Labour councillors in administration have made a difference before. We commenced building social housing for the first time in decades. We protected the town’s network of libraries and children’s centre. We developed an innovative digital strategy to boost our businesses. We invested in green energy and green technology.

With your support we can make a greater difference now.

You can read our manifesto on individual topics that particularly interest you by clicking on the buttons below, or download a copy of the full document by clicking here.