For far too long, families have faced relentless anxiety over low wages, eye-watering energy bills and the punishing cost of the weekly shop. Meanwhile, Westminster politicians keep talking but nothing ever changes for working people. That gap between what’s promised and what’s delivered is exactly what a new Prime Minister must close.
Andy Burnham is our new Prime Minister and his record as Mayor of Greater Manchester proves that when you back local communities with real power and proper funding, you get real results. The Bee Network (bringing buses back under public control) showed exactly what’s possible when you trust communities to run their own services. That’s the blueprint Redditch needs.
We must get Britain making things again. As a founding officer of the Reindustrialisation Research Group, I’m demanding a proper industrial strategy that slashes energy costs for local manufacturers, supports apprenticeships and creates the well-paid production jobs our town deserves. We must also tackle the youth unemployment crisis head-on, implementing Alan Milburn’s proposals so every young person in Redditch has a real future right here at home.
But you can’t build a stronger local economy on broken public services. Before we dump yet more responsibilities onto councils already stretched to breaking point, we need a fully funded, cradle-to-grave National Care Service. Families shouldn’t have to battle a broken system when a loved one needs support. We must also expand local healthcare, with a proper local Neighbourhood Health Centre, protect and expand services at the Alexandra Hospital and proper contract reform to support our NHS dentists.
We need procurement rules that back our manufacturers and small businesses, not giant corporations. We need real business rates reform that gives our high street a fighting chance.
I’ve already told the Prime Minister this directly and I won’t stop until we get results.
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