LABOUR and the Conservatives are set for a fierce battle over control of Cheshire West and Chester Council next week.

All eyes will be on which way the electorate votes on Thursday, May 2, with Labour currently having 38 members to the Conservatives’ 35, while there are two independent members.

Labour and the Tories are putting candidates forward in every CWAC ward – while a raft of independent, Liberal Democrat and Green Party candidates are also hoping to shake-up the local authority.

Speaking ahead of Jeremy Corbyn’s visit to Winsford last week, Cllr Samantha Dixon, CWAC’s Labour leader, said: “Locally and nationally, Labour recognises the damage that nine years of Tory economics has done to towns like Winsford. It’s clear that, despite what the Government says, austerity isn’t over.

“While the Conservatives collect a new crisis every week, Labour councils like ours work hard to rebuild communities, providing hope, strength and optimism.

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“Our vision is one that recognises the value of public services, making them work for the people and communities that use them. Our plan will put decent housing, healthcare, employment and education at the heart of our towns, and restore the opportunities swept away by the Tories’ never-ending cuts.

“Our message is clear – to build stronger communities in Cheshire West, vote Labour on May 2.”

Among the key policies for Labour are building more affordable homes and council houses, supporting transport and regeneration projects, tackling poverty and homelessness, lobbying Government for fairer school funding and taking on the waste contract to help Cheshire West become more environmentally friendly.

CWAC was named Council of the Year at the 2018 Association of Public Service Excellence awards with the authority under Cllr Dixon’s leadership – but the Tories believe it could achieve far more.

The Conservatives saw a healthy majority of 42 slashed to just 10 in the 2011 election, before power changed hands to Labour in 2015, and now the group wants to take back control.

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But following council tax hikes each year since Labour took office, the Tories hope voters will be ready to turn the borough blue once again.

The six key policies which the group are pledging for the election are to abolish the newly-imposed parking charges, provide regular bin collections and keep streets clean, get tough on potholes, deliver plastic-free status for the borough, provide more direct support for schools and teachers, and champion communities and the borough’s rich heritage.

Cllr Lynn Riley, CWAC’s Conservative group leader, said: “In many respects we want to go back to the future.

“We want to remember that first and foremost we are dealing with other people’s money, we are dealing with other people’s lives and it is only right and proper that people can rely on the council for the best public services that can be delivered.

“We think it is only fair that people get the absolute best quality service and value for money – that potholes are filled, that bins are emptied, that all those things that drive people mad are dealt with.

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“The challenge now is much different to before. We have to be a very outward looking council now with ideas for investment, for new opportunities and for joint working in ways that we might not have thought about before.

“I am not saying the last four years have been a complete waste of time but there have been many opportunities missed along the way and many pounds frittered away at a time when every pound should count.”

The election will also be the first since CWAC’s electoral wards were changed, which could also play a part in changing the council’s make-up.

There will be five fewer councillors – 70 down from 75 – and 45 wards in total, with all but three having changed from the current wards, and one being removed.

For more information visit cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/election2019

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