THE RIGHT VISION FOR OXFORD

The Conservative Policy Statement for the City Elections, May 2000

 

The purpose of this statement

On 4^th May 2000, Oxford residents will go to the polls and elect one third of their councillors.

Conservatives have a clear vision for Oxford and we are campaigning to change the current lack of any Conservative representation on Oxford City Council. This is a statement of the policies upon which we will be fighting the forthcoming local elections and for which our councillors, once elected, will be lobbying.

This statement is for:

·        Conservative candidates and activists in Oxford;

·        Voters who wish to know more about what Oxford’s Conservatives are campaigning for;

·        The press and voluntary groups.

 

General themes

Oxford City Council is run by the Labour Party and is out of touch, unrepresentative and remote. Labour have neglected many areas of the City and many people who live there and have become increasingly unpopular with the electorate.They  look likely to lose overall control of the Council this year.

The Liberal Democrats, as the official opposition party on the council, have been skilful in capitalising on Labour’s electoral weakness at the ballot box; but have been completely ineffective in curbing the Labour Group's excesses on the Council. Several Labour councillors have complained privately to us that they miss having a ‘proper opposition’ on the Council, and they certainly do not regard the Liberal Democrats as such.

 

Efficiency through fair competition

It is no coincidence that, while Oxford has one of the highest levels of Council Tax and poorest levels of service, the City Council have been extremely resistant to proper competitive tendering. When Compulsory Competitive Tendering (CCT) was in place, the Council routinely structured the contracts to give the in-house bids the best possible advantage and devoted considerable resources to ensuring—successfully—that contracts were always won in-house. ‘Political correctness’ (such as the requirement for detailed written ‘equal opportunities’ policies with statistical data to support them) has been used to create an additional barrier to outside tenders.

Now, the Labour Government have introduced the concept of ‘Best Value’ to supersede CCT, and the Council have taken on extra staff to ‘monitor’ performance.

Conservatives want to see an end to this nonsense. We will introduce fair competitive tendering and will award Council contracts to businesses which offer the best service at the lowest price.

 

Traffic and transport

In its imposition of the Oxford Transport Strategy, the Labour City Council has been ruthless in its disregard for the interests of local people, only under duress having any regard for genuine concerns. In particular, the effect on many businesses has been catastrophic, with many now struggling to survive as a direct result of the OTS. It should be noted that the Liberal Democrat ‘opposition’ have been entirely complicit in this.

Conservatives, by contrast, maintain and have always maintained that Oxford City Centre should be accessible to all. We want a prosperous City Centre, and it is clear to us that this can only be achieved by making it easier for people to get there and to do business there. We will continue actively to seek the views of the business community and of local residents, and ensure that these are fully recognised.

Whilst tweaks alone may be sufficient for Labour and the Liberal Democrats, we believe that more fundamental changes are necessary to speed up journeys for bus passengers, car travellers and service vehicles alike. Some junctions, like that at the station, need to be made safer, rat runs through residential areas need to be discouraged, parking facilities better spread across the city. Signage needs to be greatly improved to assist visitors. It is time for some honesty on this issue.

Conservatives will retain the senior citizens’ concessionary bus fare at 20p.

Headington Hospitals Strategy

While we appreciate the clinical benefits to be gained from concentrating all of Oxford’s hospital services onto the Headington site, we are very concerned at the effect of increased traffic in the Headington and Marston areas. We will press for direct access to the JR site from the bypass, via a route avoiding the Old Headington conservation area.

 

A friendlier, safer City

Oxford at night needs to be seen to be safe and welcoming to all. Everyone should feel able to visit the city for shows and meals without fear of intimidation.

It is a regrettable fact that there has, over recent decades, been a general erosion of respect for law and order and for the authority of the Police within certain sections of society; and, of course, we cannot expect to effect any significant change in underlying social attitudes. We can, however, work towards creating a friendlier, safer City using a two-pronged approach:

We want to make it harder for criminals to get away with it.

·        CCTV should be extended in the City Centre area and in Park and Rides, with a view to introducing it in suburban centres also.

·        We will campaign for more police on the beat and a higher profile for the police in the community. Community beat officers’ mobile telephone numbers should be made available to the public in order to improve communication and enable a faster response.

·        We pledge to support, and not undermine, the police in their work. We believe that the police should crack down on petty crime, and should put more ‘bobbies’ on the beat.

·        We will support and encourage Neighbourhood Watch schemes.

We want to create a pleasant environment that local residents can be proud of. As well as being desirable in itself, studies have shown that well maintained streets reduce crime and the fear of crime.

·        Many of Oxford’s pavements are in a disgraceful condition, having been neglected for decades. The Council should increase spending on repairs to pavements and street lighting, and should ensure that repairs are carried out quickly and efficiently. Work must be carried out to a high standard and be of lasting quality.

·        We will scrap cycle lanes on pavements where the layout of the pavement does not permit sufficiently clear designation of the cycle lane, such as in the London Road in Headington. These are unsafe and unsatisfactory for cyclists and dangerous to pedestrians, especially to blind and other disabled people. We will also encourage action to be taken against illegal pavement cycling.

·        We will take action on litter. Oxford needs more litter bins in both central and suburban areas, and rubbish should be cleared up faster. At the same time, we will bear down on fly tipping and fly posting, and encourage prosecution of offenders.

·        We will take measures to curtail aggressive begging, while supporting measures to assist homeless people in getting off the streets.

·        We are opposed to the Council wasting council tax payers’ money on sites for ‘travellers’ within the City, and are concerned at the possible proliferation of ‘travellers’ in Oxford that could result.

 

Recycling

We note that ‘green box’ schemes were pioneered by Conservatives in the Vale of White Horse. We deplore the fact that it has taken the City Council so long to introduce such a scheme and that it still covers only 40% of the City. We will seek to introduce efficient, cost-effective recycling throughout the whole City.

 

Planning

We believe that the Labour Government is wrong to target more development on the already overcrowded South East. The Green Belt must be preserved, and this must be enshrined in the Local Plan.

We are concerned at the density of building proposed in the canal corridor, and the visual intrusion into Port Meadow that will result.

The new Local Plan should also seek to control the spread of buildings for educational use. We are concerned at the predominance of educational establishments leading to unbalanced local communities in some parts of the city, with ever increasing student numbers imposing excessive burdens on local housing.

 

Housing

Oxford City will soon be the only Council in Oxfordshire still running its own Council housing. With a tradition of neglect and a backlog of repairs, it is not doing a good job, and a change is long overdue. Both Housing Management and housing repairs should be contracted out, with local businesses given the opportunity to bid for the contracts on a ‘level playing field’. Ultimately, the entire Council housing stock should be sold to a Housing Association or similar organisation, while ensuring that tenants’ rights are protected.

The Council should also give priority to those with genuine and deserving needs. Families who plan carefully and responsibly for their future, who may have waited for a council home or a transfer for years, and those needing accommodation in a particular area for employment reasons, should not be so readily displaced by those categorised as homeless (but who do, in the vast majority of cases, have a roof over their heads).

The Council is hostile to private landlords; frequently persecuting them with an over-enthusiastic interpretation of environmental health legislation. We, however, believe that private landlords are providing a much needed service and that the interests of private tenants are best served by competition in the private rented sector. While we do not seek to defend the minority of unscrupulous landlords, we note that they may often be able to use methods of dubious legitimacy to find ways around the regulations; while the majority of well intentioned landlords are discouraged. For private tenants claiming Housing Benefit, we will seek to follow the example set by Wandsworth where landlords are obliged to comply with certain standards; in return for which the Council acts as guarantor for the tenant and picks up the bill for any abuse.

We note the disproportionate burden being placed on Oxford, and on the South East generally, by asylum seekers. We are concerned that asylum seekers are displacing local people who may have been waiting years for Council Housing, and we will seek to ensure that those on the waiting list are treated fairly.

 

Business

Local businesses are a vital part of our community. They provide employment and a wide range of services, and are a major contributor to the Council’s revenue. We will consult businesses across a wide range of policy areas, and will involve them directly in the decision making process. We will also ensure that local businesses are given a fair chance to secure Council contracts.

The Council should encourage shopping in the suburbs and in particular the local shopping ‘parades’. Free parking in local shopping areas should be increased in order to make it easier and more attractive to shop there.

We support local Post Offices, and oppose the Council’s unfriendly attitude towards them.

The Labour Government is going to ‘allow’ local councils to charge for Workplace parking. Oxford should say ‘Thank you, but No thank you’.

 

Council Structure

Not content with their meddling with the British Constitution, the Lib/Lab now want to play with the structure of Local Government. In Oxford, an elected Mayor or a ‘cabinet style’ administration have been touted as alternative models. Conservatives oppose either of these suggestions.

The London experience demonstrates clearly the problems inherent in the idea of elected Mayors, with far too much focus on individual personalities, and candidates tempted to espouse gimmicky but basically insubstantial policies in order grab public attention. Furthermore, the public remain uncertain as to exactly what powers such a person would wield, but with the uneasy feeling of too much power concentrated in one pair of hands.

A ‘cabinet style’ arrangement would involve the introduction of full time councillors, with salaries paid by the local taxpayer. Such a system would have the obvious consequence of excluding even further from the processes of local government those councillors who are not members of the ruling party. Oxford people already believe that the majority Labour group are unrepresentative and unresponsive, and such a system could only make matters worse—whoever happened to be in control of the council at any given time.

 

Recreation

We want to see new initiatives to encourage more young people to run their own activities whether they be in council facilities or not. Given the right opportunities we are convinced many exciting new ventures will follow.

Conservatives recognise that, in common with other sporting and voluntary groups, Oxford United is a source of great local pride. We believe that the teams should be encouraged to expand their programmes for involving young people in the sport.

 

Education

We believe that, in the proposed transition from a three-tier to a two-tier school system in Oxford, the anxieties and grievances of parents, teachers and local people have not been properly addressed. We will ensure that people are consulted properly, and that their concerns are taken into account.

Conservatives believe that Heads, teachers, governors know what is best for their pupils and that local decisions must be made locally not in Whitehall or County Hall. That is why the next Conservative Government will make every school a free school. Heads and governors will have complete control over the management of their schools.