It is that time of year again when Trafford Labour candidates campaign hard to secure your vote in the next local election. 

As Rishi Sunak remains tight-lipped about when the next general election will be, causing further uncertainty in the country, you can have your say about life in Trafford on May 2.

Voting in a local election is as important as voting in a general election as it allows you to directly impact change within your communities.

Why Trafford Labour?

Since Trafford Labour took on the leadership of Trafford Council, we have worked tirelessly to protect the services that matter the most to you.

We have secured millions of pounds of investment to transform the borough’s leisure centres and supported the work to provide 4,000 extra school places, with more to come.

We are extremely proud of Trafford’s educational sector and will work with all schools as they continue to thrive with outstanding results.

The work to rejuvenate Stretford town centre is developing at pace in addition to the huge regeneration of Altrincham’s Stamford Quarter.

Trafford Labour has also been the driving force behind several initiatives that provide cleaner, greener, and safer options to travel around the borough.

And these are just some examples of what we have been able to do despite a critical financial backdrop that has seen £288m stripped from Trafford Council’s budget by the Conservative Party since 2010.

What can residents expect from Trafford Labour in the future?

Our focus now is to put forward plans that will help shape the future of our borough.

We will do this by prioritising the needs of children and young people by ensuring they have best start in life, with investment in education and targeted youth services.

We will make culture, sport, arts, and leisure accessible to all by shining a spotlight on our unique heritage and culture scene in addition to providing further investment.

Our ambitions to tackle the climate emergency and reduce carbon emissions through active travel and the decarbonisation of public buildings also remains at the top of the council’s agenda.

It is vital that we ensure people live healthy independent lives, so providing support at home to our vulnerable residents will remain a priority.

And while there are so many factors impacting the housing market today, Liz Truss crashing the economy being just one of them, our ambition is to support the delivery of as many new social and affordable homes as possible. We know that a safe and settled home is the foundation on which people can create a decent life, meet their true potential, and help build successful communities.

Furthermore, Trafford Labour will continue to lobby the Government for the fairer funding our residents deserve.  We remain one of the lowest funded local authorities in the country, receiving £11m less each year on average compared with similar councils.  Fairer funding would allow us to invest more in the basic services our residents value the most.

With this in mind, we hope that you will once again put your trust in us to carry on delivering and protecting the services that matter the most to you.

Tom Ross is the leader of Trafford Council.