Leading for Leeds
—The Labour administration in Leeds has had more than its fair share of challenges as we enter the seventh year of Tory austerity. Between 2010 and March 2016 Leeds city council will have had to deliver savings of £330m. That is despite 175,000 people in this city being classed as living in absolute poverty.
Inevitably we have faced painful decisions but we are determined to remain relevant to local people and credible on finance.
We are hugely ambitious about both our city’s future and the role the council can play in shaping that future. We want Leeds to be both a strong economy and a compassionate city.
It will be fulfilling our economic potential that enables us to tackle poverty, reduce inequality and deliver new employment and training opportunities. Local people, especially young people, are at the centre of our growth strategy.
We do not underestimate the scale of the challenge. Local government finance is undergoing radical change, while at the same time demand for our services is increasing. We have had to transform the way we do business. We have developed innovative ways of working with partners, service users and citizens, and know there are areas where we can deliver improved outcomes while also reducing costs.
Children’s services, for example, has been nationally recognised for its work to empower families to make positive decisions about their lives. Leeds Families First has ‘turned around’ over 2,000 families in three years and for every £1 we have spent on the programme, the city has got its £1 back and an additional £1.18 in return.
In recent years, since hosting the Tour de France, we have become much more confident about attracting world-class events to our city, raising the profile of Leeds and attracting inward investment. This year we have also taken part in trade missions to China, Malaysia and Singapore.
We are transforming traditional perceptions of what it means to invest in the north. Burberry, for example, has decided to invest £50m in state-of-the-art facilities, providing employment for 1,000 people.
These economic successes enable us to act on issues of local concern – building 1,000 new council homes, rolling out more integrated services in community settings, helping ensure our young people are equipped with the skills they need to access the opportunities economic growth presents.
We are becoming a Real Living Wage employer and have put new quality standards at the heart of new contracts for independent community home care, as well as signing up to Unison’s Ethical Care Charter to improve conditions for home care staff
The party now needs to put local councillors at the heart of policy and decision-making – starting with increasing councillors’ representation on the National Executive Committee as leader of the Local Government Association Labour group Nick Forbes has previously argued for on these pages. We need to realign our narrative based on what works, building from the grassroots to achieve a credible alternative to challenge the devastating impact of government policies on our communities.
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Judith Blake is leader of Leeds city council
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