Election day looms

5:06pm Tuesday 29th April 2008

VOTERS have exactly one week left to decide who should be in charge of Bury Council.

One third of the borough's 51 seats are up for grabs in next Thursday's (May 1) local elections, one seat in each of the 17 wards.

The Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats are contesting every seat, while the BNP are putting up in eight wards.

The council is currently hung: however the Tories, the largest party with 23 councillors, need to win just three more seats to take outright control. Labour have 20 seats, and the Lib Dems have eight.

Polling booths are open from 7am to 10pm on May 1. It is not essential to take your polling card with you.

As well as the political parties who are standing in several seats, there are also six other candidates. Stephen Morris contests Besses under the banner "English Democrats: Putting England First", while Harold Greenhalgh is the UKIP candidate in Radcliffe West.

There are four independents: Victor Hagan in Moorside, Lynette Mitchell-Male in North Manor, and both Bill Brison and Mike Harling in Redvales Log onto the Bury Times website in the early hours of next Friday (May 2) for the full election results - www.burytimes.co.uk Statements: Conservatives.

The party will maintain council tax rises below inflation, and continue to offer a discount to over-65s. They will review all financial matters to increase efficiency, and continue to provide excellent funding to the police, seeing an increase in "bobbies on the beat".

The Conservatives will also introduce free 15-minute parking at all pay and display zones to help people making short visits.

They will oppose any Government attempts to charge for household waste collection, which they promise to keep weekly, while supplying more brown bins for garden waste.

The Conservatives have allocated more money to tackle shops who sell alcohol to children, and promise to improve public toilets, especially those in Bury interchange.

They want more CCTV cameras in "hot spots", improved quality and choice in social housing, and measures to tackle anti-social behaviour.

They will build the new secondary school in Radcliffe, and encourage all schools to stay open longer for family learning.

Thousands of jobs will be created through developments such as The Rock, Townside Fields, Chamberhall, and the SUN Quarter in Radcliffe.

Group leader Bob Bibby says: "My commitment is that we will keep to this manifesto, improving frontline services and controlling the direction of this council. Value for money has always been the forerunner of Conservatism and our goal is to make sure that our finances keep within the budget we have set."

Labour Until May last year, Bury Council was run by a Labour administration. We are proud of our achievements in providing the highest quality of services when we received one of the lowest grants in the country.

Under a Labour council we achieved: * the 4th best education authority in the country * the best parks in the country and the most Green Flags, and winner of Britain in Bloom four years running * we were in the top quartile in the country in children's services, adult services and many more.

* library services were classified as outstanding.

The Audit Commission placed us in the top ten as a "Value for Money" council with a council tax consistently below the national average.

Two of our initiatives, Cleaner Greener Safer and the Age of Opportunity, have provided real benefits to the whole of the population.

The Labour council worked hard to attract private developers who would bring new jobs and opportunities to all parts of the borough, bringing new town centre developments to Bury, Radcliffe and Prestwich. There is a building programme for new and refurbished schools throughout the borough, due to Labour initiative Party leader Wayne Campbell said: "I would ask you to Vote Local and Vote Labour on May 1 for the only party with a track record of success and a long term vision for our borough."

Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats across Bury have had a brilliant response from local residents. People are telling us that they are fed up of Labour closing post offices, taxing poorer people and watching the economy slide. People are uncertain what the Conservatives stand for, and haven't noticed any improvement since they took over last year.

Liberal Democrats in Bury have three clear priorities: We want safe, thriving communities across Bury. People must feel safe in their own streets and communities. This isn't just about tackling crime, it's about stronger, united communities. That's why we're opposing Post Office closures and why we secured massively increased funding for children in the council budget. It's also why we have always opposed the unfair and divisive congestion charge.

We want Bury to be the greenest metropolitan borough in Britain. Last year Lib Dems secured blue recycling bins for every house, and this year more money for parks and cleaning. We cherish Bury's beautiful environment. We will work hard to protect it.

We believe in giving power to local people, not keeping it at the Town Hall. This means that decisions should be made locally in the six towns that make up Bury. It means local people making decisions at the most local level about the services that effect communities.

On May 1 we have a choice - a return to the 21 years of neglect under Labour's rule in Bury, uncertainty under the Tories, or a clear vision for a better Bury from your local Liberal Democrats."

The British National Party The BNP calls for a fair support grant for Bury, and says "no" to the congestion charge.

The BNP would protect the countryside and the green belt, and celebrate St George's Day. It would have ''British jobs for British workers'', ending cheap migrant labour and fining companies who employed it.

On the NHS, the BNP advocates better pay for British nurses and the removal of "expensive layers of middle management". On housing waiting lists, British people should be given priority over asylum seekers and immigrants.

The party would oppose any planning applications for more mosques, and give police more powers to move on "travellers". They promise to clamp down on anti-social yobs, and are opposed to "forced school integration".

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