The political parties in West Northants answer our local election questions
There's just days to go until residents cast their votes and the political parties have shared their thoughts on the local issues that matter
Ahead of next week’s local elections we asked the main political parties what the key issues were for them. Today we have the answers for the West Northamptonshire Council elections and on Thursday we’ll have the responses for the North.
Labour Party, response from Wendy Randall, leader of the opposition group on West Northamptonshire Council
What do you see as the most important issue in these elections?
Get a grip on the finances and be ambitious in making West Northamptonshire a great place to live and work.
Invest in our communities to install pride where we live. Invest in our housing, infrastructure and public transport.
We will connect with other councils and use their ideas if they fit with what we want to achieve.
What is the major concern you are hearing on the doorsteps?
Lack of local infrastructure, connectivity, lack of housing and SEND provision.
How would you remedy the poor condition of the roads?
Get the contractor to work efficiently and effectively. Government has given WNC extra money to repair our roads and rather than temporarily repairing a pothole time and time again we want to see the road repaired properly and permanently.
We will work with the contractor to be proactive rather than reactive.
How would you tackle the climate crisis?
Improve our public transport. Introduce a park and ride to Northampton town centre and NGH which will improve our air quality
Explore the idea of an Eco park.
Rather than sending household waste to landfill we need to look at methods to turn household waste into renewable energy.
Does local government funding need reform?
Over the last 14 years we have seen cut after cut to local services. Some councils have adapted and changed how they deliver services but all we’ve seen under the tories in Northamptonshire is the same old way of working.
We have seen a boost to our funding since Labour came into government and we need to ensure we have the right people in the right places to deliver change in a good way. We will look at our weaknesses and look at different ways of working to see what can be achieved. We will work with our Labour MP’s and the Labour government and make sure we have the right budget to deliver good services.
If you win control of the authority what changes would residents see?
We will be open and transparent. We want to work with parish/town councils and encourage ideas from them and the public and work together to produce a vision for West Northants.
We will start to fix our roads, deliver quality social housing, reduce homelessness, work with our Labour PFCC to reduce crime and antisocial behaviour,
Improve our SEND provision and rebuild our local NHS provision.
Conservative Party response, from Adam Brown, leader of West Northamptonshire Council
What do you see as the most important issue in these elections?
Without doubt the most important issue in these elections is ensuring that the Council remains on a stable financial footing, as we have done since 2021 with balanced budgets and debts stabilised. Everything else stems from that in a local government environment where the financial constraints are tight. Untested, experimental approaches could easily take us the way of Birmingham. It's only by having well managed, stable finances that we can invest more in our roads, our town centres, education and social care. Unless a party is competent in this area then anything else they may promise is meaningless.
What is the major concern you are hearing on the doorsteps?
Residents are rightly concerned about roads, but they're often reassured to hear that because we've balanced the books we've been able to make the extra investment in road improvements to the tune of £10m last financial year. A lot of people are also concerned about immigration, but as a local council we have very little influence over that issue.
The Home Office decides which hotels to use, and this Conservative administration has lobbied MPs to close migrant hotels in the local area where problems have arisen, and we've been firm in saying to the Home Office that we do not have capacity within our local housing provision to take on more people from outside West Northants.
How would you remedy the poor condition of the roads?
To bring the road network up to a perfect condition would cost £250m - money the Council simply doesn't have. So anyone promising to fix all the potholes either doesn't understand the issue, or isn't being honest about the issue. Improving the condition of the roads will be a gradual process, with targeted investments in key areas of the network and in new technology that will allow us to continue increasing our efficiency in highways repairs.
Those investments are only possible if the rest of the Council's finances are carefully managed, and there are no easy answers on that front but our record is there for all to see - balanced budgets over four years, and debt stabilised. From those solid foundations come the choices to invest more in our roads, and as we continue to drive efficiencies in all council departments extra money for highways will always be a priority.
How would you tackle the climate crisis?
The climate crisis isn't going to be solved in West Northamptonshire, but we are custodians of our local environment, and that's where the Conservatives' focus will be. One of our manifesto pledges is to allow communities to come forward to propose local green spaces for protection from development - we know that these spaces are precious to people and that's why I issued an executive order to prevent Council land in Hunsbury from being offered to developers, and why we listened to residents and pledged not to build housing on Eastern Way in Daventry.
There is scope for the Council to save money by investing in solar panels, and these will be placed in suitable, sustainable locations. Likewise, we work with developers and the private sector to promote the rollout of Electric Vehicle charging points, but we will not hammer those people who can't afford an EV and need to use a petrol or diesel car or van to live their life - that's why we've pledged never to introduce a London-style Ultra Low Emission Zone, which is effectively a tax on motorists.
Does local government funding need reform?
Without a doubt. Although the Government has said it will move to multi-year settlements, we will still be dependent upon the generosity of Westminster to be sustainable, and as demand for social care, housing and home to school transport continue to grow so will the pressure on the finances of all councils. That's why it was so disappointing to see the review of social care kicked into the long grass by the Labour Health Secretary, with no report due until 2028 at the earliest. Unless the funding system for social care is reformed then residents will continue to see their councils forced to squeeze investment in the areas they use more often such as roads, libraries, waste collection etc.
Council tax is also a blunt instrument, based on property values in 1991 that often have little relevance today. It is the only tax in this country that I can think of that is levied as a cash sum, rather than a percentage of income or wealth, and that means Councils have to apply a highly visible and often painful increase each year. Because we've been careful with taxpayers' money in West Northants, we haven't had to ask for the 9 or 10% increases that the likes of Birmingham have forced on their residents, but we still recognise that a 4.99% increase each year puts pressure on many people's household finances.
If you win control of the authority what changes would residents see?
As the current administration, naturally we are promising evolution and not revolution. We have laid out the next moves forward for WNC in a detailed manifesto at voteconservativewestnorthants.co.uk promising improvements in bus services, housing provision and of course our roads. We have also pledged not to introduce parking charges where there is currently free parking, no Birmingham-style swingeing tax increases and continued investment in conjunction with the private sector in our town centres. While there will always be changes that people wish to see, and we listen to all voices, a change of administration would come at a huge risk to the stability of our council and the services it provides after four years of hard work and delivery at the new Council. Change can be for the worse.
West Northamptonshire Green Party
What do you see as the most important issue in these elections?
The view that we hear over and over again on the doorstep is that people feel ignored. Whether we win or not, we will keep on engaging with our local communities so that they no longer feel taken for granted.
What is the major concern you are hearing on the doorsteps?
The main issues that people raise with us are:
· A lack of confidence in the current WNC administration on lots of different issues. Previously loyal Conservative voters tell us this as much as anyone else.
Worries about overdevelopment and not being able to influence planning decisions.
Potholes and road maintenance.
A lack of capacity at GP surgeries and dental practices.
Flooding.
How would you remedy the poor condition of the roads?
There are three things we want to do:
Make Kier Highways work for their money. We want to re-examine the contract that is due to either conclude in 2029 or renew for a further 7 years. Long contracts don’t incentivise providers to innovate or make improvements. What targets are in this contract to make sure things get better? What evidence is being collected that Kier is providing good value for taxpayer’s money? We need to hold them to account and make sure that we see results.
Innovate. We’ve been talking with a tech company that has piloted a new approach to scheduling and managing road maintenance. They ran a pilot in the Northeast that saw a council go from repairing 37,000 potholes in one year to an expected 60,000. West Northants Council needs to insist that companies like Kier are trialling and adopting these technologies.
A proper plan for resurfacing. There’s plenty of evidence that just fixing potholes is a false economy. One 2023 study estimates that it ends up 20 times more expensive per square meter than planned resurfacing. The reasons for this include:
Pothole fixes don’t last: our climate is wet with big temperature variation between winter and summer. This means patches break up quickly and soon need a repeat visit.
Bigger jobs are more efficient: Doing lots of smaller, manual, on-demand repairs takes up more time and admin overall.
Potholes appear when there are underlying issues: just filling holes doesn’t solve the problem of a road surface that can’t cope with increased amounts of traffic, wetter winters or both.
How would you tackle the climate crisis?
It can feel hopeless sometimes, but voting for a party with a proven track record and visionary policies is a good place to start making a difference. Some of the practical things we want to do:
· Insist that planned developments – including residential housing – should include the right features. This would include high specifications on insulation and low-carbon heating. The biodiversity crisis is equally important, so nature-friendly planning to support our county’s birds, mammals, insects and other animals will also be key. We want solar panels on warehouses, schools and homes and not on open fields.
· Make sure that enforcement happens. The Council’s lawyers need to make sure that contracts are watertight. If a developer fails to deliver what they promised, there needs to be a financial deduction from their final payments.
· Support community energy initiatives and provide seed funding for projects that give local people the power to put alternative, renewable schemes in place.
· Encourage use of public and active transport and improve opportunities for these. We want to support the electrification of transport and to increase the number of charging points.
· Make sure that the WNC Tree and Woods strategy delivers. West Northants has lower than average woodland cover. Trees provide homes for wildlife and capture carbon from the air, and they also improve the climate immediately around them. Planted along river courses, they can reduce flooding. Increasing our woodland cover to 20% as set out in the strategy should be a minimum target.
· Push for bold targets to be included in the West Northants Climate Change Action Plan which is due to be delivered in autumn 2025. This can’t end up being full of vague, hopeful ideas. It has to include practical, achievable changes across our county.
Does local government funding need reform?
Yes – local government needs proper funding and more power to make decisions. We see it as the only way to deliver the improvements and services that our communities need. People need to be able to make the right decisions locally. We’ll join with our national party and MPs in Westminster to campaign for the government to keep local government local and democratic by:
taking decisions as close as possible to the people most impacted
trusting local communities to know what is best for them
supporting them with investment to deliver real change
introducing fair voting for local elections using proportional representation.
If you win control of the authority what changes would residents see?
We know that the Greens aren’t going to win control over the authority but if residents elect Green councillors they will get councillors who turn up and work hard all year, not just at election time. We’re not funded by rich backers; we only exist because hard-working volunteers from our local community care enough to spend their time working for and with their neighbours. Green councillors aren’t told how to vote by their local party leaders – so residents will get fresh, independent voices speaking up for them. And although we won’t have power, we’ll have influence. As we do in councils up and down the country, we’ll ask tough questions, expose shortcomings and hold the governing party to account. The Green party is a party of hope, change and action, not one of division and fear. We want to give people back faith in politics and we will work hard to earn every vote we receive.
West Northants Liberal Democrats
What do you see as the most important issue in these elections?
The most important issue is ensuring that people get decent, hardworking local community champions elected to represent them. People who will work for them consistently within their communities all year round.
The Conservatives have run the council in various guises (County and West Northamptonshire) for the past 20 years and have run things like the national Conservative government. They have kicked cans down the road, failed to invest in preventative
measures and the results speak for themselves, with people feeling that everything has been broken.
We have been working hard to ensure people understand that these are local elections and are about local issues and local representation. Many other political parties want people to treat this election as an opinion poll on national government. It isn’t.
The secondary issue is to rebuild ambition for West Northamptonshire - its rural areas and market towns, as well as Northampton - whilst ensuring basic services and amenities perform as expected. We must rebuild trust and transparency.
What is the major concern you are hearing on the doorsteps?
There is not a single concern being raised on the doorsteps but what we are hearing can be categorised into one theme:
- having to contribute more council taxes for less in return.
In the last three years council tax hikes have been at the maximum level of 4.99% (the maximum allowed before the need for a
referendum) and over the past 4 years some additional £60 million in revenues have been raised.
Everyone knows that we are paying more but no one can see any improvements. That’s because, in reality, these extra funds are needed just to keep things ticking over. People are concerned about inefficiencies of how their money is spent or, as many see it, wasted money on schemes like the Northampton Market Square.
The concern about the state of the roads and pavements, especially for those with mobility issues, is loud and clear.
Many people in our rural areas and rural market towns feel that the council is more remote and isolated from them on day-to-day issues more than ever. They also believe there is a lack of investment outside of Northampton, too much risk of building on
green spaces, and when construction does take place, there is a lack of infrastructure to go alongside it to ensure sustainably.
There is an acceptance that we need more housing, but not without all of the necessary infrastructure needed to support it, such as decent public transport schemes, community spaces and services, including GP and dental practices.
How would you remedy the poor condition of the roads?
We have been careful about not over-promising. We know there is a national funding issue with highways, to the tune of some £17 billion needed to address all of the issues that exist across the country.
In West Northamptonshire, it is estimated that £200 million is needed just to get our roads back to a good standard. Those funds simply do not exist.
What we can do is review the highways contract and re-evaluate the key performance indicators. We know from our experiences there are serious questions about the quality of the repairs that we see and about the level of communication from the highway’s contractor.
We have a situation where the council contracts to Kier and then Kier often contract third party teams to carry out the fixes. All this leads to concerns about accountability and scrutiny of repairs completed.
This would help with better targeting of both repairs and preventive maintenance.
Councillors and the public alike also need more transparency on the contractual terms that exist.
We would ensure the National Fix My Street reporting mechanism is fully integrated to the local Street Doctor System.
We would also explore creating local ‘user panels’ to ensure that members of the public get the chance to provide regular feedback.
Where there are problems, we would want these flagged through signage to warn road users if repairs have not yet been carried out, but problems identified.
Finally, we need a greater focus on our pavements. In many places they are in a dreadful state of repair making it dangerous or impossible for those with disabilities to use them without fear of injury.
How would you tackle the climate crisis?
The net zero economy has become a powerhouse of job creation and economic expansion with 10.1% growth in the total economic value supported by the net zero economy since 2023.
The Lib Dems have continually applied pressure to West Northants Council over the last four years to move forward with a strategy for dealing with climate change locally, which has seen the Climate Strategy finally agreed in March. It is now being refined before final publication.
We would continue with the net zero commitment made for council emissions and use tools at our disposal to influence the wider area, such as planning policies, the Local Nature Recovery Strategy, the Tree/Canopy Coverage Strategy and the development of a Local Area Energy Plan (LAEP).
Nature protection and climate change are intrinsically linked. There is also a link to the state of our roads with more extreme weather at either end of the spectrum impacting on the ongoing cost of road repairs and maintenance.
Many may argue that the UK isn’t the problem, but the reality is that the industrial revolution ignited climate change and whilst our emissions have reduced over the last 30 or so years, we have simply outsourced our emissions to countries like China.
There is of course a fairness of transition issue that must be addressed, and one of the things we want to see is the local electricity bill coming to fruition which would ensure that individuals in their communities benefit from any green energy schemes.
We are concerned we will see more National Infrastructure Projects on green energy (where National government dictate what
happens), potentially removing local consultation and input to these schemes. We will fight to ensure that local people have a voice.
We will explore investment in green technology for the council, as many of these schemes can also provide extremely large revenue cost savings. We will also work with our local further and higher education establishments to ensure that skills development programmes are in place for local people to capitalise on being part of the green revolution.
Furthermore, the UK's wildlife is continuing to decline according to the State of Nature 2023 report. Already classified as one of the world's most nature-depleted countries, nearly one in six of the more than ten thousand species assessed (16%) are at risk of being lost from Great Britain. Tackling climate change is also a way to protect our natural environment.
Does local government funding need reform?
The short answer is yes.
Conservative Governments have cut councils’ funding by a quarter since 2016 in real terms. Parliament’s cross-party local government select committee’s report, released in 2024, found “systemic underfunding of local councils in England” and a £4bn hole in council funding for 2024/25.
Labour may have increased funding by £1.3 billion in extra funding per year, but this is nowhere near enough to address the problem. Somewhere between 65% to 70% of funding at the council is spent on critical statutory services such as adult social
care and children’s care and the situation is getting worse.
The reality is the social care issues needs to be fixed at a national cross-party level, without this councils will continue to struggle for funds. Sadly, the Labour government has once again kicked this can down the road.
As the council uses a range of contracted services in these areas, the employers NI increases will more than likely mean that contracted services will be even harder pressed with external pressure being applied for the council to fund the difference.
We don’t believe that the Government's plans for devolution provides the solution either. Government argues that this will bring more investment, but it will take decision making further away from local people and put far too much power into the hands of one individual (the mayor) - which will also ultimately cost the taxpayer more for their “office”.
Over reliance on deprivation indices means that areas such as ours often lose out (e.g. Daventry Town centre redevelopment - no funds available).
Council tax rates are still based on 1991 levels and there is certainly an argument to explore adding additional bandings.
Furthermore, exploration could be made on a local income tax scheme and an overhaul of the business rates system.
If you win control of the authority what changes would residents see?
We want a change in the governance system at the councils and make a progressive move away from a cabinet system to a more transparent and open committee system. This would create more collaborative mechanism and stop the closed-door decision
making. Although cabinet is a public meeting it’s clear that decisions and direction are decided at pre-meetings, behind closed doors.
A committee system would also mean that Councillors would have to work harder to earn their keep. There are far too many that have not just taken their allowances, barely make contributions to meetings and are invisible in their communities.
We would create a better public consultation system, not just based on the typical survey approach, but also explore the use of user/community panels. There is not enough listening to residents and this needs fixing. There is a balance to be had on speed
of decision making and resident engagement, however we will never forget whose council it is.
We need to put people first and stick to dogmatic ideas and approaches. Liberal Democrats are open to good ideas from all.
Scrutiny needs elevating to a different level, that requires a stronger skills set and more accountability, especially relating to the challenge of highways.
In all issues we need to move to a more preventative approach and stop the council being so reactive.
Reform UK’s group in West Northants did not respond to our questions.
Adam Brown keeps on mentioning the funding debacle in Birmingham.
If I was in Brum, I’d be mentioning the funding debacle in Northants!
Pot, kettle & black comes to mind. 🥴
The Conservatives have to fess up to the fact that their extreme right wing policies bankrupted the county council and brought us to where we are today.