Is there any room for Christmas cheer this year? - I surely hope so....

Christmas time is finally here, is it just me or has this year seemed longer than normal? I’m finding that people generally are finding it more difficult than normal, prices are up and the money in our pockets is under more strain than it has ever been.

We are seeing up and down the country many councils on the precipice of financial ruin and the pressure on our council-run public services are at breaking point. Alongside this we also have the NHS and care sectors with crippling low morale and high numbers of job vacancies, this has led to longer waiting times and vulnerable people being put at risk.

There are growing calls for a General Election, in a desperate desire to ditch this government, which has run out of ideas and is suffering from more internal infighting. The COVID inquiry is shining a light on the operating practices of the Conservative administration and the huge waste of our money that went on with procurement alongside a backdrop of an elitist “one rule for them another for us” culture. We need to get the message out STOP THE VOTES the only way to stop this madness is for voters to stop voting for the Conservatives and look for alternatives to vote for.

We already see parties gearing up for local elections in May next year. The recent change in administration has allowed us to show there is a better way forward, a change of culture that has meant that councillors are much better able to affect change in our city, parties from across the political spectrum are working together to get the best possible outcomes. Sure, the previous Conservative administration is still angry at their sudden replacement, but their actions led to that decision, and they have no one other than themselves to blame. Hopefully, some New Year’s resolutions can elicit a change in their minds and start to positively engage with others to help us move the council forward in these troubled times.

Next year presents several challenges, we must agree on a balanced budget, our Children’s and Adult Services will have to transform as they are uncoupled from Cambridgeshire and the thorny issue of the Hilton Hotel development needs to be resolved. Decisions made by the former administration like the Hilton and Empower schemes are severely impacting our budgets along with contracts with third parties that didn’t have sufficient break clauses, which are now hampering our ability to transform the council to meet the challenges that it faces. The stark reality is that council tax bills will undoubtedly increase by 5%, with council services under threat of being reduced further. The council’s transformation will not be a quick fix and it will take time to see the benefits.

You will also be asked to elect our county’s Police and Crime Commissioner in May. Whilst the police have indeed increased the number of Police Officers, this still isn’t keeping up with the expansion of the population and the 101/999 call centre is still far from acceptable, leading to callers either giving up or simply not even bothering to call in the first place. The cynic in me would point out that this leads to underreporting of crime, so the announcements that crime is down can only be viewed with scepticism.

Sorry for the doom and gloom, but people need to understand the reality that we are facing.

I’ll sign off for this year on a more positive note by wishing everyone a warm and comforting Christmas holiday, please take the opportunity to spend quality time with friends and family, and recharge the batteries. A special thank you also to all those who must work throughout the holiday.

I hope we can all have a happy New Year and look forward with positivity.