Clegg and Miliband fight for votes

LIBERAL Democrat leader Nick Clegg yesterday launched an attack on his coalition partners claiming a vote for the Tories and one for Labour, in next month’s local elections would be “for the same thing”.
Labour leader Ed Miliband launching the 2013 local election campaign in Ipswich.Labour leader Ed Miliband launching the 2013 local election campaign in Ipswich.
Labour leader Ed Miliband launching the 2013 local election campaign in Ipswich.

He claimed the two parties’ record in local government showed that they would “squander taxpayers’ money on waste, inefficiency and their own vanity projects”.

Launching his party’s campaign in Ipswich, Labour leader Ed Miliband said he wanted councils to have new powers to effectively allow local people to have more say in what shops are allowed to open up and where amid concerns that high streets are being swamped by betting shops and pay day lenders.

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Mr Clegg told an audience in Cornwall only his party offered a different approach and was the only one which could be relied upon to spend money on the right priorities “taking the difficult decisions to make savings but doing so in the fairest possible way”.

“Difficult decisions will need to be made in local government, just as in national Government, and people understand that. But they – rightly – expect that their representatives should make the fairest possible decisions,” he said.

“Next month, in wards across the country, people will be confronted with the same choice. Despite all their stated differences, a vote for Labour or the Tories will be a vote for the same thing.

“Their record in local government shows that, even when millions of families are feeling the pinch, they’ll both squander taxpayers’ money on waste, inefficiency and their own vanity projects.

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“Our councillors, like all councillors, have had to take some controversial decisions – I don’t deny that. But look at our record and it’s clear that, wherever we can, Liberal Democrats are spreading the burden fairly, investing in ways that enable everyone to get on in life, not just the well off. That’s why, for example, this year the Liberal Democrats haven’t closed a single library.”

Mr Miliband said Labour planned to give councils new powers to stop pay day lenders and betting shops swamping high streets which he warned were changing “and often not for the better”.

He said: “Too many councils are finding that they don’t have the real power to stand up for local people. But that is what politics is supposed to be about: Standing up for those without power and giving power to them. Currently if a bank branch closes down, there’s nothing a council can do if a payday loan shop wants to move in and open up in the same place. Even if there’s another lender next door. That can’t be right.”

The party plans to make changes to planning rules that would let local authorities put some types of premises into a separate category. The move would allow councils to then block applications that meant a change of use for a property.

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Mr Miliband said the new powers would effectively allow local people to have a say in what shops are allowed to open up and where.

“This will be different in local areas, local solutions to local problems,” he said.

“But it means that when they want, the people in our towns and cities can say: ‘No. Enough is enough’.

“David Cameron’s government used to say it would give people that kind of chance. But it hasn’t delivered. In fact, it is moving in the opposite direction. Not standing up to the powerful interests. So it is up to us to give local people a proper chance to protect the places that they love. To turn their high streets around.”

Campaigning by the main parties is set to be suspended in the wake of the death of Baroness Thatcher.