Portsmouth Labour Local Election Pledges 2026 - Portsmouth Labour Party

Safer Streets in Portsmouth

Thanks to the Labour government funding 13,000 more neighbourhood police and PCSOs, every neighbourhood in Portsmouth now has a named, contactable police officer you can rely on.

We’ll work with them to crack down on crime and anti-social behaviour (ASB) and prioritise the things that matter to you:

Visible policing and real action on the issues that matter, whether it’s ASB in parks, vandalism or street-level crime
Invest in measures to reduce pollution, increase road safety and make it easier to walk, cycle and scoot – with School Streets, Play Streets, Active Pompey Neighbourhoods, traffic calming measures and 20mph Zones
Create a dedicated ‘Safer Neighbourhoods Fund’, to consult residents for ideas about schemes to make our local areas safer
Increase CCTV across the city, targeted at tackling fly-tipping, crime and ASB hotspots, with better signage to create more of a deterrent effect

Restore Pride in Portsmouth

We’ll tackle fly-tipping, clean up dodgy shops and invest in our high streets and neighbourhoods so people can once again feel proud of where they live.

Our communities deserve better than neglected streets and empty shops. Labour’s Pride in Place approach will put power back in local hands, backing action on litter, rogue businesses and rundown areas, while investing in the future of our high streets:

Street cleans take place the same day as refuse collection, introduce mobile council skips, kerbside glass collection and increase free bulky waste collections for those on low incomes
Bring more council contracts – like highways maintenance – back in-house, to save money, improve services and keep the pound in Pompey
Embrace new legal powers to block ‘dodgy shops’ – the proliferation of vape, cowboy barbers and betting shops on our high streets.
Provide better support for business owners on high streets outside of our city centre by setting up local Business Forums, to tackle big issues and restore pride together

Protecting Portsmouth’s Green Spaces and Cutting Bills

Families are still feeling the pressure of high costs, and energy bills are a big part of that. Labour will help households save money by improving insulation and reducing waste, while generating clean, affordable energy:

Meet our target of a zero carbon city by 2030 by producing a climate action plan, working with city partners and engaging citizens with Citizen Assemblies
Invest in retro-fitting, providing funding for home insulation and solar panels for homes and public buildings like schools, to cut energy bills and protect the environment
Protect, improve and increase green spaces, including installing more parklets, wildflower meadows, depaving more of our city and tree planting
Continue to oppose the AQUIND interconnector, any environmentally destructive plans for Tipner West and Southern Water sewage discharges

Best Start for Every Portsmouth Child

Balancing work and family life is tough. Labour is on your side, making it easier with 30 hours of funded childcare, more breakfast clubs, and school-based nurseries.

This means lower costs for parents, better support for working families, and more opportunities for every child to thrive from the very beginning:

We’ll build on new funded childcare, expand breakfast clubs and nurseries in schools to give every child the best start in life.
Drive up standards in schools to enhance educational outcomes, with a strong focus on improving early years and Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision
Increase opportunities for young people in our neighbourhoods, including after school and during the holidays and offer cheaper bus passes for young people all year round
Improve accessible play equipment in play parks, ensure at least some are fully accessible to disabled children and families/parents groups are always consulted on changes

Better travel for everyone across our city

Getting around Portsmouth shouldn’t be a daily frustration – and yet it is for so many.

Traffic, pollution, unreliable buses and unsafe roads for cyclists means many opt for the car over other more sustainable and affordable travel options. Labour’s committed to changing that:

We’ll welcome new powers under devolution to bring back local buses under public control to make fares cheaper, improve bus routes and accessibility
We’ll deliver cheaper, greener and more frequent buses to reduce travel by car and expand park-and-ride schemes for tourists and visitors
Make roads safer for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians by fixing potholes and installing more segregated cycle lanes and bicycle hangars to provide more safe lock-up spaces
Continue to push for investment in renewable energy infrastructure, including Shore Power to reduce emissions in the port and more fast-charging points for electric vehicles

A home for everyone

Living in Portsmouth has become very unaffordable – for those buying homes and for those renting.

Thousands of residents are stuck on the council housing waiting list and homelessness persists across the city. We’ll prioritise tackling the housing and homelessness crisis at the root:

Build more homes that are genuinely affordable for locals, including social housing, and ensure all new builds are energy efficient and harness sustainable energy sources
Continue to challenge the proliferation of HMOs in our neighbourhoods, to achieve mixed and balanced communities
Invest in increasing council-owned temporary accommodation to bring down the cost of temporary accommodation and provide renters with support to find affordable homes
Provide support during the cost of living crisis, including a hardship fund for those most in need