As leader of the Portsmouth City Council Labour Group, I’d like to say a big thank you to all our supporters, volunteers and candidates who helped our campaign leading up to the May local elections. Here in Portsmouth, we rely on our brilliant Labour team of volunteers who deliver leaflets and letters, knock doors and speak to thousands of voters about the work of our Labour councillors and MPs, and how the Labour government is making a difference.
Sadly we did not succeed in getting our messages across to voters, and five hardworking Labour councillors lost out to Reform and the Lib Dems.
We are proud of the record of these councillors and their contribution to Portsmouth, so here are our top five achievements over the past year as part of the Labour Group on the council.
- Pushing the council to tackle the climate crisis and introduce more environmentally friendly policies – e.g. banning the use of pesticides in council green spaces, shore power for the port, improving biodiversity and air quality.
- Safer streets through better street lighting, traffic calming measures and zebra crossings.
- Tackling anti-social behaviour through improved CCTV coverage and local policing.
- Secured public consultation about safe, accessible playground equipment, and then funding to improve access for disabled children
- City wide campaign to highlight problems with flytipping and rubbish across Portsmouth, including regular litter picks.
Not to mention the hundreds of individuals and families helped through councillor casework, especially around housing, contributions to council committees, and many wins for local residents – too numerous to mention. We shall miss our colleagues as we seek to hold the Lib Dem administration to account, and challenge Reform at every opportunity.
