Which priorities are shared by parties going into Cambridgeshire County Council elections?
Fixing Cambridgeshire’s roads, improving public transport, and lobbying for better funding are some of the priorities shared by the main parties standing in this year’s local elections.
A full council election will be taking place at Cambridgeshire County Council on Thursday, with every seat at the authority up for election.
The county council is responsible for delivering a number of services including, highways maintenance, education, adult and children’s social care, and running libraries.
Currently the authority is run by a joint administration made up of Liberal Democrat, Labour, and independent councillors, after the Conservatives lost control of the county council at the elections in 2021.
The Liberal Democrats are currently the largest party with 23 councillors, followed by the Conservatives with 21.
Labour has ten and there are two independent councillors and four non-aligned independent ones. There is also one St Neots Independent councillor.
As election day draws near, the Local Democracy Reporting Service took a look at what the main parties who have candidates standing in every area are promising around highways and transport if elected.
Conservatives
The Conservatives are currently the second largest party represented at the county council.
The party has not released a specific county council manifesto, but said it supports the policies included in the manifesto released by the Conservative Mayoral candidate.
On highways and transport, this manifesto listed one of the first priorities as fixing the county’s roads and potholes.
It said: “Many people have no practical alternative to driving. Let’s get our roads moving and end the war on motorists.”
The manifesto said dualling three major A-roads in the county would be a priority, including the A47 between Peterborough and Wisbech, the A10 between Ely and Cambridge, and the A141.
It also said potential new railway stations in the county would be investigated, but added that a promise can not be made to deliver them.
The manifesto said the money from these projects could “help fund properly integrated light-rail routes”.
Green Party
The Green Party does not currently have any councillors elected to the county council, but is standing candidates in every area.
On highways and transport, the party said it recognises that “everyone hates being stuck in traffic” and said it wants to improve public transport so that “fewer people are forced to rely on their cars”.
The party said it wants people to be able to go where they want quicker, more easily, and by spending less, and said buses therefore need to be more reliable, more frequent and more affordable.
It said: “This will reduce traffic, reduce pollution and cause less damage to our roads.”
The party added that its candidates want to see an integrated bus system that connects villages with the county’s towns and cities, and said the party is in favour of light rail.
The Green Party also said it would invest more in cycle infrastructure, including roadside cycle lanes, and increase cycle parking.
Labour
Labour is part of the joint administration at the county council.
In its manifesto for the county council elections, the party said it will “create people-centred travel”.
Listing the priorities for highways and transport, the party said: “Travel at the times you want, on the routes you need, at a price you can afford.
“We’ll work to deliver bus franchising made possible by the Labour Mayor and soon, our train services return to public hands.
“More funding for road repairs and get value for money from contractors. Renew roads, tackle peat soil affected camber, and fix those potholes.
“Improve busway services to end the full buses skipping stops.
“End bad parking with increased powers against pavement parking.
“Joined up networks such as bus connections to rail stations and secure cycle parking and storage.”
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats currently have the most councillors at the county council.
The party’s manifesto set out a number of priorities around highways and transport.
On road repairs the Liberal Democrats said they will “prioritise effective maintenance” and said they will lobby the government for “the money needed to fix the repairs backlog”.
They added that another priority for them will be to invest additional funds in highway maintenance, as well as renegotiating the outsourced maintenance contract and bringing more services in-house.
The party also said it wants to see more community-led highway improvements and “micro transport plans”, and that it would lobby for investment in more public transport.
The manifesto added that “safer travel for drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, people using mobility scooters, and equestrians” is a priority for the Lib Dems.
They said they would “ensure those responsible fix defects left behind from infrastructure projects”, and said they will prioritise more scrutiny of major transport infrastructure projects.
The Liberal Democrats also set out aims to expand EV charging infrastructure to “ensure networks are ready for innovations such as autonomous vehicles”.
Reform UK
Reform UK currently has no councillors at the county council as the party did not exist when the last full council elections were held in 2021.
The party has decided to stand a candidate in every area.
Setting out Reform’s priorities for Cambridgeshire if its candidates are elected, the party highlighted a couple of main aims around highways and transport.
The party said its candidates want to “stop the war on motorists” and said: “We need to be building an environment to support small businesses”.
The party also raised the issue of potholes and said: “Potholes are dangerous and should be dealt with in a quick and cost-efficient manner. Your Reform council will get this crisis under control.”
Candidates standing outside the main parties
There are also a number of candidates standing in the county council election who are not representing one of the main national parties.
In Fenland, this includes Dal Roy, an independent candidate standing in March North and Waldersey, and Barry Normal Wainwright, an independent candidate standing in Whittlesey South.
