LABOUR losing control of Derby City Council in May last year was devastating for local councillors, members and activists. 

During our six years in charge of the council we had faced massive funding cuts, combined with increasing demand for services driven by Tory austerity. 

This meant having to make tough and often unpopular decisions to balance budgets and protect our most vulnerable residents.

The election result gave us the opportunity take stock and reflect. It was clear we needed to rebuild trust with Derby residents and reconnect with our communities. 

As a first step we embarked on a listening campaign across the city. Councillors, candidates and members spent months engaging with residents in their communities, on the doorstep, online, in the city centre, at playgroups and coffee mornings and outside local shops.  
We listened to people talk about what they’d like to see changed on their street, in their local area and across the city. We shared people’s hopes, fears and aspirations for themselves and future generations. 

Our manifesto for the 2019 local election is shaped by these conversations and our ambition for Derby to be a city which people are proud to live and work in, a vibrant and active city, which attracts business investment and is a first class destination for leisure and culture. 

We want Derby to be a city with great transport links and a commitment to active travel to reduce emissions and promote health and wellbeing. 

A city where nobody gets left behind and we work to reduce poverty and inequality. A city where everyone lives in good-quality housing, has access to decent work and enjoys a good standard of living. And crucially we want to be a city where our young people get the support they need to have the best possible start in life.

Derby is a small, diverse city with a population of around 250,000. We are home to large employers such Rolls-Royce, Bombardier and Toyota, and known as a centre of industry and manufacturing. We are a well-respected centre for arts and culture and our communities are active, engaged and dynamic.

But we are also a city of contrasts and inequality. In 2018 average weekly wages in Derby were £595, higher than the national average of £539.  

Yet in 2015 Derby was placed 84th out of 326 local authorities ranked for deprivation. Some 18.1 per cent of Derby residents live in income-deprived households and are reliant on benefits, including in-work benefits. 

Women in Derby earn on average 38 per cent less than men, the biggest gender pay gap anywhere in the country. 

Nowhere is this inequality more pronounced than in life expectancy figures. Not only is overall life expectancy lower in Derby than the national average, if you live in the most affluent parts of the city you can expect to live 10 years longer than if you live in the most deprived area, even though geographically they are only three miles apart. 

Labour will tackle the gender pay gap and wealth inequality. We will campaign to make Derby a living wage city, and end insecure work and zero-hours contracts.

We will support credit unions, increase council tax support for low-income families and make sure universal credit claimants and those in financial crisis get the support and advice they need.

Shockingly, 25 per cent of Derby children live in poverty, and in the most deprived areas that figure climbs to 50 per cent. 

According to TUC research, the East Midlands has seen a 76 per cent increase in child poverty among working families since 2010.  

As a result we see children going to school hungry and not getting enough to eat in the school holidays. Labour will work with schools to expand breakfast clubs and reduce holiday hunger.

Derby has been identified as one of five cities needing to take urgent action to address air quality and reduce NO² emissions from vehicles. 

Labour will establish an air quality commission with key stakeholders to develop a comprehensive strategy to reduce emissions, improve public transport and develop our infrastructure to encourage active travel. 

We will also work towards bringing Derby’s bus network back into public ownership and develop an integrated bus network across the city. 

Massive fare increases, and a reduction of services on routes which don’t make money, have made our buses less accessible and led to a reduction in usage.  

According to Department for Transport statistics, bus journeys in Derby have reduced by one million a year since 2009-10, from 18.3 million to 17.2 million in 2017-18.

Housing is a major issue for Derby residents. The number of households on Derby’s council house waiting list has grown by 40 per cent in the last year. 

There are now 2,676 families waiting for a council  property. Yet during this period only 82 new properties were built or acquired for social housing. 

Labour will provide an additional 500 affordable homes for rent and support the establishment of a not-for-profit letting agency to provide secure tenancies and affordable rents in the private sector.

Around 17 per cent of Derby’s housing stock is privately rented, approximately 20,000 homes. Last year the council’s housing standards team received around 500 complaints of substandard conditions in the  private sector, ranging from insufficient heating, to damp and mould, to inadequate fire safety. 

Labour will raise standards in the private rented accommodation, tackle rogue landlords and ensure tenants are able to speak up about poor housing conditions without fear of reprisal. 

I can’t predict what will happen at the local elections on May 2, especially given the current national political climate. I am however proud of our manifesto and the strategies we are developing to address the problems and challenges Derby faces. 

Our candidates and members will be out on the doorstep over the next few weeks, continuing the conversation with residents and working hard to return a Labour council, for the many not the few.