5. the green boroughWe’re proud of Bexley’s green spaces. We look after 100 parks and open spaces, historic sites and playgrounds. Our new Belvedere Beach playspace has raised the bar for providing play for children with special needs or disabilities and across the Borough. Residents have welcomed our street tree planting programme.

By 2020 , we want to see more than 1,000 new street trees across Bexley and we’ve set a target of delivering at least two extra hectares of green open space.We will audit ALL our playgrounds to see what equipment we can introduce for children with special needs or disabilities.

3. THE CLEAN BOROUGHThe Council already spends £4million a year cleaning your streets and town centres. We invest heavily in clean communities and equipment like our new street cleaning machine. We have increased resources for maintaining your roads and pavements THREEFOLD over the last year and are introducing new larger bins in open spaces.

We will maintain the popular three weekly cleaning schedule for residential roads and make the Council’s litter-enforcement pilot scheme permanent.

2. the EDUCATION boroughBexley’s schools are rated as some of the best in the UK. Again, that is not a coincidence. It’s the result of long term planning and significant investment. It’s also down to a huge effort by teachers and support staff who we encourage to keep standards high.

We are confident enough of our service to pledge that Bexley’s nurseries, schools and colleges will be rated as good or outstanding. We will take action quickly if schools underperform and work closely with OFSTED and the Department for Education to drive standards back up.We will support life-long learning, ensuring opportunities exist for all who wish to re-engage with education or learn new skills.

4. the caring boroughWell run councils prepare for an ageing population and that’s exactly what Bexley is doing. We need to ensure that Bexley Council can meet the demands ahead and deliver modern social-care services to those in our community who need it.

The welfare of children and opportunities for young people will be central to everything we do.We will introduce a range of practical help under a new ‘Ageing Well’ service to tackle loneliness and isolation among older people and encourage every opportunity to live life to the full. We will continue to prioritise the choice of people to remain living in their own home for as long as possible. We will prioritise mental health alongside physical wellbeing. We will work with groups and carers to improve services for those living with dementia.

1. the value for money bor ughBy 2020, the only income the Council will receive for spending on services will be what it can raise through Council Tax, Business Rates or fees and charges. Whatever the system of funding, our focus is always ensuring value for money and making each penny count.

We will continue to ensure value for money for every penny we spend on local servicesWe will continue to keep Council Tax low. If it has to rise, it will be because we are committed to supporting the best services. We will generate commercial income to take the pressure off Council taxpayers.

OUR PLEDGES.

Labour’s comrades seem to think that shouting about a problem is the same as solving it! That’s the big difference between us - we have ‘real’ solutions for some of the ‘real’ issues Bexley faces.

So, we’ll leave the comrades to their revolution and instead present a rather more community-minded record of promises kept and our commitments to Bexley’s future.

bexley doesn’t need more politics. it needs more community.

longer to read than a LABOUR slogan but far more relevant to bexley people.

We put faith in facts and our great record while labour’s intolerant comrades hide behind slogans and protest

TeresaLeader of Be

xley

Conservative Group

Take our word for it, there’s nothing very comradely about the behaviour of Labour’s hard left in local govermment. In February, Harlow Labour Council leader Jon Clempner resigned saying The Labour Party had become a “deeply unpleasant place.”In the same month, West Country Labour group leader, Tim Dwelly, resigned with this tweet ...

WRONG. Bexley Labour Councillor Endy Ezenwata resigned too. Here’s his response to claims of bullying and intimidation inside Labour...

Labour have created a toxic atmosphere in town halls up and down the country. They’re not interested in community - only politics. It’s a glimpse into the future of Bexley if Labour ever took control.

jeremy corbyn promised a “kinder, gentler” politics ?and labour’s never been nastier

Like you, Bexley’s Conservative Councillors have chosen to live our lives in the Borough. We use the same services as you, go to the same parks, recycle our rubbish in the same way, use the same shops and visit libraries just like you. It’s why we know our decisions have a direct impact on everyone’s lives.At the heart of what we do is the knowledge that the Council does not have any money of its own. One way or another, the money it has to spend comes from you. We have the same approach to spending public money as responsible residents have to spending theirs. We seek value for money, think ahead and make sure we don’t rack up debt. But running a great council isn’t just about money.Many London Labour Councils have more resources but manage to be less effective. Putting politics and ideaology before residents and services is never a good idea. In this election, Labour fall back to slogans and negativity. They attack, they spin and they criticise but say little or nothing about what they would actually do.

We take a different view. Here. we present the FACTS about our record ( so far ) and our firm commitments to Bexley’s future.Bexley residents have got a common-sense Conservative Council.

Please don’t throw it away.

but that’s nothing to do with bexley, RIGHT?