Election day - who will gwt your vote? (From Penarth Times)

Election day - who will gwt your vote?

In the past five years the Conservative administration has taken a failing council and has transformed it into a successful one. Services have improved and you may well have seen the improvements in the environment such as grass cutting, parks, roads, litter collection etc. We introduced free bulky household collection and kerbside recycling. We have transformed the council making it more responsive to the needs of the residents of the Vale.

We will continue to seek improvements in the running of the council and pledge to continue to deliver improved services. We will extend CCTV, introduce weekly recycling collection and introduce garden waste recycling. We will employ additional enforcement officers to ensure compliance with the strict regulations on litter, graffiti and dog mess.

We are committed to finishing the Barry Town Hall renovation and to building the County Library. We also intend to deliver the Penarth Headland Link.

I would like to thank the people for their trust in us and I hope they will agree that we have repaid their trust with improved services.

I am sure we all remember what a parlous state the council was left in by the previous Labour administration. Some of those Labour councillors are now in senior positions in the Labour Party and are seeking re-election. We need your support to ensure they cannot do it again.

You have my total commitment to the success of the Vale Council, to sound financial management and to improving services.

Councillor Jeffrey James

Leader

Labour candidates for the Vale Council are fighting the election on the real issues that matter to people. The Vale needs a Labour-led council that is committed to people, will consult with them, listen to their needs and provide the services that they require and respond positively to people's concerns.

We will restore the lost opportunities of five wasted years by the current Tory council and their Plaid bedfellows, where important schemes that should have been completed haven't even begun and even those that have been completed are only thanks to funding from the Labour-led Welsh Assembly.

The Tories incorrectly claim to have put the Vale back on its feet. The truth is that they would not have achieved anything without Labour councillors forcing the pace. This work by Labour 'in opposition' has been recognised by every outside agency, including the district auditor.

It is clear that the Tories have lost touch with fundamental principles and lost touch with the real people in the Vale who depend on the council. The Tories have also lost touch with their own members, as can be seen by the remarkable sight of Tory councillors standing in the elections against official Tory candidates and them having to find candidates from Cowbridge to stand in Barry!

Labour will go back to basics. We will make sure our streets and forgotten back lanes are clean, safe and we will take positive action to punish anti-social behaviour and will ensure that our children are safe and secure both when travelling to and while they are in school.

Labour has solid, achievable pledges that we will deliver when we win back the council on June 10.

Councillor Neil Moore

Leader of the Labour group

STRONG communities, local action - these will be the guiding principles for Liberal Democrat councillors in the Vale of Glamorgan after June 10.

Our greatest strength in Wales is that we are a land of strong communities. They are the force that drives Wales - and we see as much here right across the Vale, from Penarth to Ewenny.

But that great strength is under threat, from all kinds of challenges - be it rising house prices that drive individuals away from the area or anti-social behaviour that undermines our confidence.

We want not only to stem that decline, but empower our communities to take the Vale forward, to make it cleaner, greener and safer for all.

To do that, we will bring the power closer to our communities, extending devolution to them so that more decisions can be taken by the people who will have to live with the consequences.

Stronger town councils will mean stronger communities, reconnecting local government with local people and giving them the power to find solutions to local problems.

Our priorities will be: investing more in our schools with a view to cutting class sizes; working with the police and local communities to help prevent crime, establishing community safety forces; enhancing the environment by extending the provision of recycling schemes, cleaning up fly-tipping and removing graffiti.

We also want to axe the council tax and replace it with a local income tax based on ability to pay.

So a vote for the Liberal Democrats on June 10 will be for fairly-funded and community-driven action.

Jane Maw Cornish

Current Liberal Democrat

Councillor

We have a good record serving our local communities. In Penarth our candidates, Alwyn Evans and Gwynne Pritchard, voiced concern about the 'gherkin' block of flats proposed for the marina area.

The Vale Council has not published a detailed economic and environmental plan for Penarth. This means, for instance, the lack of parking is not being addressed. And the Glebe Street farce cost the public more than £30,000.

They highlighted the failure of the Vale Council to resolve the problems at the Billy Banks. They objected to £20,000 being given to some retiring councillors.

In Barry, Plaid councillors fought hard for Baruc residents. They prevented the council pushing ahead with housing at the Knap Lido, now being developed into an attractive park - the Vale's only new recreational area.

Cllrs Steffan Wiliam and Nic Hodges campaigned to make Romilly Park safe. And Barry Shaw supported the community in removing the dangerous old school building.

Unfortunately, the Clive Road steps were destroyed. We believe the council was negligent, failing to back the residents.

We are fighting for profits made by the Welsh Development Agency out of the town to be reinvested in the community.

When New Labour ran the council, it faced criminal investigations, scandals and financial crisis. Plaid has helped to turn the council around. We insisted extra money was allocated to schools and this is happening.

There is great disillusionment with New Labour. At this election, clearly New Labour is faced with collapsing support. Conservatives in the Vale are split and are facing serious internal disputes. Many see Plaid as a serious option.

Cllr Chris Franks

Plaid Cymru

Alternative Party candidates

ALONGSIDE the four main political parties, Vale of Glamorgan voters have a choice of several independent candidates they can elect in several wards.

These individuals do not belong to the United Kingdom Independent Party (UKIP), but have their own political standpoints.

Residents living in the wards listed below should have already received election campaign literature from the candidates in their area who are standing at the June 10 election.

Some smaller parties also have candidates standing in certain wards.

In the Illtyd Ward, Neil Brown and John Patrick Donovan are standing. In the Llantwit Major ward, Eric Hacker, Gwyn John, Alfred John Readman and David Mansel Thomas have registered as candidates. In the Peterston-Super-Ely ward, Michael John Griffith Morgan is standing as an independent. In the Sully ward, Ian Barlow and Malcolm Davies will be standing, also as independents. In the Saint Bride's Major ward, Leslie James Walters is standing as a retired company director. The Green Party has James Owain Davies in the Cornerswell ward and Dorothy Elizabeth Wilson in the Stanwell ward.

The Socialist Worker Party candidate, Kenneth Evans, is standing in the Gibbonsdown ward.