Manifesto for May

I spent much of Saturday morning with colleagues discussing our manifesto for May. The themes that are to be coming to the fore are transport (hence our support for issues like Trams and the Rail Link to the airport), affordable housing (we need 12000 new, affordable houses in the next ten years), the environment and the need to keep the City economy as buoyant as we have done in the last 10 years and more. We can and will make a series of pledges on these and other issues but the real challenge is how this document forms to basis for any coalition talks we enter. This is new territory and all party’s, not just ours, need to be clear on their approach. My view is that we don’t go into any talks (and we haven’t as yet talked with any of the other parties) assuming we need to reach agreement on every issue. I would rather work with a group agreeing on 70 or 80% of a programme and then put the rest up for debate to the Council meeting. Otherwise we end up with a series of lowest common denominator compromises that people feel they didn’t vote for or agreeing to things they don’t like in order to stay in power.