Aylestone by-election, September 23

Statement by candidate Bob Ball, Leicester Green Party

Quality of life

I love living in Leicester, but there are problems to address if we are to have a decent quality of life for all. My vision for the future is a Green Leicester with less traffic, a better environment and a reduction in the gap between rich and poor. I don't just see Leicester as a sprawling metropolis but more a cluster of urban villages, where each of the wards like Aylestone has good local services and a strong voice for the local community.

Transport - affordable, safe, reliable

Too many of us are still using cars instead of public transport, cycling or walking. This is damaging our health and our children’s health and directly causing climate change.

The Greens oppose park-and-ride and work to protect green spaces. Labour, the Lib Dems and Tories are all in favour of the proposal for Aylestone Meadows. Instead of park and ride, the City needs a network of bus priority schemes, with low fares, linked to rail and county bus services. We need:

more local production and consumption, reducing the need to travel .

more traffic calming measure, including resident parking, if local residents request it.

more safety for children walking to school, with a safe route to every school by 2007.

Better services - public and local

A decent quality of life for all people requires good quality accessible public services. Greens will always fight to save threatened local services, such as health centres, nurseries, schools, libraries, post offices and advice centres.

We oppose the privatisation of education services.
We call for the re-introduce free public toilets and introduce a new city standard to ensure that all litter and fly-tipping is removed within 24 hours of being reported.
We are pushing for local authority control over business rates, because good quality services need high levels of funding.

Healthy environment

It is impossible to have a decent quality of life if the environment is polluted or poorly maintained. Whatever greenwash others may deliver, only the Green Party is serious about the environment. We would:

improve the urban space by fighting for more shrub and tree planting
encourage a massive increase in renewable energy, e.g., wind and solar
tackle waste by adopting a Leicester zero waste strategy - more recycling and reuse - creating many new green jobs
encourage recycling by giving people a discount on their Council Tax
ensure local shops and small businesses get fair treatment. They are the backbone of the local economy and community, they reduce the need to travel and prevent social isolation.

This by-election gives the people of Aylestone a chance to give the Council a fresh voice and ideas for action. It’s important to realise that by voting Green Party people will get someone who cares about the issues of the day and about the future.

Bob Ball, September 6, 2004

Profile - Bob Ball

Bob has established a reputation as an energetic campaigner. He missed by a whisker getting elected in the May 2003 City Council Elections, when a tie in Castle Ward was decided by drawing lots. As a 'shadow councillor', since early 2002, he has worked on issues of concern for residents. He lives in Clarendon Park and has experience in community work and engineering management.

In Aylestone Bob was engaged in the campaign against the Saracen dye-works and is against the proposed park-and-ride network. In Castle, his many campaigns include saving the Clarendon Park Post Office from closure, campaigning successfully against a phone mast on Victoria Park, opposing a racist newsletter and promoting a sponsorship scheme to replace trees that died on Victoria Park.

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