"Wasteful" spending on image consultants and internet TV will be stopped if Labour gains control at Kent County Council this summer.
The party has also pledged to scrap the controversial Health Watch hotline – which cost £150,000 to set up but attracted only 216 callers in its first four months – if voters elect its councillors into power on June 9.
The promises are three of many made in Labour’s latest manifesto, which was published on Monday (March 23).
In the foreword for the document, entitled Better for Kent, leader Cllr Mike Eddy outlined why he felt Kent’s residents needed to vote against the current Tory-led administration.
He said: "The county council elections give us a real opportunity to make life better for everyone in Kent.
"Since May, 2007, the Labour Government has invested billions of pounds in Kent, as it has nationwide, to make our public services more effective and our future more secure.
"But in Kent we haven’t seen the full benefit of Labour’s investment and that’s because KCC has been dominated by the out-dated, divisive policies of the Conservative Party.
"Kent Labour will work to make life better for the many, not the few. We will use resources to get the greatest benefit for the most people."
In the manifesto the party outlines how it intends to make improvements in six key areas – families, young people, the environment, the economy, communities and health and care.
Included in the ‘health and care’ section are promises to remove charges for cycling proficiency classes and tests, introduce subsidised swimming lessons for schoolchildren and extend schemes that involve families in deciding the best care packages for elderly and vulnerable people.
In terms of the environment, Labour has promised to improve access to recycling centres, encourage freight to move from road to rail to reduce air pollution and congestion, and to work with supermarkets to reduce the creation of waste.
The party has also promised to rebuild Kent’s economy, improve the county’s roads network, improve the KCC website and increase the number of out-of-school facilities for young people.
Also included in the manifesto is a list of projects the Tories have "wasted" money on, which includes the internet service Kent TV and the reorganisation of Kent Highway Services among others and totals more than £26 million.
Cllr Eddy said: "It is high time the people of Kent enjoyed the full benefits of a Labour Government, and only Kent Labour can bring these benefits to the county.
"Only KCC led by Kent Labour can make best use of the Labour Government’s investment to improve our schools, our health, our social care for the elderly and vulnerable, our businesses, our roads, our environment and our communities."
Kent Conservatives will publish their manifesto on April 24 while the Lib Dems’ is due to be released in the first week of the same month.
County Hall Tory leader Cllr Paul Carter described the Labour publication as "all mouth and trousers", adding the Tories were continuing to break new ground in areas such as education, highways and support for elderly people.
He also described the "money waste table" as being unfair, noting that Kent TV in particular was evolving to better suit the needs of the county’s residents and the Kent Highways reorganisation had left the group with a state-of-the-art base that would last for at least the next 50 years.
Asked if he was confident of the Tories staying in power after the elections, Cllr Carter replied: "You can never be overconfident but we will do all we can to fight a good, strong election campaign."
To read the Labour manifesto, visit www.kentlabour.org.uk or call 01622 694320.
POSTED: 28/03/2009 18:00:00
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