On the first anniversary of the Conservatives taking the reins of North East Lincolnshire Council, here is a message from the chairman of the Cleethorpes Conservative Association, David Hornby.
It fills me with great pride at the achievements of local Conservatives in the local elections of May 2019 and the Parliamentary elections of December 2019, with Martin Vickers retaining the Cleethorpes constituency seat and Lia Nici taking the seat from Labour in Great Grimsby for the first time since the Second World War.
Twenty-three years after the creation of the North East Lincolnshire Unitary Authority, the Conservatives now have overall control of the council and already the advantages are beginning to show. The Conservatives swept to power, taking 23 seats, with Labour dropping disastrously to just 14 with the Lib Dems with just four.
The Conservatives laid out their commitment to the area at the start of the campaign and signalled a new way of thinking for local government, with more emphasis being given to listening and consulting with the residents of North East Lincolnshire; something the previous Labour administration was accused of failing to do.
After listening to the concerns of residents during the election campaign, the Conservatives made five key pledges: to look again at the controversial plans to remove Toll Bar Roundabout; a fresh approach to refuse collection and recycling; to look again at how to tackle the growing problem of litter on or streets; the regeneration of the town centre; and, how to restore pride in the area.
Within hours of taking control on this day last year, the new Conservative administration had issued instructions to halt all plans to remove the roundabout and look at alternative ways to improve the busy junction – a remarkable achievement for a new administration.
Since taking over the reins of power just one year ago, I have been consistently impressed with the dedication and commitment of our Conservative councillors, both in their duties as ward councillors going about their daily routine of helping local people with issues and concerns, and in their professionalism in the council chamber when debating important decisions potentially affecting the lives of thousands of people.
How would I sum up the first year of the Conservative administration, given that they now have the great responsibility of steering the borough through the Covid-19 pandemic? Dynamic, professional, listening, decisive and above all responsible to the people of North East Lincolnshire who lent them their votes to make our area a better place to live, work and relax in.
I am confident the borough will continue to prosper with further progress being made in the future, but we must not become complacent with our success. Even in these difficult times we must continue to support the administration and our two MPs by promoting Conservative values. The best way to do this is by having a strong Conservative membership. If you would like to become involved in local politics and help make a difference, please join us.
For information about joining, visit www.cleethorpesconservatives.org.uk
You can follow the association on Facebook at @cleethorpesconservatives and Twitter at @cleethorpesCA
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