Now Then survey reveals political divisions ahead of razor-tight elections next Thursday
Labour and Greens split on issues including HS2, street trees and how Sheffield City Council is run.
A
survey by Now Then ahead of the local elections on Thursday has
revealed strong divisions but also areas of consensus between
different political parties on a range of issues in Sheffield.
Every
party putting up candidates across the city was asked about issues
from city-wide landlord licensing and public control of buses to
systemic inequality and the climate crisis.
The
local Conservatives agreed to answer our survey but later declined
after seeing the questions. The local Liberal Democrats declined to
answer the survey, but sent Now Then their manifesto.
You can read Labour, the Greens, the Trade Union and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) and the Women's Equality Party (WEP) positions on each question on the Now Then 2021 policy survey: in full page.
On
HS2, the Labour group said they support a station in Sheffield, while
the Greens say the "huge amount of money required" for the
project would be better spent on reopening local lines. TUSC called
the project “environmentally damaging and financially unviable.”
The
Greens, TUSC and the WEP all support a change from the council's
'Strong Leader' model to a committee system at next Thursday’s
city-wide referendum. Labour did not take a position, but said that "regardless of the whichever system is implemented, we want to see devolution of decision-making to a more local level and this is why we will enact Local Area Committees."
All
parties expressed some support Community Wealth Building, with Labour
saying the idea would be "front and centre of council decisions"
if they lead the next council.
Labour called Greater Manchester’s decision to take their buses under public control “a major shot in the arm for reform”, and said that they were calling on Sheffield City Region to provide more local powers. TUSC and the Greens also called for more public control of buses, while the WEP said they would commission “an audit of women’s travel patterns and employment opportunities in the area to make recommendations on how changes to routes would increase opportunities for women”.

All parties backed Sheffield becoming carbon-neutral by 2030.
Photo by Gary Butterfield on Unsplash.
All
parties also said they support landlord licensing in principle, with
the Women's Equality Party saying that "women feel safer and
more secure in well-managed homes." Only TUSC and the WEP
explicitly backed a city-wide scheme, which would see every landlord
in Sheffield inspected and assessed before renting out property. The
TUSC also called for maximum rent caps.
Every
party agreed on the need to do more to tackle climate breakdown, but
there was some disagreement on more detailed proposals to make
Sheffield carbon neutral by 2030.
Labour's
proposed Clean Air Zone doesn't include charges for private cars, but
the Greens say this should have been included in the consultation.
The TUSC said they did not want to see “a Clean Air Zone based on
financially penalising vehicle drivers before there is a massive
improvement in public transport in Sheffield.”
Every party showed support, at least in principle, for the creation of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, but the WEP said this should be coupled with "a full safety audit to make sure women and girls feel safe on the streets."
The Greens said they support the introduction of a Workplace Parking Levy, which would see city-centre employers pay a levy for each parking space they have, which would be used for public transport improvements. Labour, whose 2018 local election manifesto said they would look into the idea, said that "we cannot have a WPL until we a fit-for-purpose public transport alternative."
All
parties who responded said they support the work of Sheffield’s
newly-created Race Equality Commission, with Labour saying that "BAME
communities in Sheffield experience pronounced inequality and are
under significant pressure."
The
Greens, TUSC and WEP all said they support Proportional
Representation at local elections, which would see council seats more
fairly match the number of votes for each party. Labour said that as
"councils don’t have the authority to set the electoral voting
system," their councillors had no position on the question.
All parties support the bringing council services back in-house, with Labour saying they “believe in public services delivered by public servants” and the WEP calling for questions on social value to be introduced into the procurement process "as not everything can be reduced to a monetary value."
On housing, Labour said they would build 3,100 new council homes by
2028 while the TUSC called for “a mass council house building
programme in Sheffield and nationally.” The Greens said they would
campaign to stop property developers using loopholes to get out of
affordable housing contributions, and the WEP said they would
identify council-owned land “to develop community housing that is
affordable to buy or rent in perpetuity for older people”.
Calls
for an independent inquiry into the felling of street trees were
strongly endorsed by TUSC, the WEP and the Greens, whose councillor
Alison Teal was taken to court in 2017. Labour said there had already
been a report by the Local Government Ombudsman and they accepted the
findings. “We have apologies for the previous failings and have
held our hands up – we repeat, we got it wrong and apologise,”
they added.
Labour,
the Greens and the WEP all backed a pilot of Universal Basic Income
in Sheffield, with the Greens saying it would “reduce crime, while
improving health outcomes and wellbeing.” TUSC called for a minimum
wage of £12 an hour as a step towards £15 an hour, with a “minimum
income” linked to that.
The 2021 local elections, as well as the governance referendum and Police and Crime Commissioner election, take place next Thursday 6 May.