Exclusive:Sheffield local elections: What political parties pledge to improve city
Sheffield City Council candidates laid out their pledges ahead of local elections on Thursday (May 7).
Residents go to the polls on Thursday, May 7.
Ahead of voting day, the Labour Party, Green Party, Liberal Democrats and Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) outlined the issues in the Steel City that matter to them.
Reform and the Conservative Party were invited but did not attend.
Tom Hunt, for Labour, described Sheffield as a city “moving forward”.
“At this election people have a choice to continue to move forward with a practical plan to get things done or to risk going backwards, risk going backwards with the politics of fear, of hate and of division.
“I'm proud that our city is a city of many communities, many faiths, many backgrounds, but we are one Sheffield, and I will always oppose those who seek to divide us,” he said.
Alistair Tice, of TUSC said: “If we are going to rebuild and repair our housing stock and public services then we need a massive expansion of the works department, and need more apprenticeships for more people with well paid jobs at the end of their training."
Kurtis Crossthorn, for the Lib Dems, said: “A council that cuts the grass, fixes the potholes and just does the basic things we expect a city council to do.”
Angela Argenzio, for the Green Party, said: “We need more of that kind of narrative in Sheffield where we concentrate on positives and what the city can do and achieve, and what it already does and has achieved.”
She added that Sheffield should be a “city where people are not struggling to pay their bills, where if they are struggling to pay their bills, there is support for them.”
See tomorrow’s Star for the answers to the questions we asked on your behalf.
Which wards are voting?
The following wards will be electing one councillor each:
• Beauchief and Greenhill
• Birley
• Broomhill and Sharrow Vale Birley
• Burngreave
• City
• Crookes and Crosspool
• Darnall
• Dore and Totley
• East Ecclesfield
• Ecclesall
• Fulwood
• Gleadless Valley
• Graves Park
• Hillsborough
• Manor Castle
• Mosborough
• Nether Edge and Sharrow
• Park and Arbourthorne
• Richmond
• Shiregreen and Brightside
• Stannington
• Stocksbridge and Upper Don
• Southey
• Walkley
• Woodhouse
• West Ecclesfield.
Two councillors will be elected to the Firth Park ward and two will be elected to the Beighton ward due to an additional seat becoming vacant in each ward.
You can view all of the candidates standing for election in your ward on the Sheffield City Council website.
The full three minute pledges are below.
Tom Hunt - Labour candidate for Walkley, Upperthorpe and Netherthorpe
“Sheffield is moving forward.
“We are building the homes that our city needs.
“We are regenerating the city centre, we are getting in investment into key industries like manufacturing.
“Our cultural and creative industries go from strength to strength, we are celebrating being the home of football, the snooker is staying in Sheffield and we are bringing our buses back under public control.
“The city is moving forward.
“We've done a lot over the last few years but there is lots more to do.
“I know that too many people in our city are held back by barriers of poverty, ill health and discrimination - not being able to access the opportunities they need to be able to lead the life they want.
“Four years ago, I put myself forward for election as I wanted to be part of changing that. It's what motivates me today. It's what motivates me every day as council leader and it's what motivates my Labour colleagues, to give people opportunities they need to live the lives that they want.
“It's why we're bringing free bus and tram travel for everyone 18 and under to help families with the cost of living.
“It's why we are building new affordable council homes to give people a safe, secure tenancy that is the foundation of a good life. It's why we are going to redirect funding to the places in the city that need it the most.
“At this election people have a choice to continue to move forward with a practical plan to get things done or to risk going backwards, risk going backwards with the politics of fear, of hate and of division.
“I'm proud that our city is a city of many communities, many faiths, many backgrounds, but we are one Sheffield, and I will always oppose those who seek to divide us.
“Our diversity is our strength and I am proud that we are the UK's first City of Sanctuary.
“Ask yourself who's got the ambition to take this city forward, who's got the ideas, who's got the track record of getting things done.
“I'd ask you on May 7 to vote for unity and vote for a practical plan to get things done.
“Vote Labour.”
Kurtis Crossthorn - Liberal Democrat candidate for Beighton
“I love this city, the community, the history and the people - and there's nowhere quite like Sheffield.
“But I think too many residents feel that the council isn’t on their side at the moment - roads patched, patched again and then they continue to fail.
“Neighbourhoods on the outskirts of the city do feel neglected - and it feels like town hall doesn’t listen to them.
“We have a local plan drawn up with the same top down arrogance that made the tree scandal hit the news for all the wrong reasons.
“Communities are consulted in name only, and are only told what is going to happen to them after the fact.
“When money is tight, residents deserve a council that spends their money wisely and shows how it is working.
“The Liberal Democrats do have a plan to change Sheffield.
“That starts with getting the basics right - not big schemes or headline grabbing policy announcements. A council that cuts the grass, fixes the potholes and just does the basic things we expect a city council to do.
“It’s also about having pride in our city and having pride in Sheffield. Because we are a city to be proud of - whether it is our parks, our history, being on the Peak District, there’s a lot to be proud of in Sheffield and we need to talk our city up.
“But it is also about opportunity for everyone in our city.
“We don't care where you come from or what god you pray to, or who you love. If you show respect to our city then our city should give you the opportunities you need to succeed here as well.
“Finally I think Sheffield does deserve a council that has its communities at heart - not the town hall - and that’s what you will get with the Liberal Democrats.”
Alistair Tice - Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) candidate for Manor Castle ward
“Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) is an anti-austerity, anti-war socialist party. We’re opposed to all cuts and privatisation.
“We stand for jobs, homes and services and against racist and all divisions.
“TUSC are standing 26 candidates in nearly every ward across the city.
“We need more decent, well paid jobs in Sheffield. There has been a massive contraction in the council workforce after decades of cuts.
“If we are going to rebuild and repair our housing stock and public services then we need a massive expansion of the works department, and need more apprenticeships for more people with well paid jobs at the end of their training.
“Sheffield is a low wage economy, average salaries are roughly £1,000 a year lower than the UK average.
“The Council should increase its real living wage to at least £15 an hour for all Council employers and contracted workers which would force wages up in the private sector across the city.
“We need a far more ambitious council house building programme. Since the year 2000, the city has lost 26,000 council houses, yet 20,000 people are still on the waiting list.
“The Sheffield plan says the city will have 38,000 new homes by 2039, yet the Council only plans to build or acquire 1,000 council homes in five years.
“That’s at a rate of 200 a year, which would only be 3,400 in the 17 years to 2039.
“That’s not enough.
“Without enough council houses and people increasingly not able to afford to buy their own home, more and more, particularly young people, have been pushed into the private sector while private renters now pay an average of nearly £1,000 a month in this city.
“So the Council should extend landlord licensing across the city and introduce a rate card that is linked to real wages in Sheffield.
“During the Tory austerity years Sheffield has lost Sure Start, education maintenance allowance, youth clubs, council staff libraries, leisure centres and much more.
“‘Wait for a Labour government’ we were told by the Labour Council, but Labour’s own self-imposed fiscal rules to keep the money-markets happy mean there will be no extra funding to restore lost services, only a continuation of managed decline if the Council does not fight for the funding that’s needed.
“That’s why TUSC campaigns against cuts, and for a ‘needs’ budget which Labour, the Lib Dems and Greens who are in an unofficial coalition or arrangement, do not agree with.”
Angela Argenzio - Green Party leader in Sheffield and current councillor for Broomhill and Sharrow Vale
“I am the one person [at the hustings] who is not up for re-election this year, but will be up for re-election next year.
“I heard somewhere very recently in a meeting that we need to stop talking about potential, because we have been talking about Sheffield’s potential for years.
“Sheffield has become more ambitious as a city.
“The Greens in the room in the inner administration have contributed to that because we brought to the table a different way of doing politics that is not confrontational, is cooperative, and its looking at what’s best for the city.
“We need more of that kind of narrative in Sheffield: where we concentrate on positives and what the city can do and achieve, and what it already does, and has achieved.
“It’s really easy to clickbait and talk about things that are negative. Things go wrong, they can always go wrong, but I think it is more important to harness and encourage the things that are working.
“I really believe in that.
“I used to be a teacher and I know that you get a lot better results when you tap into what people can do, not what is not possible.
“Greens want a city that is good for everybody. A city where people are not struggling to pay their bills - where if they are struggling to pay their bills - there is support for them.
“For example, the Greens piloted in Gleadless Valley a face-to-face pilot where people could go when they were in a crisis.
“It was the Green councillors there, three councillors that piloted that. It went so well that now it is being extended to the whole city.
“I think people need support.
“People always have a lot to give.
“I find that is what happens in a city where there are lots of micro communities and bigger communities.
“We have got some fantastic organisations.
“The council cannot do it all. We as individuals are a bit of the jigsaw but we need to get together to actually get positive and that kind of moving forward: the Greens are very much about that.
“We have brought a different narrative to the city. We were the ones that asked for an enquiry into the tree scandal.
“The local report started a change in the culture of the council. It was a red line from the Greens when they went into administration with Labour in 2021.
“That for me, is the seed that starts this new narrative, and we have been the main advocate for it.