We live in dangerous and worrying times, with great volatility and uncertainty seemingly the only new constants.
While we can’t do much about what is going on in the wider world, those of you who live in Wokingham Borough will soon have the opportunity to vote in local elections that will have a big impact on our communities.
Later this month, election campaigns will begin in earnest across the borough, though in practice, for the two main parties competing for seats – the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives – preparation began long ago, with leaflet delivery and canvassing starting shortly after the last set of elections.
There are other parties involved in this year’s elections, of course. But, in truth, it will be a two-party fight in most Wokingham Borough Council wards – a fight between the Lib Dems and the Conservatives.
The choice for most voters will be a straightforward one. Do they support the Conservative opposition on the Borough Council, or do they back the Lib Dems, who have run the council, in the most challenging of financial circumstances, since 2022.
Unlike the Conservatives, I don’t believe in just knocking my opponents and trying to persuade you not to vote for them. I prefer to give you positive reasons for supporting the Lib Dems.
My first point is that we have managed the council’s finances well in very difficult circumstances, with government cutting our revenue support dramatically. All around us, councils under less pressure have become insolvent, but we have managed to balance the books and ensure that the council remains able to provide services for those who need them.
We are scoring well in external assessments of the value for money we provide. In 2024, the respected ImPower independent index of council efficiency ranked Wokingham fifth in the country out of 150 councils providing adult and children’s social care. This year, we have bettered that, moving up to second place.
The Local Government Association, in a review of the performance of our council, praised the willingness of the current administration to take difficult decisions to safeguard the council’s financial viability, a contrast with the criticism the Local Government Association had made of our Conservative predecessors, whom they saw as unwilling to make necessary savings.
Part of our success is based on embracing the opportunities that working in partnership can bring. Under the Lib Dems, the council has developed a much greater sense of internal partnership, with different parts of the council working together more readily to address corporate challenges such as specialist accommodation for adults with disabilities.
We have also encouraged the development of partnership with users of our services, such as with Social Care Futures, which gives us an insight into the lived experience of those who receive social care and enables us to target our spending on things that really make a difference. We have also promoted and facilitated the Communities Vision 2035, led by volunteers from our different communities, which sets out the broad strategic direction for the Borough for the next decade.
We have sought to draw on the strength of others to help us serve our residents. We work collaboratively with other councils, with business, with the voluntary and charitable sector, with the emergency services, the Youth Council, and the University of Reading, with which we have forged a strategic partnership, giving us access to their world-class expertise in climate change, business, and skills.
There is much more that I want to tell you about, so next time I will move onto specific areas of achievement, which I hope will help you make a judgement on who to vote for in his year’s local elections.
By Cllr Stephen Conway, leader of Wokingham Borough Council
