'Milton Keynes is shabby-looking and graffiti-tagged' declare local Tories in hard-hitting manifesto
City Conservatives have spared no punches in their battle to win local election seats, describing Milton Keynes as ‘shabby-looking and graffiti-tagged’,
Their forthright attack slams the past 12 years of council administration, saying it has caused “ a city stalled, a town neglected and businesses stuck, unable to grow.”
The manifesto, backed by Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch during her visit to MK this week, sets out the party’s bold plans to ‘fix the city’ if they win control in May, when all 60 council seat will be contested for the first time in a decade.
Bearing the tagline Fix the Basics, Plan the Future, the document pledges to increase funding for pothole repairs, invest in street lighting, tackle graffiti and fly-tipping, reduce knife crime, support local businesses and ensure proper infrastructure is in place before new housing developments are approved.
It accuses Labour of wasting taxpayers’ money on schemes such as the Agora regeneration in Wolverton and Saxon Court redevelopment.
City Tory leader Cllr Shazna Muzammil said: “Every day, Milton Keynes residents and their children are coming into our council offices for help, and are having to sit on the floor inside the entrance of the council for hours before someone comes to help them.
"Our city is shabby-looking and graffiti-tagged, and our roads are plagued by potholes that keep coming back, time after time…. this is Labour’s record.”
Local Labour leaders dispute all the claims, saying Milton Keynes has become one of the most successful and well‑run councils in the country under its leadership.
Labour’s manifesto states they have delivered 95% of its ambitious Council Plan actions for the city. This record includes keeping the council financially stable, investing in services, fixing a pothole every 12 minutes, building new affordable homes, protecting vital children’s and adults’ services, and supporting thousands of local families through hard times.
They promise to be focused on value for money, safer communities, better health provision, more opportunities for young people, new council homes, infrastructure‑led growth, and a cleaner, greener future for the whole city.
Labour is also pledging to fix 6000 extra potholes, deliver three new health centres, tackle anti‑social behaviour, support local high streets, improve access to childcare, and help thousands more families with the cost of living.