Southampton party leaders on economic recovery from Covid-19

Ahead of next week's local elections, we asked party leaders in Southampton how they will help the city's economy recover from the pandemic.

Christopher Hammond - Labour

Southampton is a great city going through some of the toughest times we’ll ever know.
We’re facing conditions that will be transformational, if not devastating for many.
The pandemic has highlighted the levels of inequality that blights all our neighbourhoods. Our challenge is to build an economy that protects jobs, retrains for new opportunities and supports local businesses. We believe in putting the needs of local people first in this recovery.
Labour is the only party with a robust economic plan developed in partnership with businesses, charities, trade unions and academics.
Our Economic and Green Growth Strategy is the roadmap to building back local and creating a city that is greener, fairer and healthier for everyone.
Our collaborative approach and clear leadership have paid dividends. So far, over half a billion pounds of investment has been announced since the start of the pandemic that will create thousands of new jobs, boost local business supply chains, and provide new facilities and homes to be enjoyed by many.Southampton is open to business and Labour will sit down with anyone that is serious about getting the best deal for our city in line with our values. We’ve worked with the Government to tackle the spread of infection and stepped in when they’ve fallen short or when they indulge in cronyism with your hard-earned money. We are the only party with a track record of delivery and a robust plan to do more. We created the Solent Apprenticeship Hub, which has secured more than one million pounds to fund apprenticeship starts in small businesses. Launched an innovative partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions to tackle rising unemployment and equip job seekers with the best chance of success. Established a Youth Hub that provides a much-needed service to young people on Universal Credit and are pledging to support at least 600 residents back into work each year.We are setting a course through this challenging time and building a coalition focused on quality jobs, skills, education and training. Now isn’t the time to put this recovery at risk, it’s time to build back local.

Daniel Fitzhenry - Conservatives 

Our Conservative Government has given hundreds of millions of pounds to our city to help it through this period with businesses grants, furlough, self employed support, council support and many other schemes.
Now it’s time for the council to play its part locally: a Conservative council with a “can do attitude” will immediately scrap evening parking charges in our city centre car parks and on-street, to help support our business and leisure sector recover.
We will also be investing millions into our public realm, tidying up our city and district centres.
In our first year we want our city to be cleaner and a nicer proposition, saying “come to Southampton” stimulating new investment, job creation and helping our city back on its feet.
We will also be bringing forward a plan to deliver 1,000 new parking spaces in our city’s estates to tidy up the “muddy mess”: providing new spaces, planting new trees and helping restore pride in our communities. In our first year we will freeze council tax, helping you keep more of your money during these challenging times.
We will be looking at how we can ensure the council operates cost effectively, spending your money properly, whilst looking after those who need it and investing in our city.
Through working closer with the business community and local charities we can achieve so much more as a city, without spending more money.
We all know, “it's not how much you have, it's how you use it” that matters.
A Conservative council will be proud to welcome people to our city, look to work with businesses to invest more here and help restore pride in our city.
Recovering from the pandemic requires us as a city to focus on basic priorities for our residents and businesses, to listen and take action.
A Conservative council will bring the energy and attitude required to get Southampton moving again.

Richard Blackman - Liberal Democrats 

Our plans recognise that there are economic, health and social aspects to help Southampton recover from the pandemic.
In relation to the local economy, we would:
•freeze business rates and council tax;
•introduce business rates relief for Small and Medium-sized enterprises and companies headquartered in Southampton to re-energise our high streets and local economy;
•invest in new businesses with start up grants, advisers and mentoring, and make this support available to small businesses and the self-employed, who’ve not been able to access government schemes;
•fast track change of use applications to get empty units filled more quickly as high streets adapt to the post-Covid economy;
•seek significant investment in expedited homebuilding, prioritising social housing, family homes and office conversions, supporting local construction firms and giving people the homes they need. This would address both the inequality in housing that the pandemic has exposed as well as enable homes to be made more energy efficient, supporting environmental objectives;
•support the Southampton City of Culture bid for 2025.
The pandemic has had a negative effect on people’s mental health and well-being. We would work to ensure that mental health is treated with the same urgency as physical health.
As social policy measures to accompany the post-pandemic recovery, we would:
•promote a restorative justice approach to crime and conflict resolution, delivering faster and long-lasting resolution to crime and anti-social behaviour;
•introduce more CCTV, neighbourhood wardens with expanded powers and a safer streets campaign to protect people and support the night time economy.
The new Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the European Union came into force at the end of the Brexit transition period at the end of 2020 and has put up more obstacles to trade with the EU. In these circumstances we will be a voice for a closer relationship with the Single Market and Customs Union so that local businesses can trade with fewer barriers.

John Spottiswoode - Green Party 

Recovery from Covid is economic, social and mental.
We have been keeping our distance from everyone else for so long and it will take time to rebuild the social links and improve the mental health of those who have suffered during lockdown. Everything ties together and we need a coordinated approach to build a better society and economy post Covid.
We need to ‘build back much better’ than before, embracing the good things that we have learnt during lockdown, such as flexible working, often from home, and the need to travel less, especially by air. We need to recognise that, when we put our minds to it, we can cut down on unnecessary journeys, cut pollution and embrace technology where it can help. We face a climate crisis and we need a profound change to the way we do things, and lockdown showed that we can act decisively when it is necessary.
We need to recognise that there are long term effects from Covid, such as ‘long Covid’ and a big deterioration in mental health. This means having support structures, partly social through family and the community supporting people. There are excellent charities that can help but fundamentally it will also need financial assistance from the government.
We need a Covid recovery plan that protects the large numbers of people who have lost their jobs, paid for by those who have done financially very well out of the situation. It means a tax system that guarantees a living basic income for everyone, simplifying complex benefits without penalising part time workers. Southampton could pilot and prove this approach.
For a vibrant recovery we also need to support back to work, including working parents with children younger than school age. Landlords must act responsibly both with their tenants and as regards their neighbours and local community.
We must support our small businesses so they can grow and employ people in Southampton, especially the young. This means a post Covid business rate holiday. It means reinvigorating apprentice types of jobs. It means encouraging high tech and the new Green economy that does not pollute. nor waste precious resources, investing in things like insulation and low carbon energy.
We can build back better, and indeed we must do so in the face of the imminent climate emergency.

Sue Atkins - Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition

As we start to emerge from lockdown it is clear that Southampton faces a financial crisis.
The government claims that extra money has been made available but this is not nearly enough, so this year the council has increased the council tax by 5% and made further cuts of £10 million on top of the £164 million and 1,000 jobs lost over the last eight years, with further cuts to come. This has and will impact most seriously on the poor and vulnerable in the city.
Over the past decade the Tory Government has taken an axe to local authority budgets, but the Labour council has wielded that axe. This council has failed to protect the people of Southampton.
The council should urgently draw up an emergency budget in conjunction with the trade unions and our local communities to rebuild our lost services and address the real needs of the city. To pay for it the council should use their reserves and borrowing powers. However, this must be backed up with building a mass campaign throughout the city to push the government back and restore the millions they have stolen. In recent days we have seen the effect of football fans rising up to stop the European Super League in their tracks. Think what could be achieved if the council joined forces with the people of Southampton to refuse to make any further cuts. The billions spent by the government on Covid-19 shows that the money is there. If money is available for Boris and his cronies, then it must be made available to fund our local services.
We have written to the Labour council proposing they adopt this approach but they have turned it down, preferring instead to carry on their policy of charging us more each year for less and less.
With a system in crisis we need socialist policies and councillors who are prepared to fight for them, and a new political party for working people. That is why the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition is standing for election across the city and throughout the country to offer that alternative.