Cllr Mike Bird is the Leader of Walsall Council
It is customary to wish everyone Happy New Year as we begin 2024, but this is predicated on the enormous task that we face with the electorate, both at a local and national level.
I think we would all agree that national politics is not the flavour of the month with the residents of the UK, and our forthcoming task of engaging our Voters, in particular for the Conservative cause, is a mountain that we should start climbing as quickly as possible.
It is not all doom and gloom for the forthcoming local and General Election, whenever that might be, as the unpopularity of a potential Labour Government is becoming increasingly clear with our core Conservative voters.
Negative stories emanating from Westminster, and the turmoil of the last two years, have to be put behind us to ensure a return of Conservatism to both local Councils and success in the General Election. Sadly, too many MPs rely upon local Councillors and Activists as their foot soldiers, but contact is lost once they get elected.
The problems facing local government from a financial point of view and the lack of funding are now becoming a nationwide problem, in particular in Adult Social Care and Children’s Services – which does not have a silver bullet to solve the problem.
In Walsall, we are fortunate at present to have a balanced budget, subject to mitigations, but this is not a position that is shared by some of our colleagues elsewhere in the country.
The issues in Gaza have manifested in splits in Labour groups, of which Walsall is no exception, where eight former members of the Labour Party have resigned their membership to form an Independent Group directly as a result of Labour’s stance on this international issue.
Whilst local Councils are not in a position to influence international problems, there are those who feel that national politicians are not doing enough to assist in solving the issues created by this unwelcome war in the Middle East.
As the Leader of my Council, I look back over the 44 years of my service and can honestly say I have never viewed the forthcoming elections with such trepidation as I do now, but the Conservative resolve within me shouts loudly that we can, and will, win, as the alternative fills me with horror – that we could end up with a Labour Government.
Our mantra must be that finances are better managed by Conservatives than Labour and we must think back to the heady days of 1979 when Margaret Thatcher swept to victory to Downing Street when the first job was to address the interest being paid on money that the Labour Party had borrowed.
I also hope that you will remember the note left by Liam Byrne in 2010 when leaving office saying “Dear Chief Secretary, I am afraid there is no money, kind regards – and good luck!” along with the most famous saying that appeared on the front page of a widely circulated newspaper of the day “Will the last person to leave Britain please turn out the lights” when Neil Kinnock was defeated, despite Labour being in a similar position to now and expecting to sweep to victory.
We cannot let this happen, and we will not let it happen. Please renew your Conservative vows to fight the enemy – which of course is any opposition to us as Conservatives.
Let us pick up the battle by putting our Conservative campaigns on a war footing and follow the example shown to us by Sir Winston Churchill where such resolve in the face of adversity can, and will, bring success. Only then will I be able to say, ‘Happy New Year.’
Finally, let us make 2024 a year synonymous with victory; but this will only be achieved by effort, effort, and more effort to convince those that have left us to return home to win the fight that we all know can and must be achieved.
My best to all Members of Parliament, candidates, and councillors, in both Local and National Elections to succeed – and to succeed well in the face of such adversity.