Salford needs new investment from whichever party wins the general election on July 4, Rebecca Long-Bailey has said.
The Salford Labour candidate is seeking re-election as Salford’s MP, and has called for a cash injection from Westminster to improve people’s lives in the city.
She has represented the city in Parliament since 2015, and has vowed to use her voice to pressure the next government, Labour or Conservative, to find money to invest in areas such as around Salford Precinct.
Residents around the Precinct recently told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that they feel “let down” by a lack of new facilities or things to do in the area.
Ms Long-Bailey pointed out that Salford Council has suffered cuts worth hundreds of millions of pounds under the Conservatives, a situation which has piled pressure on the town hall’s ability to deliver local services for residents.
She told the LDRS: She said:
“I definitely think Salford needs more investment. Our council has been hit with £245 million of cuts over the last 14 years so it will struggle to deliver basic services, but they are trying their absolute best in difficult circumstances.
“But we need to be supported by a government that sees Salford’s potential.
“I will push to get investment in Salford and in areas such as around Salford Precinct, that’s my first duty to get that funding – if it’s a Labour or a Tory government.
“I’ve always thought the Labour Party is the only vehicle to deliver fairness and equality in this country.
“Under a Labour government, I’ve got more chance as Salford’s MP of fighting for the investment and the changes to our various different policies to allow for a better quality of life for people in Salford.
“They are my priority, and where I agree with things the party or leader says that’s fantastic, and where I don’t agree and I don’t think we’ve gone far enough, that’s when I’ll be using my voice to make sure Salford gets heard.”
Investment from Salford council is taking place in areas around the borough despite the challenges it is facing.
In Eccles, plans are underway to revamp the shopping centre to kickstart a programme of regeneration in the town.
There is also major work taking place around the central Salford area, which has seen new apartments and businesses open, and improvements to transport infrastructure.
But poverty remains a real issue in the city.
A report by Greater Manchester Poverty Action found that the city has ‘high levels of poverty and deprivation’, and that the local authority is ranked the 18th most deprived in England.
It’s a key issue to Salford’s Labour mayor Paul Dennett, who has dedicated much of his work to tackling poverty.
He’s been critical of Westminster over a lack of clarity over issues such as the Household Support Fund (HSF), which is a cash payment given to councils to help their most vulnerable residents.
Ms Long-Bailey said she will campaign on issues which will help lift people out of poverty. She backed a call to extend the HSF in the long-term, but argued it was a symptom of the problem rather than a solution.
She’s also calling for changes to the two-child limit for Universal Credit, something which Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has not yet committed to.
Ms Long-Bailey said scrapping this limit could help people in Salford and around the country living in desperate hardship.
She added:
“There’s extreme poverty in Salford and I will be campaigning on things such as scrapping the two-child limit on Universal Credit so that families get the support they need.
“If we did that, 250,000 families would be lifted out of poverty.”
Salford Conservatives were contacted for comment.
