This week’s council election results were a resounding vote of confidence by Crawley residents in the Labour administration at Crawley Borough Council. Five gains in Tilgate, Gossops Green, Ifield, Southgate, Pound Hill North and Forge Wood clearly show this.
This is almost certainly the best set of election results for Labour in Crawley in decades, I don’t think there have ever been five gains from the Conservatives by Labour at one election in the Borough’s history. It is certainly the first time Labour has won Tilgate in eight years – a very powerful message.
The number of Labour borough councillors is now 25, the highest number for 20 years. It is a huge pleasure to welcome our new councillors who have a range of backgrounds and skills, who I’m certain will be a particular asset to our public life. There is an excitement to beginning a journey in representing your communities which I remember as a young councillor and I wish them well.
We have detailed and ambitious plans – which you can read in full on the Crawley Labour website – to make our Borough an even better place to live, work and visit, and to build on the amazing community spirit we have in our town. This will include further investment in our parks and nature centre.
That’s not to say there aren’t challenges, and most urgently we must begin to do what we can ourselves to address the housing emergency in Crawley, with approximately 500 council homes in the pipeline over the next two years, the majority of them on brownfield sites.
Some of this vote is reflected in people’s frustration about how badly the Tory Government has let them down, it is a strong message to the Tories from the public that their time’s up and they want a Labour Government that will put the country back together.
We will do all we can to use this mandate to protect all of our residents who we will serve equally, irrespective of who they voted for in this election. Thank you Crawley, once again for putting your trust in us.
Cllr Michael Jones
Leader, Crawley Borough Council