Our Promises to Merton
The local elections are about who runs your Council - who collects your bins, looks after the parks, and fixes the roads. Labour currently runs the Council and are the only party locally who has a clear plan to make Merton cleaner, greener, and safer for everyone, whilst keeping bills low.
In politics, records matter, and we are proud of ours.
But we know there is more to do to make our borough the best it can be. That’s why we are making five promises to you to make our borough cleaner, greener, and safer, whilst keeping bills low if Labour is re-elected to run Merton Council on Thursday 7th May…
MAKE MERTON
MORE AFFORDABLE
We know money is tight, so we want to do all we can to keep your bills low and help make Merton more affordable for you and your family:
We promise to keep your bills as low as possible – we've managed the finances well and kept Council Tax low and we will make sure your bill remains cheaper than neighbouring Liberal Democrat-run councils.
We promise to expand Employ Merton, our job brokerage scheme, to provide every young person and resident who needs it, job and training advice.
We promise to make sure a fair day’s work means a fair day’s pay by helping more businesses in Merton become accredited London Living Wage employers.
And because we have managed the finances well and paid down our debt to one of the lowest levels of any council in the country, we will continue to protect the Freedom Pass, Free Swimming for Under 16s and Over 65s, and continue our cost of living roadshows.
KEEP MERTON CLEAN
We believe everyone deserves to live in a neighbourhood which is clean and tidy. That’s why we introduced weekly street cleaning for every street in Merton. To help keep Merton clean:
We promise to introduce a new FREE bulky waste collection service to make it even easier for you to get rid of unwanted items.
We promise to make our new graffiti removal service permanent so that we can clean businesses and shop fronts, and keep our neighbourhoods looking their best.
We promise to protect the FREE Pop-up Tips so you have one near you four times a year.
And because we have managed the finances well and paid down our debt to one of the lowest levels of any council in the country, we will fight against the pressure to move to monthly bin collections and protect the service you have now.
KEEP MERTON SAFE
Merton is one of the safest boroughs in London, but we are not complacent about that fact. We’ve invested £2million in upgrading and expanding our 24hour CCTV network and created a new Safer Streets Team to crack down on anti-social behaviour. To help make Merton even safer:
We promise to increase the number of Safer Streets Officers patrolling every neighbourhood, every week – including on evenings and weekends.
We promise to invest in more mobile CCTV cameras, so we are better equipped to catch criminals and prosecute them in Merton.
We promise to work with the Police to bring a new police base to the borough so that officers are closer to the neighbourhoods they police, and increase the number of Safe Havens across Merton to help tackle violence against women and girls, and to support victims of crime.
And because we have managed the finances well and paid down our debt to one of the lowest levels of any council in the country, we will continue to invest in community safety and work with the Labour government to restore neighbourhood policing across Merton.
MAKE MERTON GREENER AND MORE WELCOMING
We know our parks are what people love most about living in Merton, with ten parks now receiving a prestigious Green Flag award. We’re very proud to be one of the greenest boroughs in London, and we have made it even greener by planting 16,000 trees and whips since 2022. We will work hard to make Merton even greener and more welcoming:
We promise to upgrade children’s playgrounds and sporting facilities in parks across Merton to give young people and adults more to enjoy in their spare time.
We promise to work with the local community to create more pocket parks to brighten up our neighbourhoods and deter fly-tipping, create new woodlands on council-owned land, and work with Friends of Parks Group to get more Green Flag awards for our parks.
We promise to make our high streets and shopping centres more welcoming by planting more flowers and plants every year which will also help clean the air we breathe, and carry out regular deep cleans.
And whilst other councils are forced to cut back on their parks services, because we have managed the finances well and paid down our debt to one of the lowest levels of any council in the country, we will be able to maintain and protect ours so we can keep our much-loved parks in the best condition for everyone to enjoy.
BE HERE FOR YOU
AND YOUR FAMILY
We are determined to get the basics right and deliver good Council services you can rely on. But we know it’s not just about the Council; it’s about your representatives too.
Being a good councillor means staying in touch, always listening, and fighting for the things that matter to you. We will be here for you and your family:
We promise to continue to hold regular coffee mornings and regular advice surgeries in your area so that you can raise issues you have with us.
We promise to deliver regular newsletters to keep you up to date on the work we are doing for you and let you know what is going on in our area.
We promise to give you our phone numbers and email addresses, and to always be accessible so you can get in touch and get help if you need it.
And because we have managed the finances well and paid down our debt to one of the lowest levels of any council in the country, we will continue to improve services in the council and make them easier to use for residents. We will also continue to stand up on important issues to you like saving St Helier Hospital, opposing Criterion’s plans for more towers in Colliers Wood, protecting local police services, building the homes Merton needs, and regenerating Morden Town Centre to benefit the whole borough.
Together, we have achieved a great deal for Merton.
With your continued support, we can keep delivering on what matters to you.
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