Essex Conservatives working all year round to help you and your communities - Keeping our County moving, protecting older people and young children, improving our environment, ensuring a world class education system, investing in you and your families
* Conservatives leading the recovery from COVID 19
We hope all of you have coped with the recent lockdown restrictions and that you and your families are all well. Essex Conservatives have led the way in ensuring that the most vulnerable people in our society have received the best care possible. We have worked hard with care homes to ensure that older people have received the highest level of care during these difficult times and were instrumental in getting PPE equipment to the homes during the early days of the pandemic and distributing food parcels to the most in need. We were also key to making sure our care workers were recognised along with NHS staff in the weekly clapping appreciation sessions and continue to support these excellent people who care for our family members.
During the school holidays Essex Conservative, who run County Hall, invested hundreds of thousands of pounds to provide holiday camps for children so they had a safe and secure place to learn and play as their parents returned to work during the current restrictions as lockdown eased.
We worked quickly to find new ways of working so our highways crews could continue their work and keep our roads repaired and safe and this never-ending work carries on today.
Having need to close our Country Parks, Recycling Centres and Libraries at first, we worked quickly to get them open again while putting in measures to keep us all safe.
We are now very much in the recovery stage and most shops are open and the schools returned successfully in September with the great work of our teachers. It is important that we still continue to observe the Government’s safety rules and wear masks in shops and social distance. We as your local Cosnervative team know how brilliant you have been during this time with this awful virus and all of you should be congratulated on ensuring all of us remain safe.
As Essex Conservatives we will work tirelessly to ensure you and are families are kept safe, help our economy grow, work to keep our shops successful and keep Essex as one of the best counties in the country.
* Keeping our county moving
Our roads which are in constant use are seeing major facelifts by using new technologies to resurface them with our teams out every day repairing a constant list of potholes. During the autumn you will see numerous work gangs out getting our roads ready for the winter. As Conservatives we are also putting the power in your hands via your County Councillor by offering them the chance to get the top 50 potholes in their area repaired quickly. This is above and beyond the current work going on to keep up with repairs. You will also see major investment coming into Essex with improvements to the railway, more cycle lanes and footpaths. There will be major upgrades to the A127, A12 and M11. There will also be a new third lower Thames Crossing which will transform the prosperity of Essex.
* Protecting the Environment
Protecting our environment is a crucial part of our work and we have set up the Essex Climate Change Commission involving young and older people to span the generations in improving our air quality leading to longer and healthier lives. We are encouraging more people to walk and cycle and we are investing in better paths and cycleways across the county. Improving our environment is one of the most important thing we can all achieve to ensure we hand onto the next generation a county with cleaner air and improved health.
* Essex Lottery helps our local charities
Essex Conservatives launched the Essex Lottery to ensure we help our local charities and give you the chance to win top prizes. We are proud of this home ground initiatives that ensures your money stays in the county to help some brilliant worthwhile causes especially now as many face financial hardship following the lockdown. The Essex Lottery is an online lottery and since its inception a total of £215,000 has been donated to good causes in the county. Thanks to the thousands of players who buy a weekly £1 ticket – with 60p of every ticket they purchase going to more than 260 charities and good causes and you can select who you wish to support. Another Conservative initiative that makes a real difference to the people of Essex.
* We are here to serve you!
As Essex Conservatives we are proud of what we have achieved so far and with your support we can do more. We never forget that no council has money it has YOUR money and we must always strive to invest that money wisely. That’s why you can trust the Conservatives to run County Hall, efficiently, effectively and environmentally friendly.
* Roger Hirst – our Police and Crime Commissioner reporting back….
Roger Hirst has been running the Police since 2017 and shortly afterwards took over the Fire Service, one of the few in the country to do so and again ensuring Essex leads the way. He has a record of action and has a continued Plan to ensure Essex remains safe
1. Invest in Essex Police:
More police with an extra 400 coming for Essex thanks to the Conservative government, on top of the 368 I have already hired.
2. Get Crime Down:
Cutting crime through targeting hotspots and offenders. Burglary and anti-social behaviour are down; theft, violence and abuse are next.
3. Crack down on violence and drug crime:
He will protect vulnerable people from gangs while I deal with the hardened criminals who prey on them.
4. Keeping our roads safer:
More patrols and working with other agencies to educate and protect all road users, and I will continue to support Community Speed Watch.
5. Support the Specials and volunteers:
He has delivered on his promise to increase our Community Specials with 520 new officers. Making us the second largest and fastest growing Special Constabulary in the country. More to come!
6. Protect Rural and isolated areas:
He has ensured and will continue to protect those in rural and isolated communities and keep businesses safer and free from crime.