Paul Swansborough is the Reform UK candidate for the Bucklow St Martins By-election that will be held on Thursday the 2nd November 2023.

Full statement

Paul has set out the following pledges to the people of Carrington, Partington and Sale.

Full Revision of the Local Plan It’s a well-known fact that Bucklow St Martins is the forgotten ward of Trafford which has been let down by all three Labour councillors. Partington in particular has seen a large increase in its population in recent years due to several new housing estates.

As a result of the growth local public services are struggling to cope with demand due to a failure of planning. Paul will call upon the council officers to completely review the Trafford local plan to incorporate the following improvements to Carrington & Partington:

• Identify a suitable site for a new supermarket • Provision of a new entertainment zone for bars & restaurants to thrive • An additional GP surgery & dental practice • Return of a Post Office, since the closure of the one in Hall Lane this year • Ensure all of the £18.27m of the government levelling up grant is spent on improving leisure & recreational facilities

Local Transport The current public transport provision in the ward isn’t fit for purpose and Paul will work with TFGM to improve evening and weekend bus services to and from Partington. Long-term Paul would also look to Network Rail to explore the feasibility of reopening the defunct Partington train station.

The Tory proposal to bring the tram to Partington is a pipe dream and isn’t currently deliverable. The estimated cost would be at least £600m. Following the cancellation of the HS2 rail link to Manchester, funding could potentially come £2.5bn earmarked for Gtr Manchester. However, a business case would need to be worked up immediately by Trafford in order to fend of rival bids from Bolton and Stockport.

In addition to the above Paul remains committed to scrapping the GM Clean Air Zone in-line with Reform UK’s wider policy to cancel all CAZ and ULEZ schemes in the UK.

Protect Carrington Moss Paul fully supports the campaign to protect Carrington Moss, being an area of natural habitat within the greenbelt, from any urban development. Paul would call upon the council to revisit its decision to build the Carrington relief road. The cost of the project currently stands around £66m, after originally being estimated to be £34m. Trafford council has only secured circa £24m to date with a public consultation starting autumn/winter 2023.

Anti-social Behaviour Sadly anti-social behaviour is still a big problem in parts of Partington and Paul will work with the local policing team and other agencies to tackle the issue. This would include ensuring housing associations are also maintaining their properties correctly to provide a safe neighbourhood for all to live in.

Council Tax Freeze council tax pending a full financial review. Labour has increased it annually by 4.99% over the last three years which, given the current cost of living crisis, isn’t acceptable. Savings could be achieved by reducing waste and cutting budgets; such as the £9.1m for cycling and walking schemes and scrapping Net Zero targets.