Kettering Constituency Labour Party

LABOUR DELIVERS - IN THE BOROUGH OF KETTERING  

The Borough of Kettering had a labour led council from 1991 to 2003. Below is a summary of some of the main achievements of that administration. 

EMPLOYMENT

1. Unemployment in Kettering is now less than 2% (a reduction of over 40% since 1997).
2. More young people are in work - 145 young people were out of work for over 6 months in 1997, latest figures show there are just 26 in 2003.

1. The hostel for homeless people in Carrington Street is no longer needed for homeless families and has closed.
2. Burton House in Burton Latimer has been refurbished and re-opened for elderly people at a cost of over £500,000.
3. The elderly persons accommodation in Madams Gardens, Rothwell has been refurbished and re-opened at a cost of over £600,000.
4. The refurbishment of the 'Gaultney' in Desborough has provided 10 self-contained flats.
5. The former Westfield Museum now provides much needed flats near the town centre.
6. The 'Affordable warmth' programme, launched in 1992, to put central heating and double glazing in every council home is almost complete.

1. The former Rockingham Road Girls School is now refurbished and re-opened as the 'Kettering Business Exchange'.
2. Northall Street is now a successful retail area and derelict sites in Dryland Street have been redeveloped for housing.
3. Labour brought over £12 million of investment to the Borough through the 'Single Regeneration Budget'.
4. The 'Market Towns initiative' is bringing investment to our smaller towns.

1. Total council debt reduced from £20 million in 1991 to £6.9 million in 2003.
2. Council balances are up to a safer level from £340,000 in 1991 to £1.2 million in 2003.

1. Kettering now has a multiplex cinema.
2. The Kettering Leisure Village was opened in partnership with the private sector.
3. Rothwell Swimming pool to be refurbished (£600,000 from the New Opportunities Fund and £200,000 from the Borough Council).

1. Lowest Unemployment since 1975.
2. Lowest inflation for 40 years.
3. Interest rates at 3.75%.

THE GOOD OLD DAYS ! 

From 1979 to 1991 Kettering Borough Council was Conservative led, below is a list of some of their achievements. 

UNEMPLOYMENT

1. Unemployment in Kettering reached 12% in the early nineties (25% youth unemployment in the St Andrews Ward).
2. The Centre for the Unemployed ran a 'soup kitchen' providing meals for the unemployed using subsidised beef from the European Union.

1. Hostels had to be opened in Carrington Street, London Road and Burton Latimer to cope with the number of homeless families in the Borough.
2. The Centre for the Unemployed purchased an industrial grade washing machine so that homeless people in Kettering had somewhere to go to wash their clothes.
3. Thousands of council houses were sold off under the 'right to buy' and the Conservative government would not allow local councils to spend the money.
4. Thousands of Council Homes had no central heating and no double glazing.
5. Home buyers suffered through mortgage misery and negative equity and repossessions.

1. The former Westfield Museum stood empty.
2. The former Rockingham Road Girls School boarded up.
3. Much of Northall Street was a semi-derelict wasteland.
4. A large part of Dryland Street was neglected and deteriorating.
5. Former shoe factories in Bath Road and Orchard Crescent stood empty along with many others across the Borough.

1. In 1991 the Kettering Borough Council had total debts of £20 million.
2. The balances of the Council stood at just £340,000 in 1991 well below the minimum safe level of reserves of £500,000 advised by the District Auditor.
3. The cost to local taxpayers of introducing the Poll Tax was estimated at around £1 million.

1. No cinema in Kettering.
2. The leisure facility in the old 'Drill Hall' in Northampton Road was deteriorating fast and eventually had to close for safety reasons.

1. Record repossessions.
2. Record mortgage rates.
3. Record interest rates.
4. Record unemployment.

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In 2003 the Conservatives took control of the Borough Council and they have gone back to their old ways. 

(More to follow)