Anna Tomlinson is standing for Labour in Northfield

I have lived in Ealing for almost twenty years and am standing as a Labour candidate for the council because I want to give something back to my community and ensure that Ealing and Northfield continue to be safe, great places to live and to do business in.
One of Ealing’s great strengths is that it is so multi cultural and that so many different groups have come together to make this Borough the great place that is. I was born in Poland with a Polish mother and Jamaican father. My family came to London when I was two and I was educated in London from nursery to university. I am bilingual in English and Polish.
I work as a senior manager at a large medical charity and in addition to working full time, I am also a carer for my mother who suffers from dementia. One of the main reasons I decided to stand for the council is that I feel that carers really need a voice in local government. Whether you are caring for a child with disabilities, a partner or spouse or for an elderly parent, getting appropriate services for the person you care for can be a bureaucratic nightmare. As carers we save the country billions in care costs and yet often have to struggle to get the services we need for our family members and ourselves and if I am elected, I intend to do as much as possible through the council to improve services to carers and to vulnerable service users.
I am active in my local residents association and am a governor of St Mark’s School in Hanwell.
As a Labour candidate for Ealing Council, I am standing on the five pledges The Labour Party is making to the people of Ealing:
1. We will keep council tax low with a fifth consecutive council tax freeze next year
2. We will continue to campaign to save our hospitals from cuts, including a blue light service at Ealing and Charing Cross A&E
3. We will install new CCTV, alley gates and street lighting in crime hotspots
4. We will make Ealing cleaner, including 50% recycling by 2018
5. We will build at least 500 new council homes and create 500 apprenticeships for young people.
Over the last four years, Ealing’s Labour council has defended and maintained council services, despite having been forced to make cuts of £87m worth of cuts by the conservative led government. These huge cuts have forced difficult decisions on the Council, but essential services have been maintained and in many cases improved.
All the borough’s libraries have remained open, we have kept all the Borough’s 27 Sure Start Children’s Centres open – ensuring that children throughout Ealing have the best possible start in life and that families have the support they need. Children’s playgrounds have been refurbished and we are building schools to provide the school places which Ealing’s children need.
In Northfield, the Council has kept the local Library open, and improved the facilities available in it; it has built the Log Cabin Children’s Centre. The road safety programme including the installation of new pedestrian crossings has been continued. The number of primary school places has been increased and Elthorne High School is being expanded. Northfield continues to have the lowest crime rate in the Borough and if I am elected, I will work with the police and the council to ensure that this continues.
Northfield is a wonderful place to live and work. We have great schools, lovely parks and playgrounds, exciting cultural activities, terrific restaurants mix of housing provision, and vibrant and varied local shopping parades . I would very much like to work with and represent the people of the ward to ensure that it remains the safe, attractive and friendly place it is.

Anna Tomlinson

Candidates for Northfield Ward can be viewed here

May 15th 2014