Scrap the Garden Tax - top manifesto pledge

Karen Hamilton inspects some of the green waste left uncollected by the road side because it's in the wrong bags

 Here's our Liberal Democrat  manifesto for Birmingham.

Top of the list is to get rid of the so-called "garden tax", the £35 charge for collecting garden waste.

Its shambolic introduction has seen barely 10% of households signing up, queues for the waste depots and the streets littered with green bags. But even if it had ben managed well, it would lead to big cuts in recycling and large amounts of dumping.

There's a lot more here to do with jobs, education, housing, transport and how the public voice can better be heard in the council. There are new ideas for dealing with private landlords and scrap metal dealers.


Introduction
Cleaner streets and refuse collection
Devolution and neighbourhood working
Sport and leisure
A public voice
Public protection - landlords, pay day loans, scrap metal dealers
Regeneration, planning and transport
Jobs and education
Housing
Finance