After years of falling living standards under the Conservatives, families across Enfield are still feeling the pressure. Bills are higher, housing is harder to find, and too many high streets saw neglect after years of cuts.
Labour in Enfield is clear that local people deserve better. That is why the council is already taking action to support families now. Enfield Labour pledges to go further, backed by the new Labour government.
Putting money back into families’ pockets
Making Enfield more affordable is one of our top priorities. While the Conservatives allowed the cost of living crisis to spiral, Labour councils have stepped in to protect residents.
Thousands of households every year are supported by Enfield Council’s debt advice teams, library hubs and family hubs, helping people access benefits, manage bills and avoid crises. The council continues to run a hardship fund and council tax support scheme for households under pressure and is launching a new Crisis and Resilience Fund to support families facing immediate hardship.
Enfield Labour is now pledging to go further by creating a one stop shop for family support. Instead of families having to apply multiple times for different schemes, Labour will make it simpler. Households already receiving council tax support will be proactively checked for other help they are entitled to, with the council doing the admin, not residents.
Thanks to funding from the Labour government, Enfield will also strengthen council tax support, including extra help for low income households where someone is living with a terminal illness.
Helping families cut energy bills
With energy costs still high after years of Conservative failure, Labour is pledging free energy saving support for low income households. This will include draft proofing, LED lighting upgrades and home advice visits, with targeted help for households facing fuel poverty, especially where residents are disabled or seriously ill.
Labour will also provide council backed energy advice and switching support through advice hubs and libraries, expand warm spaces, and build more community spaces across the borough.
Enfield Council’s company, Energetik, also continues to provide green and cheap energy to residents and businesses across the borough.
Building homes people can actually afford
Under the Conservatives, the housing crisis has worsened year after year. Labour in Enfield is taking a different approach.
The council is building new council homes and genuinely affordable homes so local people are not priced out of the borough they grew up in. It is also supporting young people who want to buy their first home. A recent first time buyers event brought together experts to give residents free advice on getting onto the property ladder.
Labour is also investing in housing for older residents. Reardon Court, Enfield’s extra care housing scheme, allows people to live independently with support when they need it. It has been hugely popular and is now seen as a gold standard project. Labour plans to build more homes like this across Enfield.
Backing jobs, skills and local businesses
Strong communities need good jobs and strong high streets. While high streets have gone downhill under the Conservatives, Labour is investing in them and in job opportunities.
Residents of all ages can access free careers advice, recruitment days and careers fairs each year, alongside free courses to help people move into work or progress in their careers. Care leavers are supported through the Stepping Stones project, helping them into education, training and employment.
Local businesses can access free support through the Business and Intellectual Property Centre, while the Productive Valley Fund provides interest free loans to small and medium sized industrial businesses in the Upper Lea Valley. Affordable workspaces at Angel Yard have already helped start ups grow, with plans to create more across the borough.
Supporting families and children
Labour has always believed that no child should go hungry. Enfield is now benefiting from the Labour government’s action on food and childcare costs.
Enfield was one of the first areas to roll out Free Breakfast Clubs. More children now receive Free School Meals, parents benefit from 30 hours of free childcare, and schools will soon be limited to charging for just three branded uniform items, cutting costs for families. Labour will also make it easier for parents to access school uniform vouchers.
The council continues to support breakfast clubs, holiday food and activity programmes, food co operatives, community gardens and Healthy Start access, saving families thousands of pounds each year.
Three free parenting apps, EasyPeasy, Qwell and Anya, provide trusted advice and mental health support for parents, carers and families with young children. Leisure facilities are also offered at reduced cost for residents on low incomes.
Pride in our neighbourhoods
Labour believes pride in where you live matters. That is why Enfield offers free bulky waste collections and regular community recycling days, so residents are not hit with extra charges when they want to get rid of bulky items. We are also investing millions into our town centres and high streets thanks to Labour government funding.
A clear choice for Enfield
After years of Conservative failure, rising costs, a housing crisis and declining high streets, Labour is showing there is a better way.
By investing in homes, jobs, skills, families, schools and communities, Labour in Enfield is putting fairness and opportunity first and making sure no one is left to face tough times alone.
