Andy Rayner - Gleadless Valley

For years I have been watching in anger and frustration at politicians making our lives, our country and our city worse.

Full statement

And I’ve had enough!

So, instead of complaining to my family & friends, or shouting at the TV!, I’ve decided that I need to do something positive about it, which is to join Reform in striving for a better Sheffield & Gleadless Valley.

Who am I?

I live locally with my wife and kids, who are still at school.
I’m now retired, but I worked for many years in both the private and public sector. I have years of experience in managing teams, budgets and projects, and I believe the skills and knowledge I have acquired would help a great deal in the sometimes complex world of local government.
I enjoy sport, both watching and playing, (as much as my ageing body allows)!
I moved to Sheffield in 1991 - I love it here, the people are great - it’s my adopted home. And the surrounding countryside is a gift which me and my family enjoy

What do I believe in?

I believe in having a smaller government that interferes less in our lives.
I believe in personal and parental responsibility.
I believe in harsher consequences for lawbreakers and anti-social behaviour.
I believe in greater accountability and consequences for public officials who show themselves to be incompetent or dishonest.
I try to be fair in everything I say and do.
I do NOT believe in a climate “emergency”, or the need for a fake ‘net zero’ which simply pushes emissions to other parts of the world, at great expense to UK citizens.
Unlike the Greens, Lib Dems and some of the Labour party, I know what a woman is! Women’s rights, private spaces and women’s sports must be protected.
I believe in free speech and am alarmed at how much it is under attack from this Labour government.
I believe in our country and our culture, and we need to be careful not to lose it.

What do I want for Gleadless Valley?

I want a Sheffield Council that delivers all of its basic services efficiently & effectively, tackles crime, and stops increasing council tax by so much every year.
Common sense and competence shouldn’t be too much to ask for.

Anti-social behaviour is an increasing problem that needs fixing in Gleadless Valley.
I would like to see more community officers on the streets. And there needs to be greater consequences for lawbreakers, and in some cases for parents who allow their kids to run wild.

We can all see the dreadful state of the roads and pavements across the city. Sheffield council needs to negotiate and oversee better contracts and contractor obligations than they have been doing. Road repairs need to last!

The Gleadless Valley regeneration funds need to be carefully spent on improving the area for residents, and not on any vanity projects or fake ‘climate emergency’ measures. This is vital to parts of the ward that are in serious decline.

Social housing maintenance badly needs improving, and Reform will fight for local people to be given priority for social housing availability.

I am a friend of the motorist; I do not want endless road closures and restrictions, or expensive bike lanes that so few people use.
I would like to see the so-called ‘clean air zone’ scrapped.
And it would be great if our public transport could be improved.

I hear people on the doorstep saying “all parties are the same” and “there’s no point in voting”.
Well, the whole point of Reform is that we’re NOT the same as the others! We really DO want to shake up the establishment and reverse the years of decline.

So if you’re not happy with the way your city is being run, please vote for Reform on 7th May.