On Thursday the people of Lambeth will decide who runs our council for the next four years. The choice will be very clear. Lambeth will either go forward with a Labour council pledged to protect and improve services while keeping council tax down. Or we’ll go backwards to a Lib Dem / Conservative coalition like the one that left Lambeth the second-worst council in the country following a punishing 40% council tax rise before they were finally thrown out in 2006.

After four years with Labour, Lambeth’s now officially the fastest improving council in the country. For the next four years Labour’s made our priorities clear. We will protect frontline services by working more closely with the community, and we will strive to make life fairer for everyone who lives in our borough.

That means keeping council tax as low as possible like we’ve done for the past four years. It means zero tolerance of anti-social behaviour because we understand that local people deserve to go about their lives in peace. It means the biggest-ever investment to repair substandard roads and pavements. It means giving young people the best chance in life with a school place for every child and supervised youth activities within a mile of every home. It means four new leisure centres with swimming pools and free swimming periods for every resident. And it means action to cut the queue for council housing, tackle overcrowding, and improve core housing services like repairs and cleaning.

Labour’s committed to protect the frontline services that local people depend on. Our Tory and Lib Dem opponents have made no such commitment. We’ll achieve it by cutting out waste and making the council more efficient so that when the Government cuts Lambeth’s funding – as all national parties have said they will - we are better placed to protect the front line. Part of that will involve launching Lambeth as Britain’s first-ever cooperative council, working more closely with local communities and service users so they have more control over the services they receive. We know from our experience over the past four years that handing power to local people creates better value for money and better services at the same time.

Labour is a party deeply rooted in the many communities that make up Lambeth. We are proud that Lambeth is one of the most diverse places on earth and we recognise that our diversity is our strength. But we recognise too the challenges an area like Lambeth faces, and at the heart of those challenges is the need for greater fairness so that everyone, wherever they come from, has the best possible chance to make the most of their life.

Lambeth’s come a long way in the past four years with Labour, but I know the best is yet to come. On Thursday 6 May I hope you’ll face the future with confidence and vote Labour so we can keep working together to make our borough fairer for everyone who lives here.

You can read Labour's manifesto for Lambeth in full by clicking here.