Vote for "trailblazing" Redbridge Labour if you want sound financial management, group leader Jas Athwal has told residents.

With less than two weeks to go before voters in Redbridge go to the polls on May 5, Mr Athwal sat down with the Local Democracy Reporting Service to make his case for Labour to have four more years in the town hall.

He said: “We came into administration in 2014 and since then we’ve been trailblazing and others are following, that’s the key message.

"Redbridge Council? No one had ever heard of us before [Labour] were elected.

“I remember I went to the Harrogate Local Government Association conference, people asked ‘where are you from? Redditch? Redhill?’ I’d say ‘north east London, where the M11 starts’. Now Redbridge is on the map.

“I think when we go to places people know who we are: a robust, financially-prudent council with outstanding schools.”

Mr Athwal, a 56-year-old Ilford businessman, has been council leader since 2014.

He reeled off things he said the council can be proud of: good schools, “excellent” children’s and adult social care, keeping libraries open and plans to increase the size of Fairlop Waters Country Park.

Mr Athwal argued his council has been “trailblazing” to keep services running through debilitating cuts in government funding.

When he took over in 2014, the council received £118m through business rates and grants, in 2022/23 that figure is expected to be £64m.

If re-elected, Mr Athwal said the biggest challenge will continue to be finances.

“That’s going to be a huge ask. The storm is here now, if you look at the cost of living crisis."

Crime has also been a key focus in the months leading up to the election, with the opening of two enforcement hubs and the publication of Redbridge Crime Commission’s recommendations.

As a first step, the council has chosen to focus on improving youth intervention, domestic violence and women’s safety.

“Women’s safety walks, CCTV and ANPR cameras, the fly-tipping Wall of Shame, tackling anti-social behaviour, 24-hour noise complaints, 24-hour CCTV monitoring, all that is designed to keep our borough safe.”