‘Delivering in local government: How Labour is building a better Britain everywhere’

Welcome to our new weekly guide to how Labour Councils up and down the country are helping to improve the lives of their residents.

Week in, week out, Labour councils, working in partnership with the NHS, Homes England and the Labour Government, are getting things done for their local communities on the things that matter to local people.

Every week, ‘LabourList’ brings you a selection of the great work being done by Labour Councils and Labour Mayors. 

Please send news from your council to Paul Dimoldenberg at [email protected].

Liverpool: Empty homes set to help families on council housing list

Homeowners and landlords across Liverpool are being offered grants of between £5,000 and £20,000 to bring long term empty properties back into use, as part of a major push by Labour Liverpool City Council to tackle housing need and neighbourhood blight.

The scheme is aimed at unlocking homes that already exist but have fallen out of use, turning them into safe, decent places to live for people who are registered on the city’s housing waiting list. This in turn will help towards creating strong neighbourhoods and instil a sense of belonging and community pride as families settle into their new homes.

Rotherham: Building work starts on the latest Council homes

Labour Rotherham Council is building 28 new homes on Denman Road, Bushfield Road and Valley Drive in Wath as part of a promise to provide 1,000 new Council homes in the borough by summer 2027, either by the Council building them, buying them from private developers or from the open market.

Once finished, the homes will be allocated based on need to those on their housing register. The council’s rules give priority to people who live and work in Rotherham, with exceptions for the local connections criteria for military veterans and people fleeing domestic violence.

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Islington: New CCTV cameras tackle crime and anti-social behaviour in Islington

New CCTV cameras, improved lighting, and additional nighttime reassurance are just some of the ways Islington Council will be clamping down on crime and anti-social behaviour. Changes to improve security – including repairing entrance doors, preventing unauthorised access, and clearing out litter from communal areas – will be coming to Blenheim Court estate, where the council has listened to feedback from residents.

The Night Safety Hub will be out in various crime hotspots across the borough. The hub – a van run by the council, police, and Parkguard – sees crime reduction officers tackling crime and providing reassurance at night.

Nottingham: 96% decrease in homeless families living in hotels in Nottingham

Nottingham City Council has announced that for 13 consecutive weeks, no homeless family in the city has had to stay in emergency hotel accommodation for more than six weeks.

In January 2024, there were over 130 families living in hotels in as temporary accommodation in Nottingham.  By January 2025 this was reduced to just under 50 families, and no Nottingham families spent Christmas 2025 in hotels as temporary accommodation. In January 2026 the number went up to fewer than five families. 

This reduction is a result of the Council developing partnerships with housing providers to deliver better value and more suitable options for families while also maximising grant opportunities from government, including an extra £127,434 in Homelessness Prevention Grant to provide additional support for children experiencing homelessness. 

Reading: New Central Library opens in June

Reading Central Library will be open in its new home at Labour Council’s Civic Centre on 18 June. The bright, spacious and modern library will be fully accessible and home to well-stocked fiction, non‑fiction, local history and family history collections. It will also include a new community and events space called The Square, almost 100 work or study spaces with free Wi-Fi, and the majority will have their own power source.

Families are the biggest users of Reading libraries, and the children’s area will be bigger and better than its predecessor. There will be lots of children’s books, cosy areas for reading and space for storytelling and singing.

The new Central Library will also offer extended opening hours. On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, it will open an hour earlier in the morning, with access to self‑service library facilities such as book issue and return, and use of the work and study spaces.

Cardiff: 150,000 new trees planted across Cardiff

The ‘Coed Caerdydd’ urban forest project has completed another record-breaking tree planting season. More than 37,000 new trees were planted across Cardiff between October 2025 and April 2026 – including more than 530 new street trees and the first trees grown from locally-sourced seeds in the Coed Caerdydd tree nursery.

In total, more than 155,500 trees have been planted since the project began in 2021 as part of Labour Cardiff Council’s ‘One Planet Cardiff’ response to climate change.

North East: 100 million cheaper journeys made in the North East 

North East Labour Mayor Kim McGuinness has announced a major milestone for public transport in the North East, with 100 million cheaper journeys now made using The Mayor’s Fares across bus, Metro, rail and the Shields Ferry. These fares are capped at £1 for young people and £2.50 for adults until March 2027, saving local people money every single day.

Thanks to The Mayor’s Fares cap, adults in the North East benefit from a £7.50 regionwide day ticket covering buses, Metro and the Shields Ferry, plus £6 Day Rover tickets giving unlimited bus travel in County Durham or Northumberland. Young people save up to £2 through the 21 and under £1 fare, as well as having access to a £3 regionwide day ticket offering unlimited travel across Northumberland, Tyne & Wear and County Durham.

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