Northumberland Labour Group says its focus, if elected, will be on rebuilding the economy.

Labour Group deputy leader Scott Dickinson said: “So many people have told us we want things to be different as we come out of this pandemic. It’s vital that we just don’t go back to what we had before because it wasn’t working for people in our county.

“People relying on foodbanks and people struggling to pay rents because their jobs weren’t giving them a decent rate of pay; this was already happening before the pandemic and Covid brought it into even sharper relief.

“The government wasted so much public money on contracts with their friends and now we are being expected to pay this back.

“As one of the county’s biggest employers Northumberland County Council, if served by a Labour leadership after 6 May, will ensure that its contracts are awarded to employers who pay a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.

“We will work with young entrepreneurs and business people to support what they’re doing to make Northumberland thrive. We will look at ways to make our high streets vibrant with independent shops by supporting people with ideas. We will work with schools and colleges to ensure a skilled local workforce can help to build new homes and retrofit existing homes to making them greener and cheaper to run. We will ensure anyone involved in caring services is rewarded properly for the vital work they do.

“This is a time to do things better and do things differently. At the heart of it will be a home, a job and a friend for all people living in our county. At the heart of it will be care, compassion, fairness, a greener cleaner county and place with drive and ambition to grow up and grow old in.”