Coventry Conservatives have set out their plans for the city ahead of critical local elections. The comprehensive five-year plan lays out a new settlement between the city and its people and has been put together based on feedback from residents. The Coventry Covenant promises to address the key issues facing the city and outlines a bold ‘first 100 days’ strategy. Their mission is to reset the city’s trajectory centred on fiscal responsibility, environmental protection and economic growth.
At the heart of the Covenant are five core commitments to reduce the strain on struggling households and deliver better services:
1. Lower Council Tax: An ironclad commitment to reduce the financial burden on Coventry households with a real terms freeze in council tax - a proposal they put forward earlier this year.
2. Better Pavements: Boosting spending on pavements, undertaking a street audit to remove barriers to walking and improve accessibility for the elderly.
3. A Purge on Potholes: Higher investment and an emergency audit of the city’s highways to tackle the pothole pandemic. Funding for speed cameras and road safety schemes would also be prioritised.
4. Tackle Fly-Tipping: Creation of a multi-agency task force, equipped with drones to identify and prosecute offenders. Improved access to the Whitley tip, and a review of brown bin charges.
5. Two New Nature Reserves: Coundon Wedge and Baginton Fields would become official nature reserves funded through existing developer-backed environmental schemes. This would end years of uncertainty, offering permanent protection.
Conservatives say they’ve already identified over £5 million in immediate transformative savings. Failing assets like Coombe Abbey Hotel and Tom White Waste, that have cost taxpayers millions, are also in the firing line. They would implement an immediate freeze on all non-essential borrowing to tackle high debt levels and instigate a Labour legacy waste audit.
To stimulate the local economy, they pledge to keep Coventry Airport open and provide free late-night parking in the city centre with a turnover based rent scheme for traders. The covenant will bring together key stakeholders to tackle youth unemployment, and a new High Street Challenge Fund will help district shopping centres.
Commenting on the launch of the covenant Conservative Group Leader Cllr Gary Ridley said: “For 16 years this failing Labour administration has blundered on, leaving residents paying more but getting less. People have told us they want the basics done well; safe pavements, decent roads, and clean streets shouldn’t be too much to ask. But they believe the Council should not take a penny more than it needs to do this. So we’ll cut wasteful spending and put money back in residents’ pockets.“
He added: "For too long in this city, politics has felt like something that’s done to you, rather than with you, but at this election residents have the chance to change that. The Coventry Covenant has been built by the people of Coventry, and we are asking them to join us in governing this city.”
At this year’s historic election on Thursday 7th May 2026 every seat on the Council will be vacant because of boundary changes. This means voters will have three votes to elect three councillors in each ward, meaning the electorate can change who controls the city overnight.
The last time an ‘all-out’ election was held was 2004 when the Conservatives seized control for the first time in 25 years. This time they’ll be fielding candidates across the city giving every resident the chance to vote for real change.
