2026 Manifesto
A COUNCIL THAT WORKS FOR SHEFFIELD
Sheffield is ready for change. And so are we.
This city has so much going for it: proud communities, a rich history, brilliant people. But too many residents feel that the council isn't on their side. Roads patched and patched again until the patches themselves fail. Outer neighbourhoods left wondering whether anyone at the Town Hall knows they exist. A Local Plan drawn up with the same top-down arrogance that made the tree scandal so damaging. Communities consulted in name only, then told what was happening to them regardless. And all of it paid for by a council tax bill that keeps rising while the services people rely on keep shrinking.
When money is tight, residents deserve a council that spends carefully and shows its working. Too often, Sheffield Labour have done the opposite, prioritising its own agenda over people's daily lives, and hoping no one notices.
We have been making that case in the Town Hall for years. But opposition isn't enough. In the committees we chair, in the budgets we have shaped, in the policies we have managed to push through we have shown what a different approach looks like. Practical. Accountable. Focused on what residents actually experience.
This manifesto sets out eight priorities for Sheffield, all rooted in three simple principles: getting the basics right, taking genuine pride in every part of this city, and making sure opportunity is available to everyone - not just those who happen to live in the right postcode.
Sheffield deserves a council that works with its communities, not against them. One that fixes the roads, listens before it decides, and makes every pound count. We are ready to be that council.
Councillor Martin Smith
Leader, Sheffield Liberal Democrats
6 To Fix
The Liberal Democrat Plan
These are our six most urgent commitments — the things Sheffield people have told us repeatedly need fixing, and that a stronger Liberal Democrat group would make happen.
1. A plan to fix our roads
Let’s stop with the patch work. If a road fails multiple times then it needs a long term fix.
2. Protect our green fields
New homes on previously used land first, not on fields and green spaces.
3. Health in our communities
Put new health services where people need them.
4. Clean up our streets
Tough enforcement against anti-social behaviour, illegal vapes and organised retail crime.
5. Back Sheffield's future
More apprenticeships, more local jobs, working with businesses to keep talent in the city.
6. A fair deal for renters
Stronger enforcement on rogue landlords, clearer rights and real support if your landlord lets you down.
Our Priorities
Our eight priorities set out the areas where we believe Sheffield needs real change — and where a Liberal Democrat council would do things differently.
Each one is rooted in what residents have told us through canvassing, casework and surveys. They're not policy documents. They describe what better looks like for people's everyday lives, and what we're committed to achieving.
