This year's local government elections are taking place at a crunch time for Worcestershire County Council.
We have a new government in Westminster which is determined to slash funding to rural counties and the rural economy, while at the same time increasing the burden on our local communities and infrastructure with a massive increase in housebuilding and imposing new taxes on our farms and businesses.
We're also facing the prospect of considerable upheaval as the outcome of top-down plans to reorganise local government across the country.
We're not going to run away from these challenges. Tackling them may be difficult, and may need hard choices to be made.
Your Conservative team here in Evesham, all the way through from our town and district councillors as well as county councillors and our MP, are determined to stand up for what matters to our residents rather than being dictated to by a distant, metropolitan government.
We will fight hard to get the best outcome for Evesham, no matter what barriers we have to cross to achieve that.
All we ask from you is that you continue to entrust that responsibility to us.
Emma Stokes and Mark Goodge, your county council candidates for Evesham South and Evesham North West.
Your Conservative councillors hold regular monthly residents' surgeries. Here are some of us at the Hampton surgery.
Continue to improve our roads and pavements
The county council has spent £8 million fixing potholes across our roads, and has been allocated £1.5 million from Active Travel England to make improvements to walking, cycling and wheeling routes across the county. We aim to put that money where it's most needed. And we will carry on campaigning for the government to properly fund the much needed A46 upgrades to take traffic out of Evesham town centre.
Keeping our council tax one of the lowest in the country
Worcestershire County Council has the third lowest council tax of all shire counties in England. We don't believe we should take any more of your money than we have to. Even faced with numerous challenges, we always remember who ultimately pays the bill.
Protecting our greenbelt and countryside
We can't avoid the need to build more houses. We can ensure that we mitigate their impact with good design and sustainable connections. We will ensure that our design guide and streetscape manual are robust, effective and help build communities.
Crack down on crime and anti-social behaviour
We will work with our local police and the Police and Crime Commissioner to target crime hotspots, and press hard for an increased police presence on our streets.
Backing our farmers and rural communities
The Vale of Evesham has a worldwide reputation for its agriculture and horticulture. Protecting that will always be one of our top priorities. We want to hold on to a countryside which supplies top quality food, enhances our environment and sustains the rural economy.
Investing in our town centre
The Riverside Shopping Centre has been abandoned to decay by self-serving owners with no concern for the town. We will back plans to bring it into public ownership and revitalise the centre of Evesham.
Keep up to date with what we're doing on our website and on Facebook: