A Västerås where everyone can afford to live
We are building the future together. All of us who live our lives here in Västerås. We must never forget that, especially at a time when prices are rising and the world around us feels increasingly uncertain.
So let’s keep dreaming, but let’s also keep fighting. For a Västerås where children get a good start in life, where seniors feel safe, and where everyone can afford to live a good life. A municipality where community is stronger than fear, and where politics is always on your side.
A tougher daily life
The cost of living in Västerås has gone up. Buying a pack of coffee or a tub of butter requires careful planning and means cutting back on something else. Anxiety creeps in when the electricity bill arrives during the winter months. Rent is eating up an ever-larger portion of one’s income.
That’s what everyday life looks like for many of us. We watch every penny and hope nothing unexpected happens next month.
It’s about the stress of standing in line at the checkout as the total keeps rising with every item scanned. It’s about the retiree who turns down coffee with friends because she needs to save money for medication. It’s about the single mom who feels terrible because she can’t afford to let her daughter join that after-school activity all her classmates are talking about.
It doesn't have to be that way.
We're lowering our prices
The Left Party is campaigning on a platform of making everyday life easier and more affordable for everyone. We know that the municipality can’t control the price of butter. But there are many aspects of our everyday finances that the municipality can actually influence.
Public transportation is one of our top priorities. We want to make it significantly cheaper to ride the bus throughout Västerås. Everyone should be able to visit a friend, go swimming in Lake Mälaren, or get to work without breaking the bank. In the long term, we want to introduce completely free public transportation.
No child should have to start the school day hungry. That is why we want to introduce free breakfast in the municipality’s schools, so that more students can have a more secure start to the day and be better prepared to learn.
All children and young people should be able to participate in recreational activities, regardless of their family’s financial situation. Support for community organizations therefore needs to be increased so that cultural, sports, and recreational organizations can keep fees low and purchase equipment that everyone can use. We also want to introduce free cultural schools.
Meaningful leisure time isn’t a luxury. It’s a right. It’s where self-confidence grows, friendships are formed, and hope for the future takes root.
The pursuit of profit undermines the welfare state
When times are tough, we need to be able to rely on our social services. Unfortunately, we know that schools and elder care have been under severe strain for a long time.
The market-driven school system is a major problem. In Sweden, both Social Democrats and right-wing politicians have allowed private school corporations to profit from our tax dollars. This has led to inflated grades, increased school segregation, and money that could have gone toward education disappearing into shareholders’ pockets.
Similar problems exist in elder care. Here in Västerås, care providers such as Attendo and Continuum have been exposed for serious shortcomings and systematic fraud—all in the name of boosting profits.
Let’s strengthen our welfare system
The Left Party’s position is simple. Tax dollars should go toward hiring more teachers and more staff in elder care. Not toward profits for venture capital firms.
Now we want to strengthen the welfare system by allocating more resources and putting an end to the pursuit of profit. And we want assistance to be provided based on need. The children and seniors who need the most support should also receive the most support.
At the same time, we know that a strong welfare system is built on safe and sustainable working conditions. That is why we want to improve the work environment, reduce stress, and ensure that more people are able to work throughout their entire careers.
A divided municipality
In recent decades, the gaps have widened in Västerås. Residential segregation has deepened, and more and more of the city’s public assets have been sold off, broken up, and transferred to the market.
This trend is not a law of nature. It is a direct result of political decisions made by right-wing politicians who prioritized short-term business interests over social cohesion and long-term shared responsibility.
At the same time, the climate crisis is worsening. Despite repeated promises, the measures taken have been insufficient, and emissions are not falling at the required rate.
Now we’re building a Västerås for everyone
Imagine a Västerås where there is affordable housing. Where people feel at home in their neighborhoods and the sense of community is strong. Where streets and squares are vibrant, where civic engagement is valued, and where there are plenty of meaningful activities, exciting events, and fun places to visit.
It is entirely possible, and the Left Party wants to reverse this trend. We want to build a Västerås for people, not for the market. We want to build more rental housing with reasonable rents, strengthen our neighborhoods, and give community organizations better opportunities to grow.
We also want Västerås to take full responsibility for the climate crisis. Sidewalks and bike paths should be expanded, and public transportation should be made both cheaper and better. Emissions must be reduced, urban green spaces should be increased, and the municipality needs to take the lead with significant climate investments. It should be easy for everyone to make climate-smart choices.
A big difference when the Left Party is in power
For the past four years, the Left Party has been part of the governing coalition in Västerås. We haven’t been able to push through everything we wanted, but we’ve made a real difference and implemented policies that make everyday life easier for many residents of Västerås.
A clear example is public transportation. Among other things, we have lowered the price of monthly passes for children and young people, introduced summer vacation passes offering free bus rides, and reinstated the popular 40-ride pass with a special discount for retirees and those on disability.
Preventive efforts have also received a significant boost. Over 1,000 new summer jobs have been created for 13- to 16-year-olds, and the municipality is now offering a record number of free summer break activities in collaboration with local organizations.
Schools and elder care have been spared major budget cuts, which has brought a sense of calm and stability to these operations. At the same time, we have prioritized climate investments and halted the sale of Mimer’s apartments.
Now we want to take the next step. We want to lower bus fares even further, ensure that more young people have meaningful leisure activities, and provide the necessary resources for social services.
Use your voice
Your vote makes a difference. On Election Day, it doesn’t matter whether you’re struggling to make ends meet or are well-off. Every vote counts equally, which is why those of us who want more left-wing policies really need to go out and vote.
In turbulent times, right-wing politicians try to divide us. They want to create an “us versus them” mentality, single out certain groups as problems or threats, and spread fear. We say no. We do not base our politics on hatred or suspicion, but on solidarity and the equal value of all people.
We are happy to collaborate with other parties when it helps move policy forward, but we will never compromise our core values of equality, gender equality, and anti-racism.
Change is possible. We’ve already started making Västerås a better place for ordinary people. Now we want to do even more. With your vote, we can continue to lower everyday costs, strengthen our welfare system, and achieve a fair climate transition. Together, we’re building a Västerås where everyone can afford to live and where the future belongs to all of us.
Our campaign issues
1. More affordable public transportation and, eventually, free buses
We want to continue lowering bus fares and, in the long term, introduce free public transportation. This will make daily life easier and reduce emissions.
2. Meaningful leisure activities for everyone
All children should have the opportunity to participate in cultural and sports activities. We want to introduce free cultural schools and increase support for community organizations so that more people can participate in recreational activities, regardless of their family’s financial situation.
3. A stronger welfare system without the pursuit of profit
More funding for social services. Smaller class sizes, more staff in schools, and higher wages for nursing assistants. Tax dollars should go to children, students, and the elderly—not to generate profits for school and healthcare companies.
4. More rental housing with reasonable rents and no to sell-offs
We will continue to protect Mimer’s apartments from being sold off and renovate them without significant rent hikes. We also need to build more affordable rental housing.
5. A climate-smart Västerås that brings people together
The climate transition must be fair and achievable in everyday life. We want to invest in public transportation, sustainable energy, and urban green spaces. It must be easy for everyone to live in a climate-smart way.
