Government Support for Urban Development

The plan requires that incomes and costs be distributed in solidarity across the country and that redistribution from state to municipality and region increases, with special regard to municipalities with weak economies. The counter-proposal's demand for clearer state responsibility for fair resource distribution and concrete state support for sustainable urban planning is the same commitment. The plan furthermore wants housing construction to be part of a social development with meeting places and services.

• increased state redistribution to municipalitiesdecisive»Omfördelningen från stat till region och kommun måste öka och särskild hänsyn ska tas till de många kommuner och regioner som idag inte får ihop sin ekonomi samtidigt som de redan har bland landets högsta skatter totalt sett.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Redistribution from state to region and municipality must increase and special regard should be given to the many municipalities and regions that today cannot balance their budgets while they already have among the country's highest taxes in total.”
• solidarity distribution across the country»Inkomster och kostnader behöver fördelas solidariskt över landet.« (party programme ↗)“Incomes and costs need to be distributed in solidarity across the country.”
• good living environments with meeting places»skapar goda boendemiljöer med skyddande grönska, mötesplatser,« (party programme ↗)“creates good living environments with protective greenery, meeting places,”
• state responsibility for construction»Vänsterpartiet vill se ett statligt byggbolag, investeringsstöd för ökat bostadsbyggande och en aktiv markpolitik.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Left Party wants to see a state housing company, investment support for increased housing construction and an active land policy.”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The election manifesto wants to review tax equalisation so that public services of high quality are guaranteed throughout the country and establishes that the state shall be present everywhere – this bears the demand for clearer state responsibility for fair resource distribution between strong and weak municipalities. The party programme makes municipal tax equalisation a prerequisite for equivalent welfare and requires sustainable, integrated urban building.

• equalisation between municipalitiesdecisive»För att säkra välfärden i hela landet behöver vi se över skatteutjämningssystemet, så att det garanterar offentlig service av hög kvalitet i hela landet, även i små kommuner som kämpar med sitt befolkningsunderlag.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“To secure welfare throughout the country we need to review the tax equalisation system so that it guarantees public services of high quality throughout the country, even in small municipalities struggling with their population base.”
• state presence throughout the country»Staten ska finnas närvarande i hela landet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The state shall be present throughout the country.”
• municipal tax equalisation»förutsätter en kommunal skatteutjämning så att inte olika skattekraft och skillnader i« (party programme ↗)“presupposes municipal tax equalisation so that not different tax capacity and differences in”
• sustainable urban building»framtidsinriktat stadsbyggande som skapar integrerade, variationsrika och transportsnåla« (party programme ↗)“forward-looking urban building that creates integrated, varied and transport-efficient”

The plan demands that the tax system provide equivalent economic conditions for municipal services throughout the country and that extensive investments are made in energy efficiency, public transport, and climate adaptation in cities. Clearer state responsibility for fair resource distribution and concrete support such as urban environment agreements respond to this. The plan's housing policy shall furthermore counter segregation, which speaks against entrusting responsibility to municipalities and the market.

• equivalent conditions for municipalitiesdecisive»Ett väl fungerande skattesystem ska ge likvärdiga ekonomiska förutsättningar« (party programme ↗)“A well-functioning tax system shall provide equivalent economic conditions”
• investments in sustainable city»behövs omfattande investeringar i energieffektivisering av befintlig bebyggelse, i kollektivtrafik,« (party programme ↗)“extensive investments are needed in energy efficiency of existing buildings, in public transport,”
• equitable urban development»Miljöpartiets bostadspolitik ska motverka segregation och främja lika rättigheter.« (party programme ↗)“The Green Party's housing policy shall counter segregation and promote equal rights.”
• state support for public transport»bygga ut kollektivtrafiken i hela landet, och gör det billigare att åka buss och tåg, särskilt för unga och pensionärer.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“expand public transport throughout the country, and make it cheaper to travel by bus and train, particularly for young people and pensioners.”

The plan requires that all parts of the country be given equal conditions for development and points out equalizing policy instruments as a well-functioning tax equalization system, and that welfare and public services shall be equivalent regardless of where one lives. This bears the counter-proposal's demand for clearer state responsibility for fair distribution of resources between municipalities with different financial strength. The plan's decentralization principle points in the opposite direction regarding state control.

• equal conditions throughout the countrydecisive»Alla delar av landet ska ges likvärdiga förutsättningar för utveckling och tillväxt.« (party programme ↗)“All parts of the country shall be given equal conditions for development and growth.”
• equalization between municipalities»Exempel på sådana styrmedel är ett väl fungerande skatteutjämningssystem« (party programme ↗)“Examples of such policy instruments are a well-functioning tax equalization system”
• equivalent welfare everywhere»Alla invånare ska ha tillgång till en likvärdig och pålitlig välfärd oavsett var de bor, och den offentliga servicen ska finnas där när man behöver den.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“All residents shall have access to equivalent and reliable welfare regardless of where they live, and public services shall be available when needed.”
• decisions near people»Decentralisera mera. Människor ska få bestämma mer själva, och politiska beslut ska fattas nära dem som berörs.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Decentralize more. People should have more say in decision-making, and political decisions should be made close to those affected.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan establishes that the economic conditions for municipalities and regions need to be equalised with regard to factors that cannot be influenced, and wants to shift financing responsibility to the state to create more equivalent conditions. This carries the counter-proposal's requirement for clearer state responsibility for fair distribution of resources between municipalities with strong and weak finances. The plan does however want to abolish expensive building subsidies, which sets a limit for which concrete state support fits.

• equalised municipal conditionsdecisive»utjämnas med avseende på faktorer som inte går att påverka.« (party programme ↗)“equalised with regard to factors that cannot be influenced.”
• state financing responsibility»Vi vill skapa mer likvärdiga villkor och skatter genom att flytta finansieringsansvaret för bland annat skolan och LSS till staten.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to create more equivalent conditions and taxes by shifting the financing responsibility for, among other things, schools and LSS to the state.”
• planning for public transport»I samhällsplaneringen ska det kommunala planmonopolet användas i högre grad för att skapa« (party programme ↗)“In societal planning, the municipal planning monopoly shall be used to greater degree to create”
• abolished building subsidies»Dagens dyra byggsubventioner ska avskaffas och ett nytt system med behovsbostäder ska införas för grupper med särskilt stora bostadsbehov, såsom våldsutsatta och familjer med mycket svag ekonomi.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Today's expensive building subsidies shall be abolished and a new system with necessary housing shall be introduced for groups with particularly large housing needs, such as victims of violence and families with very weak finances.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The party programme makes it a state responsibility to support municipalities without sufficient tax base and requires a state equalisation system that smooths out differences in tax capacity and social circumstances. The counter-proposal's requirement for clearer state responsibility for fair resource distribution in urban development follows from this, as does the plan's requirement for sustainable urban planning. The plan, however, wants measures to be undertaken primarily with general means.

• state support to weak municipalitiesdecisive»Det är en statlig uppgift att stödja kommuner som inte har ett tillräckligt skatteunderlag för att klara sina lagstadgade skyldigheter mot kommunens invånare.« (party programme ↗)“It is a state responsibility to support municipalities that do not have a sufficient tax base to meet their statutory obligations to the municipality's inhabitants.”
• state municipal equalisation»Systemet för kommunal utjämning ska vara statligt och så utformat att konsekvenserna av skillnader i skattekraft, befolkningsstruktur, geografiska avstånd, klimat och sociala omständigheter utjämnas.« (party programme ↗)“The system for municipal equalisation shall be state-run and so designed that the consequences of differences in tax capacity, population structure, geographical distances, climate and social circumstances are evened out.”
• sustainable urban planning»Därför är det av stor vikt med en arkitektur och stadsplanering som skapar bestående värden och är hållbar i begreppets fulla bemärkelse.« (party programme ↗)“Therefore it is of great importance to have architecture and urban planning that create lasting values and are sustainable in the full sense of the term.”
• general means as primary option»Regionalpolitiken ska medverka till att en god grund för näringslivet i sysselsättningssvaga områden skapas i första hand genom generella stimulansåtgärder.« (party programme ↗)“Regional policy shall contribute to creating a good foundation for business in areas with high unemployment primarily through general stimulus measures.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan's state view is that decisions should be made at the lowest effective level and that the state should prioritize its core mandate and act with caution in other areas. Extended state responsibility for resource distribution in urban development with new targeted support is exactly the kind of extended ambition that the plan warns against. The plan therefore speaks against the counter-proposal's demand and instead wants to strengthen local influence.

• decisions at the lowest leveldecisive»Det politiska systemet ska bygga på att beslut fattas på lägsta« (party programme ↗)“The political system should be built on decisions being made at the lowest”
• not an all-encompassing state»En stat som sträcker ut långtgående ambitioner över alla« (party programme ↗)“A state that extends far-reaching ambitions over all”
• the state prioritizes core tasks»Den prioriterar sitt grunduppdrag« (party programme ↗)“It prioritizes its core mandate”
• local influence in urban development»Låta medborgare få större inflytande över arkitekturen för att minska överklaganden« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Let citizens have greater influence over architecture to reduce appeals”

The plan wants to concentrate public expenditure on the core of welfare and demand clear citizen benefit for every investment, and invest in welfare instead of political prestige projects. It explicitly criticises that taxpayers must pay large subsidies to major cities' public transport and subsidies. New state support and city environment agreements for sustainable urban planning are precisely such targeted investments that the plan prioritises down.

• concentrate expenditure on welfaredecisive»Sverigedemokraterna vill koncentrera de offentliga utgifterna till välfärdens hjärta och begära tydlig medborgarnytta för alla satsningar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden Democrats want to concentrate public expenditure on welfare's core and demand clear citizen benefit for all investments.”
• against major city subsidies»De flesta har inte råd att köpa en ny bil, men tvingas samtidigt betala för skattesubventioner för dem som har råd att köpa dyra elbilar och även betala för stora bidrag till kollektivtrafiken via skattsedeln.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Most people cannot afford to buy a new car, but are forced at the same time to pay for tax subsidies for those who can afford to buy expensive electric cars and also pay for large subsidies to public transport through their tax bill.”
• welfare before prestige projects»Satsa på välfärden istället för politiska prestigeprojekt« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Invest in welfare instead of political prestige projects”
• scale down unnecessary spending»Skala bort onödiga utgifter i det offentliga« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Scale down unnecessary expenditure in the public sector”