Tories lose majority in dramatic evening

Outgoing mayor leaves politics and council leader gives up education portfolio

The Conservatives have lost their majority on Peterborough City Council after the outgoing Mayor of Peterborough announced his shock retirement from politics. David Sanders chose Monday’s annual mayor-making ceremony at the town hall to announce he was done with politics after 20 years as a councillor and would be leaving the Conservative Party.

The revelation stunned onlookers and means the Conservatives now hold 29 of the 58 filled seats with two byelections to come.

The second big announcement of the evening came with council leader Cllr John Holdich telling fellow members that he was relinquishing his education portfolio which will now be taken on by Cllr Lynne Ayres, who is currently undertaking a review into the city’s schools.

Cllr Holdich, who was cabinet member for education for six years, said the decision was made “reluctantly” after he became the new deputy From left Cllrs John Holdich, Lynne Ayres and Steve Allen mayor of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, a new council set up to operate across the county.

The council leader told the Peterborough Telegraph: “The education portfolio and all its meetings takes an awful lot of time. I can’t do everything.”

Cllr Holdich has come under fire after a series of poor results for the city’s schools, but he feels some of the criticism has been unfair. He said: “There’s a basic lack of understanding in how the system works. I can’t keep saying I don’t teach kids. I provide facilities which give them the best opportunity to learn.

“Five years ago only 60 per cent of our schools were rated good or better by Ofsted. Currently, it is about 90 per cent. We have done tremendously in modernising all secondary schools and created about 12,000 extra places.

“It’s disappointing to me the attainment levels have not gone up with it, but we have given every support we can to the schools.”

Also at Monday’s meeting, Cllr Holdich revealed his new look cabinet, which sees Cllr Steve Allen join as the leader’s advisor with a focus on city centre management, culture and leisure services and com- munications.

Cllrs Janet Goodwin and Graham Casey, who previously held similar portfolios to the one taken on by Cllr Allen, have left the cabinet.

The council leader said: “My focus is clear and my ambition is great: new jobs, good quality housing, improved educational attainment, a university, a thriving city centre, a strong rural community and, above all, an improved quality of life for all our citizens.”

However, opposition group leaders hit back, claiming not enough was being done to help the homeless or improve areas outside of the city centre.