The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
New baby and new job... now time for Brexit
Few people will have enjoyed a better 48 hours than Paul Bristow last week.
Peterborough’s new MP triumphed after two gruelling election campaigns within six months of each other, while at the same time he saw the Tories secure a huge majority in the House of Commons.
And that was followed by welcoming his second daughter Eris into the world with partner Sara to join four-yearold Becky in the household.
So, which life-changing event was the most significant? “The most important thing is my daughter, but representing the people of Peterborough I’m well aware is a great honour,” replies an upbeat Mr Bristow.
Having lost a by-election in June before triumphing last week the 40-year-old, who lives in West Town, is well versed in delivering key messages, and during the course of his interview with the Peterborough Telegraph he regularly enthuses about how much he “loves” the city, how he will “make the case” with ministers and why it is time to ignore the “naysayers and doom-mongers” over Brexit.
So there is no question what he will do tomorrow in Parliament when the Brexit bill comes before MPs, paving the way for the UK to depart the European Union.
“People have been frustrated by the previous MPs from Peterborough not recognising what their constituents want. On Friday I will be the first MP for two years going with what the people of Peterborough voted for,” he says.
Peterborough voted heavily to Leave in the 2016 referendum, and Mr Bristow believes that paid a large part in his victory. “It was obviously a factor in the result.
“People want Brexit done and are fed up of the naysayers and doom-mongers saying we can’t make a success of leaving the EU. I think we can.
“But it was also my local plan - wanting more police officers, accepting we need to have improvement in schools and cleaning up the city.”
The city’s fourth MP in three years regularly promoted his ‘plan’ during both campaigns, and after overturning a 683 Labour majority into a 2,580 Tory win he made a big statement on election night by promising to visit every school in his constituency to find out why the city is always struggling in the national Key Stage 2 SATs league tables.
Expanding on that theme, he said: “We need to look very carefully at what we need to do to drive forward improvement. Money is an issue, but we’re going to get £4,000 for every primary school pupil and £5,000 for every secondary school pupil.
“For some schools it is about demography, for some about money and for some about the areas they are in. In certain parts of Peterborough it’s about leadership.
“Fulbridge Academy, for example, gets excellent results and it’s about discovering why they do it and others don’t.”
Money is a recurring theme in the interview, with Boris Johnson having offered more funding for public services ahead of the election after years of austerity which has seen authorities in Peterborough claim they are struggling financially.
When it comes to the city council, which has lost many
‘People want Brexit done and are fed up of the naysayers and doom-mongers’
Paul Bristow