The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Pro-Brex parties put up candidat for city council elections
Three political parties are seeking their first seat on Peterborough City Council after putting up candidates for May’s local elections.
Two pro-Brexit parties, and a party founded by veterans, are among nine different groups fielding candidates on Thursday, May 2.
It promises to be an exciting election night with voters in 20 city wards going to the polls with a third of the council’s 60 seats up for grabs.
Not only are the Conservatives seeking to hold on to their wafer thin majority of one seat, but the elections are being held the day after a Recall Petition into MP for Peterborough Fiona Onasanya closes.
If 10 per cent of her constituents sign the petition then the independent MP will lose her seat and a by-election will be triggered.
The result is expected to be announced before polls close for the local elections.
With Brexit uncertainty and anger continuing to divide the country, and the council seeking to overcome its worst ever financial challenge due to huge government cuts, it promises to be an eventful time in local politics.
Two parties seeking to take advantage of the uncertainty are the Social Democratic Party, which is fielding a candidate in Eye, Thorney & Newborough, and Our Nation, which is fielding a candidate in Fletton & Woodston.
Both parties are pro-Brexit.
The Veterans’ and People’s Party - a party founded by veterans which “exists to build and safeguard a free and open society” - is also putting up a candidate in Dogsthorpe.
Currently, 31 of the seats on the council are held by the Conservatives, compared to 14 for the Labour group, seven for the Liberal Democrats, three for Werrington First and one each for the Green Party, UKIP and Liberal Party. Two seats are currently unfilled.
The Tories are defending10oftheirseats,compared to six for Labour and two for the Lib Dems, meaning a very strong evening for the opposition could deliver enough seats to allow them to form a coalition and take control of the council.
Peterborough parliamentary candidates John Whitby (UKIP, Fletton & Stanground) and Joseph Wells (Green, Gunthorpe) are both standing.
Defeat for Mr Whitby, on top of a failure for his party to win elsewhere, would mean no UKIP representation on the council.
UKIP’s former Peterborough parliamentary candidate Mary Herdman is standing for the Social Democratic Party at the local elections.
Five of the 20 seats up for grabs are currently held by members of the Conservative cabinet, with only three seeking re-election.
They are:
Peter Hiller - cabinet • member for growth, planning, housing and economic development (Glinton and Castor)
•Way■e Fitzgerald - deputy leader and cabinet member for integrated adult social care and health (West)
Steve Allen - cabinet
• member for recreation (Eye, Thorney and Newborough).
Neither Howard Fuller (Hargate & Hempsted) nor Sam Smith (Ravensthorpe) are standing again, while former cabinet member Lucia Serluca (Fletton and Woodston) is also not seeking re-election.
Former leader of the Labour group Mohammed Jamil is another who will have to be re-elected to keep his seat in Central ward, as will deputy mayoress Judy Fox (Werrington First) who currently represents Werrington.