City great to live, work and play in

With the city council elections now just a fortnight away, I have been out and about talking to people across the city and by and large the response from residents has been really positive towards this Conservative-led council. People can see what great strides and improvements we have made right across the city.

However, I know that there is some anger out there towards politicians (there always is) and I fully understand why. Everyone has been through a great deal since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, making unprecedented sacrifices and coping with difficult decisions. And during this time, the conduct of many politicians in Westminster has rightly been called into question.

However, we should not tarnish or align this situation with hardworking local councillors and candidates. This upcoming election is about local issues, things that matter to you as residents right here in Peterborough – things that can affect all our daily lives. I do understand that when local elections come around it is very tempting to look at what’s happening nationally and vote accordingly, often in frustration on national issues. However, I would urge everyone voting on May 5 to put local issues at the forefront of their minds when using their vote as your choice affects us all.

Which is why I want to remind everyone today of why voting for Conservative, in my opinion, is the right thing to do here in Peterborough.

This Conservative administration has delivered on many big regeneration projects and with your continued support we can deliver more to fully realise our potential. Our plans for Northminster are now underway and we’ll see exciting projects come forward for the Station Quarter and North Westgate. We are improving schools, building record numbers of houses and creating more jobs, and giving businesses even more opportunities to thrive. We are also tackling climate change to become an even greener and cleaner city, plus we are getting tough on rouge landlords and on cracking down on flytipping, and we will prosecute all those that we catch doing it. This is good news for all no matter where you live in Peterborough.

On the other hand, we believe, a council run by a left wing Corbyn/Starmer-loving Peterborough Labour Party, in coalition with the Liberal Democrats, the Greens and Independents would undo all this good work and set us back years with higher taxes and more fees and charges to pay for their spending frenzy. Do ask them, if they knock on your door, what they would actually do if they were in charge and how they would balance the books. In all honesty, they offer no credible alternative solutions to our problems, and they spend more time running the city down and criticising all we do from the sidelines.

I’m proud of Peterborough – we are a place on the up and we are not “bankrupt” as the opposition claim, far from it according to the council’s chief financial officer. I’m determined to help us continue to prosper and make our city one of the UK’s best places to live, work and play.

You can find out who is standing in the election where you live at www.peterborough.gov.uk. Please take part and make your vote count.

Notwithstanding all of the positives above, the council will need to cope with significant financial challenges over the next few years as the city continues to grow and prosper. So, we have started work towards becoming a financially sustainable council. On Tuesday this week cabinet met to endorse a report from the council’s new chief executive Matt Gladstone. The report sets out our current position and a range of approaches to develop the future direction, culture and operating model for the council, focussing on five key priorities.

These are: Getting a total grip on the council’s budget going forwards, setting a future direction for the city with partners, defining a new target operating model, looking at the way we operate, and maximising the impact of growth and prosperity for all communities.

This proactive initiative demonstrates that we never stand still – we recognise that a change of approach is needed, and we are making big and difficult decisions now to ensure that the council can deal with whatever comes our way in future.

Cabinet members also discussed plans and the timetable for developing the council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy and budget setting process for 2023/24. This includes moving the budget meeting forward to February rather than March to allow more time for consideration and scrutiny, and these proposals will be developed further over the coming weeks.

The council’s financial position is well documented – we face severe financial challenges but are moving in the right direction and, as I stated above, we certainly aren’t heading for bankruptcy or on the edge of it as some opposition members continue to claim.

But we are not out of the woods yet and I hope in future that councillors will use the budget setting process to work together for the good of everyone, rather than the finger pointing and the politicking that we have seen in recent years from the opposition.

Finally, the council is continuing to do whatever it can to support Ukraine and help those in need of vital lifesaving aid. So far more than 50 visas have been approved under the government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme and our officers will continue to support those arriving in the city.

There’s plenty that you can do to help, from offering a space in your home to making donations to charities.

For more information on how you can get involved visit https:// www.peterborough.gov.uk/ council/campaigns/support-forthe-people-of-ukraine