All the candidates standing in Peterborough's local elections and what it means if they win
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May’s local elections are fast approaching and the full list of candidates vying for a seat on Peterborough City Council (PCC) has been published.
Among those standing for re-election this year are council leader Wayne Fitzgerald (Conservatives), mayoress Shabina Qayyum (Labour) and Green Party group leader Nicola Day.
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Hide AdLike Cambridge City Council, PCC holds its elections by thirds, meaning that a third of councillors are elected each year for three years followed by a fourth year with no elections.
It’s recently considered moving to the all-out elections system, whereby all councillors are elected every four years, but decided against this as at a meeting in October.
This year, voting takes place between 7am and 10pm on Thursday 4 May in 20 wards.
Four Labour councillors not standing again
In all but one of these, one seat is being contested – in Park ward there are two because of the resignations of former Labour group leader Shaz Nawaz and Labour councillor Ikra Yasin earlier this year.
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Hide AdIn most other wards, one of the candidates will be a current councillor – but this is not the case in Park ward, Dogsthorpe and Ravensthorpe.
In Dogsthorpe, Cllr Katia Yurgutene (Labour) is not standing again.
“The world has changed significantly [since my election in 2019], politically and for me, personally,” a “personal message from Cllr Katia” on a Labour leaflet reads. “This means I took the decision not to seek re-election this year.”
Meanwhile, in Ravensthorpe Lucina Robinson (Labour) is not standing again. Cllrs Yurgutene and Robinson have been contacted for more information.
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Hide AdConservatives closest to overall majority
The political balance on PCC has long been precarious; over the last decade no party has held overall control in seven out of the 10 years.
It was most recently held by the Conservatives for a single year in 2018 and before that it was Conservative in 2016.
The Tories have been the largest individual party during this entire period, though, meaning that the council’s leader and cabinet – responsible for much of its decision-making – are all Conservatives.
This year, six current Conservative councillors are up for re-election including cabinet members Steve Allen and John Howard, as well as four current Liberal Democrats, three Greens and two Independents.
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Hide AdThree current Labour councillors are up for re-election, meanwhile, while a further four seats they had previously held are also being contested.
To form a majority, a party must hold 31 seats – for the Conservatives to do this, they would have to retain all of their current seats and win three more.
Labour is further off; it would have to retain its current seats and win 17 more, which is not impossible but certainly a big ask.
It could, however, form a coalition with any other minority parties willing to do this if they’re able to make up the numbers.
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Hide AdThere are currently 26 Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green councillors combined, two fewer than the Conservatives' 28.
Labour and Conservatives competing for every seat
Both the Conservatives and Labour are standing candidates in every ward up for election (where ‘Labour & Co-operative Party' appears on the ballot, this will count towards the Labour total).
The Greens are standing candidates in all but two wards (Gunthorpe and Hampton Vale), while the Liberal Democrats are standing in all but three (East, Orton Waterville and one of the two Park ward spots).
There are also several Independent candidates as well as representatives of smaller parties not currently represented on the council such as Reform UK and the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition.
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Hide AdThe Liberal Democrats currently hold eight seats on the council (meaning half their seats are up for election this year), while the Green Party holds four (meaning three quarters of their seats are up for election).
Another bit of trivia for election-watchers is that of the candidates who are current councillors, three are not running for the same party they represented when they were last elected.
These are Cllr Imtiaz Ali (was Labour, now Greens), Cllr Heather Skibsted (was Labour, now Greens) and Cllr Ansar Ali (was Labour, now Independent).
The full list of wards up for elections and all the candidates standing can be found below.
The full list
Bretton
Chris Burbage – Conservative Party (current councillor)
John O’Connor
Richard Strangward – Labour Party
Barry Warne – Green Party
Rohan Wilson – Liberal Democrats
Central
Steve Cawley – Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
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Hide AdMohammed Jamil – Labour & Co-operative Party (current councillor)
Raymond Knight – Green Party
Khan Umar – Conservative Party
Paul Whittaker – Liberal Democrats
Dogsthorpe
Kelsey Brace – Green Party
Katy Cole – Labour & Co-operative Party
Muhammad Ikram – Conservative Party
Robert Petch – Independent
Sandra Ringler – Liberal Democrats
East
Shabina Qayyum – Labour & Co-operative Party (current councillor)
Luke Chapman – Green Party
Jo Johnson – Independent
Ekta Patel – Conservative Party
Eye, Thorney & Newborough
Michael Alexander – Green Party
Steve Allen – Conservative Party (current councillor)
Annie Geraghty – Liberal Democrats
John Shearman – Labour Party
Fletton & Stanground
Davide Broccoli – Conservative Party
Angus Ellis – Labour Party
Danette O’Hara – Green Party
Jade Seager – Liberal Democrats (current councillor)
Fletton & Woodston
Imtiaz Ali – Green Party (current councillor)
Nick Thulbourn – Labour & Co-operative Party
Neil Walton – Liberal Democrats
Andrew Willey – Conservative Party
Glinton & Castor
Claire Bysshe – Liberal Democrats
Sue Farr – Labour Party
Greg Guthrie – Green Party
Peter Hiller – Conservative Party (current councillor)
Gunthorpe
Sandra Bond – Liberal Democrats (current councillor)
Madison Challis – Labour Party
John Peach – Conservative Party
Tom Rogers – Christian Peoples Alliance
Hampton Vale
Rhys Evans – Conservative Party
Abdul Mannan – Labour Party
Chris Wiggin – Liberal Democrats (current councillor)
Hargate & Hempsted
John Howard – Conservative Party (current councillor)
Timothy Kujiyat – Labour Party
Rachel Speed – Liberal Democrats
Michael Whitaker – Green Party
North
Akim Akim – Conservative Party
Ansar Ali – Independent (current councillor)
Tracey Foreman – Green Party
Asim Mahmood – Labour & Co-operative Party
Orton Longueville
Aqib Mohammed Farooq – Conservative Party
Heather Skibsted – Green Party (current councillor)
Wendy Smith – Labour & Co-operative Party
Orton Waterville
Oluwaseun Akinyele – Labour Party
Matthew Bliszczak – Conservative Party
Vince Carroll – Liberal Democrats
Nicola Day – Green Party (current councillor)
Park
Khan Arfan – Conservative Party
Muhammad Asif – Conservative Party
Ian Hardman – Liberal Democrats
Junayd Hussain – Labour & Co-operative Party
Sue Morris – Reform UK
Fiona Radic – Green Party
Steve Wilson – Green Party
Sabra Yasin – Labour Party
Paston & Walton
Simon Barkham – Liberal Democrats (current councillor)
Simon Mayhew – Green Party
David Powell – Labour Party
Alex Rafiq – Conservative Party
Ravensthorpe
Raja Ahmed – Conservative Party
Richard Cham – Liberal Democrats
Jason McNally – Labour & Co-operative Party
Edward Murphy – Green Party
Stanground South
Simon Garner – Liberal Democrats
Harry Lewis – Labour Party
Stuart Middleton – Green Party
Brian Rush – Conservative Party (current councillor)
Werrington
Judy Fox – Peterborough First - Werrington Independent (current councillor)
Rosalind Jones – Labour Party
Simon Kail – Liberal Democrats
Hayley Shelton – Conservative Party
Georgia Wade – Green Party
West
Lorraine Andison – Labour Party
Wayne Fitzgerald – Conservative Party (current councillor)
Colette Francis – Green Party
Polly Geraghty – Liberal Democrats
Register to vote by Monday 17 April.
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