The leader of Peterborough City Council says a change in leadership could have a big impact on people
It's ahead of a motion of no confidence that could see him ousted this evening
A motion of no confidence in the current Labour administration on Peterborough City Council is being voted on tonight.
Councillor Dennis Jones has been leader of the council since last May, when Labour won the most seats to form a minority administration.
However, the Peterborough First group has formed an alliance with the Liberal Democrat and Green Party groups to create an alternative administration and remove Cllr Jones, with a new Peterborough First leader expected if the takeover goes ahead.
The motion is being presented to the full council this evening and states that a reduction in Labour group members has “led opposition members to doubting the capacity of the administration to effectively deliver”.
The motion will be voted on by all councillors.
It could be a close call
The current make up of the council includes: 17 Labour councillors, 13 Peterborough First councillors, 11 Conservative councillors, eight Liberal Democrat councillors, six independent councillors and five Green Party councillors.
With the Conservative group deciding not to back the takeover, it is expected to be a close vote on the night.
If votes result in a draw, a deciding vote will be made by Mayor Judy Fox or Deputy Mayor Peter Hiller, both Peterborough First councillors.
It would not be the first time that Peterborough First have taken control of the authority after a vote of no confidence saw former leader Cllr Wayne Fitzgerald ousted in November 2023 – a move backed by Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party.
It risks throwing Peterborough back into instability and chaos
Cllr Jones said he was “incredibly proud” of the work Peterborough Labour had done so far.
He added: “While it is true that financial pressures remain for Peterborough City Council, and councils across the UK, our Labour administration remains committed to rebuilding the foundations of our council, delivering high quality services and protecting taxpayers’ money."
“That Peterborough First, and other parties, would choose this point to call a vote of no confidence shows that they care more about political point scoring than they do about delivering for Peterborough residents. Their actions do nothing but risk throwing Peterborough back into instability and chaos."
“Having risked bankruptcy by refusing to back a budget for the council this year – despite not putting forward any alternative ideas – it is clear that Peterborough First have no real plan for our city and are playing games with this politically motivated back-room plot.”
We’re not going in the right direction
Cllr Harper became Peterborough First’s leader when he was re-elected at the group’s AGM in May, taking over from Cllr Mohammed Farooq.
Ahead of Wednesday’s meeting, he said:
“We’re not going in the right direction. There’s important decisions to make and I think to get those decisions through we need a strong administration."
“The numbers and quality of people we offer, we think, is the best way forward. We’re very positive that this is the right thing for the city."
“It is a fairly close vote but it if it comes through as we expect it to come through then we should be fine.”
If the vote goes through the leader would be a Peterborough First councillor.
Motion of no confidence in full
The motion states: “This council has lost confidence in the current administration.
“The minority administration has governed with the goodwill of the opposition members, however following reductions in the councillors with membership of the Labour group has led opposition members to doubting the capacity of the administration to effectively deliver.
“In addition, there is a lack of any formal agreement from other parties to support the administration which has further contributed to this doubt and has now led to opposition seeking an alternative leader and administration.
“Members of the Peterborough First, Liberal Democrat and Green groups have decided to form an alliance to provide an administration that works across party lines to take advantage of the skills and experience in each group and to increase transparency and collaborative working with all parties represented on the council to help meet the challenges and opportunities that the council faces.
“In order to achieve this council is now calling for the removal of the current leader, so that it can consider an alternative leader.”