Local Elections: Amnesia strikes council leader!

He blames all of this “mess” on the previous Conservative administration under the leadership of Councillor Wayne Fitzgerald.

​Let’s put the record straight. The current cabinet is mainly made up of former Conservative councillors, many who had cabinet positions and who were responsible for the very decisions he is now complaining about. Councillor Hiller, Conservative from 2006-2023, Councillor Elsey, Conservative from 2008-2023, Councillor Bisby, Conservative from 2015-2023, Councillor Howard, Conservative from 2019-2023. Councillor Farooq was elected for the first time as a Conservative in 2018, so he should remember that some of the people responsible for the “problems” the city faces today are sitting around him, not opposing him on our side of the council chamber.

The cabinet over two years ago was presented with a deficit of nearly £30 million when the previous administration led by Councillor Holdich handed over the reins to Councillor Wayne Fitzgerald. That cabinet then took the many difficult and unpopular decisions needed to bring the council’s finances back into order. So why does Councillor Farooq now criticise the last administration he was part of so loudly?

Well, that’s simple. The proper term for what he’s doing is “deflection”. Deflecting focus from his group’s betrayal of the voters who elected them as Conservatives, only for them to set up their own party. Deflecting the focus of the electorate from the covert way he seized power by cozying up to former political opponents and ousting a competent administration by Machiavellian subterfuge.

So, let’s look at the real reasons for four of the “messes” Councillor Farooq lists:

The Regional Pool - Significant sums had been spent on annual maintenance, removal of asbestos and treating legionella in the water supply. The building needed replacement and Councillor Holdich’s administration proposed a new pool plan in 2019, but the costs were too high to deliver it then. Councillor Fitzgerald had a “plan B” for a new pool but was unable to see it through it before officers closed the pool on health and safety grounds last year following the discovery of RACC. The new administration finally closed it for good only days ago.

The Hilton Hotel - a plan proposed by officers to Councillors Holdich, Hiller and Seaton who signed it off and agreed to a £15-million loan was to deliver a Flagship hotel for the city on Fletton Quays. The Covid pandemic and the Ukraine / Russian conflict slowed down the build and inflated raw material costs causing financial problems for the developer. The delivery of the Hilton on time was undermined by truly unpredictable events that no administration could reasonably have predicted. Let’s hope it still gets finished.

Werrington Fields - Councillor Farooq’s administration failed to recognise the established community use of the fields and the school desire to safeguard students were in conflict.

Councillor Farooq didn’t realise the land was not leased to the school for their sole use. Our local MP Paul Bristow exposed Councillor Farooq’s lack of transparency and confirmed the true facts in a letter from the Minister for Education.

The Localities Review – we knew a decade ago that delivering services people want in their locality is what matters, not the buildings themselves, but the council were not able then to slim down the total number of buildings in favour of more shared use, saving the £3 million maintenance bill and bring costs down but all I see from Councillor Farooq’s group are, yet again, dither and delay.

I hope the residents of Peterborough are not persuaded by Councillor Farooq’s arguments in his article but understand that decisions made by the last but one administration taken in good faith have become problems following on from difficult financial conditions. It’s particularly disappointing that he can’t accept the administration he ousted was not responsible for the decisions he is now complaining about, but that some of the architects who took these initial decisions are fully behind him.

There is and was no mess to clear up - just the daily challenges and these will remain whoever may be in charge at the town hall but at least we have Conservative policies and a plan to improve matters.