Tory Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayoral candidate Paul Bristow defends owning property in St Albans
The Conservative candidate says he owns the property for personal reasons
Conservative mayoral candidate Paul Bristow has defended owning a property in Hertfordshire after the Labour Party claimed he was “taking voters for a ride”.
Mr Bristow, former Peterborough MP, is one of five candidates running to become mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough on May 1.
In the run-up to the election, the Labour Party and its candidate Anna Smith have published material suggesting that Mr Bristow’s primary address may actually be in St Albans, Hertfordshire, and not his registered property in Wansford near Peterborough.
However, Mr Bristow has denied these claims, explaining that he owns the property in St Albans for personal reasons.
He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “The two most painful things in my life are my father dying and the fact I got divorced. Both of those things have happened to me and meant that I have had to have an address in St Albans.
“I would not have had an address in St Albans if it wasn’t for the fact that my eldest daughter lives there and I’ve got a shared custodial arrangement.
“I’m never going to apologise for having an address in St Albans so I can be with my daughter at the start of every week.
“Forgiveness follows contrition and I’m sure Anna Smith, the Labour Party candidate, will look back and think this was a bad way to conduct her campaign.”
He added: “I’ve never wanted to have to bring these into the public domain. The Labour Party forced me to bring it into the public domain, and for that, I hope they realise it was the wrong thing to do.”
A Labour Party spokesperson questioned the need for Mr Bristow to stay at the property only one or two nights a week, and claimed he was “taking the voters for a ride”.
Labour’s mayoral candidate Anna Smith said: “No one has ever denied that Mr Bristow recently bought a home on the outskirts of Peterborough.
“But when the issue of Paul Bristow owning a home in St Albans was first raised with me, the first thing I did, because my integrity matters to me, is go to my team and ask them to check that out.”
The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayoral election will take place on Thursday, May 1, with the results announced the following day.
Five candidates are up for election, including: Paul Bristow (Conservative), Ryan Coogan (Reform UK), Lorna Dupre (Liberal Democrats), Bob Ensch (Green Party) and Anna Smith (Labour).