Local Elections 23: Why the PM came to show his support

He then went on to East Ward to meet some residents on the doorstep alongside some of the candidates who are working hard on the local elections this year. He is very aware of Peterborough and all the great work the council is doing to improve people’s lives and he also spoke of Paul Bristow, the MP for Peterborough.

He reminded all present what a great champion he is for the city, and he went on to say: “Like government - Conservative run councils deliver better services and at lower costs than most Labour run councils and that is why Peterborough has a growing economy and is recovering well post covid 19. I am fully behind the Conservative team here in Peterborough, and I hope that on May the 4th you will vote in great numbers for your local Conservative Candidates right across the city.”

Which is timely for us to remind everyone now that the local elections in May should be about local issues. Whether that be cleaning up our city, tackling anti-social behaviour or attracting investment, your local Conservative team in Peterborough is committed to making Peterborough the best place to live, work and to raise a family.

There has quite rightly been a lot of focus recently about keeping our city clean from litter and last week saw the launch of our Litter Action Week which encouraged residents to join in on the action in their local area and carry out litter picks, with certificates being awarded to the ward with the most bags of litter collected. There was also a special event at the Town Hall featuring stalls from groups including the council’s waste team highlighting the work they do to clean up litter and catch fly-tippers. This is a great initiative, and my thanks go to Cllr Nigel Simons, cabinet member for Waste and Street Scene and the Environment, Peterborough Litter Wombles and all residents who got involved.

As we write, the council has commenced its Spring Clean. The purpose of this Spring Clean is to target areas that are not normally included in routine cleaning schedules such as shelter belts and the parkways. We are grateful to all the residents who have made suggestions about the areas of the city you would like to see cleaned up. We cannot get to all areas, but we have already had residents contact us to say they have noticed the difference.

Some have said that this is simply an election stunt, however, we would remind the nay sayers that Spring happens at the same time every year, just as the local elections are held every May.

One of the top issues in our council email inboxes is residents reporting potholes and road defects. That is why we were delighted to see in the Government’s recent budget announcement that the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority will be receiving £4.1 million of central Government funding to repair more potholes. Safety is always the council’s priority, and we carry out regular inspections of the roads but also rely on the residents’ reporting potholes to us. Please do let us know of any in your area so that our expert teams in highways can pop out and survey the affected area.

In other news, we were also delighted to see the successful opening of the Lido once again, just in time for the Easter Holidays. We know this is a much loved and much used asset to the city and we look forward to seeing a good uptake from regulars’ outdoor swimmers, as well as new faces.

Staying with swimming, we know many people across the city share our desire to provide a new swimming pool in the city centre which would be accessible for all and cater for the fantastic City of Peterborough Swimming Club (COPS) too. The current Conservative administration is absolutely committed to this realising this ambition and behind the scenes we are working hard to make this a reality.

Growth and regeneration have been key to our continued success, which has seen record levels of investment from government into the city as the Prime Minister acknowledged again yesterday. And it is our strong relationships with external partners and developers that will see this investment continue for many years to come with several exciting projects in the pipeline.

There’s a good reason that Peterborough has had a Conservative administration for over 20 years: We are trusted by residents to act on local issues and we get things done.

So, this May, please vote for your hardworking local Conservative candidates right across the city to enable that success to continue.