Opinion: It's time for a changing of the guard

I have decided to step down as both leader of the Labour Group on Peterborough City Council and as a councillor. A by-election will be held in May for my seat.

I am delighted that Dennis Jones will be taking over a leader of the Labour Group. I wish him all the best and am certain he will do a great job.

I want to thank all my colleagues; namely the Labour Group, opposition members and council staff. They all made me feel welcome and supported me no end.

I will miss them all but it is time to move on.

The biggest thank goes to my family and residents for believing me and supporting me. I hope I did them some justice in the role albeit one can always do more.

It is natural to have some regrets as I depart; it was a privilege to serve as the leader of the opposition. I wish I had been granted the opportunity to carry out our policies. The policies remain but it will be the duty and honour of others to implement them.

We also have a lot of campaigning to do in advance of the next General Election. We need change, not just a different Prime Minister, but an altogether different administration in charge. We cannot expect anything to be different if we keep returning the same party to office both in Peterborough and Westminster.

The Tory administrations want you to believe that more of the same is as good as it gets. I don’t believe that; if conversations with my constituents are any indication, they don’t believe that either.

As for me, I will return to private life: I have a number of businesses to run. The calendar turns and we can see that months pass as quickly as sands in an hourglass.

My children are growing up, and they want to spend more time with their dad and I with them. I used to regard politicians saying that they want “to spend more time with their family” as a cliché: as someone who has been active in local politics for over half a decade, I can see how true that sentiment is.

Public service is a public trust, but there should be space for the private too.

Although my political career is drawing to a close, my passion for the city in which I have built my life remains undimmed. I think we have a great future ahead of us. It is merely a matter of having the wisdom and the courage to seize the opportunities which lay ahead: we can be a hub for digital businesses. We can live up to the sentiment expressed on our city limits signs, that we are an environmental capital. We can improve our schools and make our city a more prosperous and peaceful place to live.

I look forward to being involved in ways outside politics. I also look forward to waking up one morning after

another election, switching on the television, and discovering that power has shifted in Peterborough and our country. At that moment, the bright future for which I and so many others have worked, will be assured.

Once again, thank you for granting me the opportunity to serve you for the past six years.

I wish everyone all the best.