Defections, by-elections and resignations - how the political make up of Peterborough City Council has changed in 2026
It has been a dramatic year for Peterborough City Council – and we are not even in August yet.
We’ve seen two by-elections, a ‘normal’ set of council elections and a number of defections.
The latest defection took place on Friday (July 24) when North Ward councillor Asim Mahmood announced he was resigning from the Labour party – and would be moving to the Conservative Party.
Earlier in July, the latest by-election took place in the Fletton and Woodston ward, where Katherine Sharp, representing the Green Party, was successful.
The next council elections are scheduled to take place in May 2027.
Since the beginning of December 2025, there have been a number of changes made to the make up of the council.
In December 2025, the political make up of Peterborough City Council was as follows.
Labour: 15 councillors
Independent 11 councillors
Conservative: 10 councillors
Peterborough First: 10 councillors
Liberal Democrat: 8 councillors
Green Party: 5 councillors
Not specified: 1 councillor
Following the latest defection on Friday, the political make up of the city council is as follows:
Conservative: 14 councillors
Labour (and Co-operative): 10 councillors
Liberal Democrat: 8 councillors
Peterborough First: 8 councillors
Independent: 8 councillors
Green Party: 7 councillors
Reform UK: 5 councillors
Despite not having the most councillors, Labour’s Shabina Qayyum is the leader of the authority, due to a coalition being formed with other parties.