New call for all councillors to be consulted over plans to postpone May local elections in Peterborough

A move will be made at a Peterborough City Council meeting next week to find out the opinions of all councillors about a Government request to know if the local authority wants the May vote to be postponed.

It comes after six members of the council’s ruling Cabinet voted at an ‘extraordinary meeting’ in favour of putting off the elections to allow the local authority to save money and to focus on preparing for local government reorganisation.

The meeting, on January 12, was held to ensure the council, which has 60 councillors, could meet a Government deadline of January 15 for a decision.

Now Conservative group leader Councillor Wayne Fitzgerald has announced he is to put forward a motion at the full council meeting on January 21 that would demand a vote of all councillors.

It states: “I propose that Members request that the council’s Chief Executive send a letter to the Minister of State for Local Government making her aware that we do not support any decision by the government to postpone the May 2026 local elections.

"This letter should set out the results of the vote on this motion and be sent the day after this meeting takes place.”

Cllr Fitzgerald said: “The Conservatives and many others believe the local elections should go ahead as usual and we want a full public scrutiny on this discussion.

"We also want Peterborough residents to see in a public forum who supports our view and who does not.

"The Labour leader of the council, Cllr Shabina Qayyum with her cabinet colleagues, has already decided to write to the Secretary of State recommending that local elections should not take place in Peterborough citing capacity issues relating to local government reform as the main reason.

"We say this is rubbish as every person knows the Labour government and their councils and councillors across the country don’t want any elections at all.”

He said this was because Labour would see big losses in Peterborough and across the country.

Cllr Fitzgerald has also urged members of the public to attend the full council meeting.

"If you care about this issue then do come along and show your support for maintaining democracy in Peterborough.”

But Cllr Qayyum said: “Cllr Fitzgerald's motion appears to be an attempt of political posturing at its finest.

"Firstly, we have only put forward a view in light of our capacity issues, given we are seeking to join a choice of two Districts during this process of LGR, which don't offer services like Children's, SEND and Adult Social Care, which literally are life and death services.

"It is essential we get this absolutely right.

She said: “It is outrageous that the message is being portrayed by the opposition that we are denying democracy to the people of Peterborough.

"We are in an unprecedented situation: dismantling an entire council and building it from the bottom up.

"In order to ready ourselves for this transition, we need strong foundations, which will also be built on strong governance and a robust electoral system of having elections every four years.

Cllr Qayyum said: "Recurrent elections suppress voter turnout.

"In the midst of LGR elections in 2026, they will be rushed and risk missing out on encapsulating accurate voter data and information, which leads to weak electoral systems and delays in the process of setting up a watertight system.

"These elections will cost the taxpayer £303k which can be used on a number of incentives.

"It will also at that cost seek to elect councillors that can make no significant decisions in the city, as we will be abolished in 2028, and is a waste of resources, time and effort, as we have every intention of holding all-out elections in 2027 and thereafter every four years.”

Cllr Qayyum said her aim was to set up a robust electoral framework “so we can sequence democracy, not take it away and to hold all out elections in 2027.”

She added: “If the Secretary of State refuses to grant a postponement of elections, the Labour Party in Peterborough will take the fight to the polls in any case and our candidates stand ready."

What is happening in Cambridgeshire and across the country?

Across the local authorities in Cambridgeshire so far Huntingdonshire District Council Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Councils have announced that they want to hold their elections as scheduled.

Nationally, one leading daily newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, has launched a Campaign for Democracy.

It seeks to stop the government using a provision in the 2000 Local Government Act to delay the local council elections scheduled for May 2026 until 2027.

It demands that any future proposal to delay elections should require a full vote and approval in Parliament, rather than relying on ministerial powers.

It warns that four million people nationally have been ‘denied’ a vote in May’s local elections.

What happens if the May election is postponed?

The proposal is for the May 2026 elections to be postponed for a year with the elections in 2027 being to the newly formed local authority which will go ‘live’ in April 2028.

However, the existing city council will remain in existence until April 2028.

The balance of power at Peterborough City Council:

The Labour group is the largest with 17 seats and it administers the local authority with support from members of some of the other political groups.

The other parties have a total of 43 seats.

They are Peterborough First (13 seats) Conservative (11) Liberal Democrats (8) Greens (5) Independent (6)

The Peterborough councillors who face election in 2026:

Scott Warren (Cons) – Bretton

Alison Jones (Lab) – Central

Dennis Jones (Ind) – Dogsthorpe

Samantha Hemraj (Lab) – East

Rylan Ray (Not specified) – Eye, Thorney and Newborough

Christian Hogg (Lib Dem) – Fletton and Stanground

Alan Dowson (Lab) – Fletton and Woodston

Andrew Bond (Lib Dem) – Gunthorpe

Marco Cereste (Cons) – Hampton Vale

Mohammed Farooq (PFirst) – Hargate and Hempsted

Noreen Bi (Lab) – North

Michael Perkins (Cons) – Orton Longueville

Julie Stevenson (Ind) – Orton Waterville

Muhammad Sabir (Lab) – Park

Asif Shaheed (Lib Dem) – Paston and Walton

Mohammed Rangzeb (Green) – Ravensthorpe

Ray Bisby (PFirst) – Stanground South

Sarah Hillier (PFirst) – Werrington