VIDEO LATEST: New Conservative Mayor promises fair deal for Peterborough

Newly elected Mayor James Palmer gives his victory speech.

Conservative James Palmer said he planned to make the area a ‘fairer county’ and spread the wealth in the south further north.

He told the audience after the election count in Soham tonight (Friday, May 5, 2017): “As a child at a secondary school in the early 80s I found myself in the middle of a fight between the unions and the then Conservative government.

“And the unions felt it was entirely fair to ruin the education of children who were at secondary school at the time by taking many, many, many days of strikes.

“And fairness is something that I believe in very strongly.

“As Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough I aim to make this whole area a fairer county with opportunities for all, giving the chance to spread the wealth south of the county north, east and west, making sure that everybody gets the chance to do an apprenticeship scheme and has a skill to offer and they can take advantage of the Cambridge effect.”

He added: “What we have here in Cambridgeshire is almost unique. We have the building blocks of success and we just need somebody to put it together - improving the infrastructure in the city of Cambridge, linking the great city of Peterborough to Cambridge, and bringing Fenland into the fold are absolutely vital if we are to be a success.

“The government is relying on Cambridgeshire post-Brexit, and I will work with the Prime Minister to form a strong and stable relationship and a strong and stable Cambridgeshire.

Newly elected Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough James Palmer celebrates with his family.

“I am immensely proud to be the first Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, and I will do everything I can to make sure that everybody is included in the future of this county.”

Mr Palmer was elected in a second round count after no candidate received 50 per cent of the vote in the first round. Having led after the first round of voting only Liberal Democrat Rob Cantrill could stop Mr Palmer as the second preference votes were counted.

But the Conservative candidate had a comfortable victory, with 88,826 votes, beating Mr Cantrill, who gained 67,205.

The combined first round results for all wards in the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mayoral Election 2017 were:

James Palmer - Conservative - 76,064

Rod Cantrill - Liberal Democrat - 47,026

Kevin Price - Labour - 37,297

Paul Bullen - UKIP - 15,931

Julie Howell - Green Party - 12,628

Peter Dawe - Independent - 9,176

Stephen Goldspink - English Democrat - 2,256