Brewing leadership challenge on council leader's mind as he vetoed regional transport plans

Signing up to the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority’s (CPCA) future transport plans would mean risking the introduction of road charging measures in Peterborough, the city council’s leader has said – especially if a brewing leadership challenge removes him from post.

Cllr Wayne Fitzgerald (Conservatives, West), vetoed the CPCA’s Local Transport and Connectivity Plan (LTCP) at a meeting this week, which he was able to do as the head of a transport authority (Peterborough City Council).

The LTCP lays out the vision of the CPCA’s leader, Labour mayor Dr Nik Johnson, for better buses, trains and walking and cycling options in the region, as well as ways that private car use can be discouraged; including through “fiscal measures”.

But Peterborough City Council (PCC) opposition plans – currently in the works, although at an early stage – to bring a vote of no confidence in his leadership next month were among the reasons he decided he couldn’t support it, Cllr Fitzgerald said.

“There is a challenge likely to come for my leadership in October, that may or may not happen,” he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service. “I wasn’t going to sign up to this and take the risk that others who might follow me will agree to the introduction of those charges.

“I just couldn’t back it and I believe the public will support me on that.”

The CPCA doesn’t have the power to unilaterally impose road charging on Peterborough and the city’s Labour group – the second largest behind the Conservatives – have insisted that they don’t believe it’s right for Peterborough.

Peterborough First at early stages of mounting leadership challenge

But it’s not Labour, but rather independent group Peterborough First leading plans for the leadership challenge – which is largely made up of former Conservatives, including those who resigned the party after May's local elections.

Cllr Fitzgerald says that he’s “not worried” about the challenge as “there’s nothing I can do about it”, but “finds it remarkable” that the group would try to take over without a public mandate.

“It puts at risk all the good work and progress we’ve made of working collaboratively together because of people’s personal agendas and vendettas,” he said.

Peterborough First maintains that the council’s administration is damaging the city and that this is why they’re considering leading the challenge.

Labour mayor 'astonished' by council leader's veto

Dr Johnson, meanwhile, said that he was “astonished” Cllr Fitzgerald vetoed the LTCP, and that he had said he didn’t have a problem with it just “days” earlier.

Cllr Fitzgerald says that he did agree to a particular draft of the wording of the plan, but that this was changed before the vote.

Dr Johnson also suggested that Cllr Fitzgerald was swayed by national Conservative policy, or even by Peterborough’s Conservative MP Paul Bristow, saying he “looked distracted throughout the meeting” and was reading WhatsApps before he exercised his veto without explanation.

Cllr Fitzgerald says that Mr Bristow had nothing to do with his vote and that he chose not to indicate his intention to veto during debate of the LTCP because he believes Dr Johnson would have tried to defer the item to a future meeting, as he did at a previous meeting in June.

He did, though, only make up his mind that morning, he said, after considering the matter further and listening to other board members including East Cambridgeshire District Council leader Cllr Anna Bailey (Conservatives, Downham) who described road charging measures as “punitive”.

Indeed, Cllr Fitzgerald has opposed the CPCA’s new LTCP before.

Dr Johnson has spent months trying to get the 50-page document past the CPCA’s board and says he will continue to do so.

Removal of Cllr Fitzgerald would make passing LTCP easier, Dr Johnson says

“If things change in terms of the leadership of the council – which I’m aware is a discussion point at the moment – then that may make things easier,” he said.

But if he’s still in charge, any reference to traffic demand management system will have to be removed before he’ll support it, Cllr Fitzgerald says.

Dr Johnson has described the possibility of road charging in Peterborough as a “false rumour” as it couldn’t be imposed without the consent of the leader of the council and has stressed that the LTCP lays out a broad range of future options rather than policies which will be imposed on any particular place.

“There was real ambition here for the people and the communities of Peterborough to get an enhanced bus service, better air quality, regular buses and an electrified fleet,” he said.

Asked whether it’s possible he’ll run out of time to see his plans through he said he has “every intention of standing again to be the mayor” and will “drive to deliver” bus improvements in the meantime.

He said that he wants to see the LTCP back in front of the board “as soon as possible”.