North West Cambs Conservative Association 'disappointed' by its president's suspension from Peterborough council group

The North West Cambridgeshire Conservative Association (NWCCA) is "surprised and disappointed" its president has been suspended from Peterborough City Council's (PCC) Conservative group.

Cllr Mohammad Farooq (Hargate and Hempsted), confirmed that he had been suspended, but had no comment on why.

The councillor, who has represented his ward since 2018, was most recently elected in 2022 when he was also named president of NWCCA.

A spokesperson for the group said that it considers Cllr Farooq one of the "most principled and loyal of party members" and confirmed that his role in the association is unchanged.

Cllr Farooq "remains very much a committed member of the Party and a highly-valued member of North West Cambridgeshire Conservative Association," the spokesperson said. "His role as Association President is unaffected."

"The suspension is a matter for the leadership of the Conservative group on Peterborough City Council. We were surprised and disappointed that the group leader took this action against a colleague whom we consider to be one of the most principled and loyal of Party members."

PCC leader Cllr Wayne Fitzgerald (Conservatives, West) denies direct involvement. He said: “It is a discipline matter. It's nothing to do with leadership or council; that's all I'll say about that.

"And it's not me doing that investigation. It's a whip matter, but it's a completely confidential process.”

Cllr Farooq's suspension follows a rocky few days for PCC’s Conservative group, with four councillors resigning from the party just weeks after Peterborough’s local elections.

Cllrs Peter Hiller (Glinton and Castor), Ray Bisby (Stanground South) and Brian Rush (Stanground South) left the group on Friday, 19 May, while Cllr Gavin Elsey (Wittering) left on Sunday, 21 May.

All four councillors instead joined Peterborough First, a group of independent councillors which meets to discuss council agendas but doesn’t have a whip telling them how to vote.

They have given a range of reasons for the decision to leave, with the proposed Horsey Bridge development in Stanground an issue for Cllrs Bisby, Rush and Elsey.

The 20-building development was rejected by PCC’s planning committee in March but ‘called in’ by three councillors, meaning it will be looked at again.

Cllr Rush said that he had been considering leaving since March – “when the Horsey Bridge planning application, which was refused at committee, was called in by three Conservative councillors”.

In relation to the same development, Cllr Bisby said: “I think, in the party, I'll be asked to vote for something that I don't believe in. So, to make sure that doesn't happen, I'm becoming an independent.”

Cllr Hiller, meanwhile, has said that there was “no single area of concern” in relation to his resignation, but that he doesn’t want to “go along with the political self-interest of the current administration”.

Cllr Elsey said he’s “not willing to compromise his integrity for a political party”.

The resignations knock the Conservatives’ numbers down from 30 – just one seat short of a majority – to 26, lower than before the local elections on May 4.

All Peterborough councillors are expected at PCC’s annual general meeting this evening (Monday, 22 May) where committee appointments and Peterborough’s new mayor will be announced.