Peterborough council leader says he doesn't accept fault as opposition parties bid to remove him with vote of no confidence

The leader of Peterborough City Council (PCC) faces removal from his position – but says he doesn’t accept any fault in the circumstances that have led to opposition parties bringing about a vote of no confidence in himself and his administration.

Cllr Wayne Fitzgerald (Conservatives, West) admits he is likely to be ousted on Wednesday, 1st November, by a group of councillors who say they “no longer have trust or confidence” in his leadership.

But while they say that “political attacks and weaponization of the council administration” against them has brought them to this point, Cllr Fitzgerald maintains that the vote is simply the result of opportunism rather than a reflection on his leadership.

“The council is not in a bad place,” he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS). “The only thing that’s changed in the last three months is that we’ve now got a rump of people in the middle, called Peterborough First – mainly ex-Conservatives – whereas previously the opposition wouldn’t work together to form a coalition.”

The no confidence vote is indeed being spearheaded by Peterborough First, with the backing of Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party.

Cllr Fitzgerald continued that there is “nothing wrong here” and that the issue lies with Peterborough First.

“This is a hiatus and a blip," he said. "The Conservative group will not accept any legitimacy of the incoming administration. We will have to work with everybody because we take our roles seriously and responsibly because I want what’s right for the city.”

“But there are political differences and those will continue,” he continued. “The only difference now is that, instead of working closer, those arguments may actually surface more often in the council chamber.”

Cllr Mohammed Farooq likely to be next leader

While the vote of no confidence was put forward by Cllr Chris Harper (Peterborough First, Stanground South), it is likely to be Cllr Mohammed Farooq (Peterborough First, Hargate and Hempsted) who succeeds Cllr Fitzgerald.

He was one of the seven Conservative councillors who resigned from the party earlier this year and instead joined Peterborough First.

The current leader partly puts the bid to oust him down to Cllr Farooq’s ambition.

“He is determined to be the leader of this council and he’s got his way through the back door if the vote goes through next Wednesday,” Cllr Fitzgerald said.

Cllr Farooq said in response that he doesn’t want to be drawn into “personal politics”.

“The council is going through huge challenges currently,” he said in a statement to the LDRS.

“We have huge pressures on children’s services, school transport, housing and not to mention the budget gap of £5m this year and £10m next year. We must not be distracted by personal politics and concentrate on these challenges together and deliver services to our residents.”

Labour’s support for the motion, meanwhile, is “about getting Andrew Pakes elected as the MP for Peterborough”, Cllr Fitzgerald has claimed, adding that he has “great relationships with most of the opposition members” who are only backing Peterborough First because “this opportunity has presented itself”.

Both group leader Cllr Dennis Jones (Labour, Dogsthorpe) and the party’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Peterborough, Mr Pakes, have denied this, with the latter saying that the next general election will be down to “who can win the trust of people in the city”.

“People are fed up with politics in the city being about character assassination and silly politics,” he added. “People want a grown up conversation about the future of the city.”

A strong leader 'has to break a few eggs'

Cllr Fitzgerald says that “when you’re a strong leader, you have to break a few eggs”.

He remains positive about his tenure as a PCC leader, despite the likelihood it’ll come to an abrupt and untimely end.

“People are falling over themselves to come and invest, start businesses, build a life with their families in Peterborough because we are on the cusp of something amazing and I’ll never run it down, unlike the opposition,” he said.

He also says he’ll continue to lead the Conservative group and could run for leader of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) in 2025.

“I have a track record of delivering, I have vision, I have aspiration, I have ambition to get things done for Cambridgeshire,” he said. “I want to see the Combined Authority prosper and grow.”

The vote of no confidence in Cllr Fitzgerald’s administration will be held at a full council meeting next week and is likely to be followed by a motion installing a new leader and cabinet.

The initial vote needs the support of a simple majority of councillors to pass: together, opposition groups have 37, while the Conservatives have 23.

Peterborough mayor Cllr Nick Sandford (Liberal Democrats, Paston and Walton) has indicated that he will initially abstain from the vote, but if results in a 50:50 split he will have the casting vote.

The group leaders of all opposition parties have signed off on the motion bringing the vote of no confidence, signalling their support.