Date set for potential takeover of Peterborough City Council leadership as coalition agreement nears

The leader of Peterborough First has confirmed the date he intends to put forward a motion of no confidence in the current Labour administration on Peterborough City Council.

Councillor Dennis Jones has been leader of the council since last May, when Labour won the most seats to form a minority administration.

However, Peterborough First’s newly re-elected leader Cllr Chris Harper recently revealed negotiations were ongoing to remove Labour from power and form a new administration.

Cllr Harper told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the takeover plans could not be put forward at the full council meeting on May 19 due to constitutional reasons.

He now intends to put forward a motion of no confidence at the next full council meeting on June 18, and says a coalition with the Liberal Democrat and Green Party groups is nearly agreed.

"We are confident that we are nearly there now and we’ll go for it. It will be up to the vote on the night.”

“The options put before us were either an extraordinary meeting or wait for the next full council. The next full council will be the one that we’re going for”, Cllr Harper said.

“We’re discussing our joint coalition agreement at the moment which is going through the groups to make sure everyone is happy to sign off on it, but it’s very positive and most people seem very happy on that.

“Things are going extremely well. We are confident that we are nearly there now and we’ll go for it. It will be up to the vote on the night.”

Cllr Harper confirmed that the group is currently talking to different independent councillors, whose votes could make all the difference.

The current makeup of the council includes: 17 Labour councillors, 13 Peterborough First councillors, 11 Conservative councillors, eight Liberal Democrat councillors, six independent councillors and five Green Party councillors.

A group can gain control of a council by having a majority of seats or by forming a coalition with other parties to achieve a majority.

Peterborough First is a group made up of independent councillors, mostly ex-Conservatives, whose motto is ‘People Before Politics’.

It would not be the first time that Peterborough First have taken control of the authority after a vote of no confidence saw former leader Cllr Wayne Fitzgerald (Conservative) ousted in November 2023 – a move backed by Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party.

“Now is the time for councillors to continue to work together for Peterborough"

A spokesperson for the Labour Party said: “It is disappointing that Peterborough First and other groups on Peterborough City Council have decided to create instability with this politically motivated back-room plot.

“After years of mismanagement and poor public finances at Peterborough City Council, Peterborough Labour has begun the critical work of getting Peterborough back on track.

“Only yesterday [Monday, May 19] the government ended a three-year review into Peterborough City Council governance as a result of the progress Peterborough Labour has made in turning the council around.

“Now is the time for councillors to continue to work together for Peterborough, rather than playing politics with residents’ services and taxpayers’ money.”

Council leader Dennis Jones was approached for a comment.