Former metro mayor to quit politics (and Twitter) after election defeat

Conservative James Palmer was defeated by Labour’s Dr Nik Johnson having served as the county’s first metro mayor and leader of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.

And in a series of tweets the former leader of East Cambridgeshire District Council congratulated his successor and outlined what he believes his main achievements are, before announcing he was leaving frontline politics (and Twitter) for good.

Mr Palmer tweeted: “I would like to thank all of the 94 000 people who voted for me to be Mayor last week and congratulate @CambridgeMagpie on his victory.

“Politics has dominated my life for the last 14 years and it has been an incredible journey. As leader of East Cambs I restructured the Council, making savings that has led to 8 consecutive years of council tax freeze.

“We delivered, free parking, reformed Ely Markets, built Ely Leisure Village and drove the delivery of Ely Southern Bypass.

“As the first Mayor of Cambridgshire and Peterborough, I set up the authority from scratch and invested into all areas of the county fairly. Market Town Masterplans and Covid Grants have directly helped businesses across the county.

“While our Adult Education Scheme in helping those in the most need for the first time. A new technical University is being built in Peterborough, funded by CPCA, government and local business.

“And Soham Railway Station opens this year. I went into politics to try and improve the lives of people in my area and as my responsibilities grew, so did the area I served.

“Now it is time to move on. I have met some incredible people in politics and some truly awful ones too! I very much look forward to a life off the radar and out of the public eye. I would like to thank all of my incredible team for their hard word and dedication to the cause.

“This will be my last post in twitter and will joyfully delete my account after today.”