Local Elections 2026: Time to get a better deal for our residents and restore trust in our City Council

Others are wary of the promises made by those standing for election that haven’t been followed through, whether Conservative mismanagement of Peterborough, or the current Labour government at Westminster which has not delivered what many people thought it would when it swept into power in 2024.

When I was first elected as a City Councillor for Hampton Vale in 2019, I promised to do things differently. My neighbours told me that Hampton had been neglected by the incumbent Conservatives for some time. They appreciated being asked for their opinions on the doorstep and having someone active and visible in their community.

I was also very clear that I could not fix all the problems people face, but I promised to listen and to do what I could to find answers to the issues raised to me.

Some issues voters have will never be fixed by a local councillor. We have no direct say on immigration, foreign policy, or the price of petrol, for example.

What we can do as local councillors is to act on our residents' concerns about issues the council does have control over. The issues raised by residents I have spoken to range from bins, problem parking and the state of our roads, to concerns about social care funding. These are all issues we can raise within the council and do our best to improve

We have also shown, as Liberal Democrats, that we are prepared to take the difficult decisions as part of the cross-party administration running our city, as we seek to fix the issues caused by decades of poor decisions by Conservative administrations.

Across Peterborough, residents tell me that they recognise the hard work that our Liberal Democrat councillors do for their communities all year, every year. Many voters will support their local Liberal Democrats even though their party allegiance lies elsewhere, nationally.

This year, we have the chance to elect more Liberal Democrats to give residents a stronger voice on the council.

I am proud that my father, Paul Wiggin, is standing this year in Hampton Vale. Paul was a councillor in the 1990s, before becoming a secondary school teacher. Now that he has retired, he wants to give back to his local community of over 20 years. I can think of no one I would rather have joining me on the council than my biggest fan (and harshest critic). His experience will be invaluable as we embark on local government reorganisation, the biggest change for a generation.

We won’t promise to solve all the issues, but together we will be a strong voice on the City Council to make what improvements we can. With both of us being Hampton residents, we stand shoulder to shoulder with our neighbours to get a better deal for our area.