Peterborough MP Andrew Pakes backs Keir Starmer to remain as Prime Minister
Like many other parts of England, Scotland and Wales, the Labour party saw disappointing results at the polls in Peterborough’s local elections on May 7.
Of the six Peterborough City Council seats it was defending, the city’s ruling Labour party managed to defend just two.
This means that it now has 11 seats on the city council compared to the Tories’ 13, making the latter the largest party.
With Reform UK seeing significant gains of four seats, and the Greens also upping their contingent by one, the evening proved to be a somewhat bruising – if not entirely surprising – episode for those wearing red rosettes.
With the results autopsy now in full swing, the question being asked most fervently by Labour supporters is: ‘Are local Labour party councils paying at the polls for the Labour party’s performance at national level?
Labour’s Peterborough MP Andrew Pakes was realistic about the national versus local debate:
“I’m really proud of our local candidates who’ve been working hard and delivering for their communities,” he said, “but when the national mood is difficult, that’s what people respond to at the ballot box.”
Much of the blame for the present discontent with Labour’s performance has been laid squarely at the door of Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer.
Indeed, calls for the PM to resign – some of which have come from within his own party – have increased steadily since the scale of Labour’s battering across England, Scotland and Wales became clear over the weekend.
When asked by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) if he still supported Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister, Mr Pakes issued an emphatic one-word reply:
“Yes.”
Labour MP for Northwest Cambridgeshire Sam Carling also acknowledged that the party at large must consider the bigger picture. “There is a lot to be proud of in what Labour has delivered for our region,” he said, “but results like these across the nation are a signal that needs to be taken seriously, and I think most people in the party know that.”
With Labour no longer the dominant force in Peterborough City Council, all eyes will now be on what form the new coalition administration will take.
“Whatever the council looks like going forward,” Mr Carling noted, “the priority has to be making sure residents across Peterborough see real progress on the things that matter to them.”