Peterborough's biggest political moments of 2025 from each month

This month by month round-up highlights some of the key political moments and decisions that defined 2025 for Peterborough and its residents.

January

In January, controversial plans to build 650 homes on land that contained the former speedway track at the East of England Showground were given the go ahead. The decision came despite impassioned pleas from residents and Peterborough Speedway Consortium to uphold an earlier refusal.

A second outline planning application for 850 homes at the Showground, a care village, hotel and school was also approved by the planning committee the previous year. However, later in October 2025 members of the committee voted unanimously to refuse permission for the 1,500 homes in total.

Also in January, the demolition process of Peterborough's beloved former Regional Pool on Bishops Road began with a soft strip of the site. The work was completed in the summer.

February

Peterborough's February 2025 budget meeting saw the city council narrowly pass its budget for 2025/26, including a 4.99 per cent council tax rise and service cuts to tackle a £23 million deficit. The fiery meeting saw 18 councillors vote against the proposed budget while 11 abstained, causing tensions in the chamber.

Notably, among the initial budget proposals were plans to potentially mothball the city's historic Lido in order to help reduce the deficit, but these plans were shelved after significant backlash from members of the public and local politicians.

Also in February, former Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) mayor Dr Nik Johnson announced his decision to franchise the region's bus network. This meant that eventually bus services in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough would be under greater public control, with CPCA able to set fares, routes, timetables and service standards.

March

A decision was made by Peterborough councillors in March over the long-running Werrington Fields saga which has caused a divide between a school and local community. However, the amendment voted through by councillors meant the council would seek to lease a smaller area of the playing fields to the school than its academy trust indicated it would agree to.

Following this meeting, the academy trust launched a judicial review which the city council is now in the process of settling. A date is set in January 2026 for the council's ruling cabinet to approve a final lease agreement with the trust which could finally put an end to the dispute.

Also in March, the chair of Peterborough City Council’s Independent and Assurance Improvement Panel slammed councillors for their behaviour during the budget meeting in February. While the report noted that members and officers continued to work "extremely hard" collectively on issues, it highlighted the "disappointing" behaviour during full council’s budget setting process.

April

In April, planning permission was granted by the council to commence roof repair works on the Key Theatre in Peterborough. It came after RAAC was identified in the building’s roof in October 2023.

Work was due to be completed earlier this year but it has now been pushed back until 2026 due to various complications.

Also in April, the city council adopted an Islamophobia statement as part of its anti-racism policies. Officers worked with members of Peterborough’s Joint Mosque Committee and other local partners to write the statement and set out some of the ways that Muslims are impacted by Islamophobia in the city.

May

On May 23, three people were arrested on suspicion of misconduct in a public office at Peterborough City Council. They have since been released under investigation.

The CPCA mayoral elections took place in May, which saw Conservative Paul Bristow beat the opposition to take over from former Labour mayor Dr Nik Johnson.

Peterborough City Council also got a new mayor in May, with long-serving councillor Judy Fox taking over from Cllr Marco Cereste.

June

The Peterborough First group formed an alliance with the Liberal Democrat and Green Party groups in June in a bid to create an alternative administration and remove Labour's Dennis Jones from his leadership. A total of 26 councillors voted for the motion while 32 councillors voted against and one abstained, meaning Labour remained in charge as a minority administration.

Also in June, a concerned parent delivered an 800-strong petition to Peterborough City Council in a bid to ensure childrens’ safety outside a primary school in Eye. It came after the council announced it would cut crossing patrols at a number of schools in a bid to save money.

While this petition and another similar petition cause the council to reconsider its decision, the council's cabinet ultimately decided to stick by its choice to cut the crossing patrols and ensure alternative safety measures were put in place instead.

July

In July, the council revealed that urgent works were needed at the Town Hall on Bridge Street following the discovery of RAAC and other structural issues. A report put before the council’s cabinet on July 15 stated that the mitigation measures on the upper floor would ensure the safety of the occupants using the space below and were estimated to cost around £900,000.

The work began in November which will not see the RAAC removed, but will instead see it supported so it cannot collapse. A completion date has not yet been confirmed.

August

In August, it was revealed that Cllr Kirsty Knight would face a code of conduct hearing after a complaint was made from a member of the public. The complaint was made in March this year against Cllr Knight, who represents the Orton Waterville ward, by a member of the public regarding an interaction with Cllr Knight at their home.

However, the hearing has since been postponed multiple times and is now expected to be dealt with in the new year. Cllr Knight has consistently denied any wrongdoing and said she was frustrated by the delays.

Also in August, it was revealed that a public footpath was to be diverted for essential work to take place to enable the construction of Cygnet Bridge. The £8.3 million bridge will connect Fletton Quays with the Embankment and main construction work is expected to begin next year.

September

September saw arguably the biggest political moment of the year when former Labour councillor Dennis Jones, who had led Peterborough City Council under a minority Labour administration since May 2024, stood down after offensive private messages came to light.

Cllr Jones resigned and was suspended by his party, but remained as a councillor and now serves as an independent with his seat up for election next year. The situation forced an extraordinary full council meeting on September 12 which saw Labour’s Cllr Shabina Qayyum elected as the new leader, promising the “start of a new era”.

Cllr Qayyum decided to form a coalition administration with the Liberal Democrat and Peterborough First groups, which she insisted would provide a route to greater stability and cross-party working after months of turbulence.

October

Peterborough's huge Station Quarter project received a major boost in October when unconditional approval for £48 million of government funding was confirmed.

The go ahead was given in a letter from David Harding, deputy director for the Department for Transport, who stated: "I am pleased to confirm that the conditions have been met and the Department has now provided full and unconditional approval of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mayoral Combined Authority’s full business case for delivery of the Peterborough Station Quarter Enhancements and Connectivity scheme."

Also in October, Peterborough City Council's top legal chief Neil McArthur announced his resignation and the cost of a proposed new swimming pool for the city centre was confirmed as £36 million.

November

The sale of Peterborough's unfinished Hilton Garden Inn hotel began in November. It was revealed that a buyer for the property would have to spend more than £14.3 million to complete the building as a hotel.

Meanwhile, at a meeting in November, Peterborough councillors voted unanimously in favour of Option D for Local Government Reorganisation, which would see Peterborough merge with West Huntingdonshire to form a new authority known as ‘Greater Peterborough’. The other six Cambridgeshire councils also decided on their preferred restructure options before each authority submitted their choice to government, which will ultimately make the decision on how the new council’s will look.

Two claims of harassment related to race against Peterborough City Council were upheld by an employment tribunal, a report published in November revealed. A lengthy employment tribunal began in Cambridge in summer 2025, during which Rochelle Tapping, the city council's former monitoring officer, made numerous claims that she was discriminated against during her time working at the council.

December

In December, it was revealed that police were investigating Peterborough City Council's sale of the John Mansfield Centre to City College Peterborough Foundation in 2020 for just £1, despite being valued at £4.6 million. Council officers released a report stating that a series of financial transactions associated with the disposal of the John Mansfield Centre constituted 'unlawful payments'.

Also in December, CPCA board members agreed to extend the popular £1 Tiger Pass scheme until March 2027. The scheme gives under 25s affordable access to transport in the region.

Meanwhile, consultation results were received regarding the council's budget proposals for 2026/27. They revealed that only a quarter of Peterborough residents would support a council tax rise above the national limit.

Notable defections

Throughout the year there became an increasing number of councillors who chose to abandon their political groups to sit as independents.

Most notably, two former Labour councillors Daisy Blakemore-Creedon and Nicola Jenkins, as well as two former Peterborough First councillors Mark Ormston and Gavin Elsey, all decided to resign and represent their residents without political affiliation.

Also, the Peterborough First leadership decided to 'expel' Cllr Roger Antunes from the group following an internal investigation. Cllr Antunes argued it was a mutual agreement.

In June, the Local Democracy Reporting Service highlighted that more than a quarter of current Peterborough city councillors had switched to a different political party in recent years.