What are Werrington First up to?

The self proclaimed Werrington First councillors have been subtly supporting the ruling Conservative group at the Council for several years.

Even to this day, no one really understands why? It’s not as if they have had a brand new sports centre for their area built and named after them etc 🙂

Werrington First’s Cllr John Fox, Cllr Judy Fox and Cllr Stephen Lane, feeling important at an event last year! (Can you recognise anyone else?)

Worth noting

You might also like to know that the Werrington First (WF) councillors like to tell people they are a bunch of independents, but as you can see from the Electoral Commission website, they are a registered political party, the same way the Conservatives or Labour Party are!

Latest situation

Anyhow, after this years local elections, the WF councillors have, publicly declared that they “will not give their support to any Conservative administration led by Councillor Wayne Fitzgerald,” despite the fact that Cllr Fitzgerald was re-elected as the Tory group leader, unanimously the other day?

The thing is…

1. Why were the WF councillors happy to support the Tories for several years, even during the previous cuts and increases in Council Tax?
2. If they have an issue with Wayne, why did they say nothing for the entirety of last year?
3. Why did one of them, Cllr Lane, vote in favour a few weeks ago, for the latest Tory budget, that includes cuts, closures and another increase in Council Tax?

Cllr Stephen Lane, seemingly excited to meet a rich and entitled individual ….. along with some local Tories!?

So what’s gonna happen?

As is often the way with Pottyborough, no one really knows. But, the chances of having some form of coalition now seems more likely.

But, what promises can be provided to the Werrington First brigade to sustain their consistent support over the financial year?

Equally, how can councillors who have previously supported a range of austerity actions, cuts and detrimental measures, now step up and provide alternative ideas and solutions to the problems that have arisen?

That said, it is still feasible that the Conservatives could form a minority administration, which might cause problems on occasions, but can be done.

And of course, given there are a couple of Fib Dem councillors, who I’d suggest are right of centre, there’s a possibility of an informal agreement between them and thee Tories?

One thing is for certain, the Tories have benefited from being the administration, to the tune of hundreds of thousands of £’s in extra responsibility allowances over the years.

And they will not be keen to lose these payments!

Additional reading

• Werrington councillor’s anger over leisure centre closure
• Decision over hotly contested fields in Peterborough not expected until next month

Labour in Peterborough “could” still control Council

As you may have read, the during the local election campaign, Tories in their literature were warning about the prospect of a “coalition of chaos” if the Labour Party did well?

NOTE: They did of course forget to mention the “informal” coalition they have had for several years with the Werrington First councillors, within the shadows of the Town Hall?

Anyhow, after the results for Peterborough were declared, people like Cllr Wayne Fitzgerald were quick to tell media that things would remain the same and carry on regardless etc

Thing is ….. The Conservative Party do NOT have the majority of City Councillors, they have 28 out of 60.

Put simply, this means 53% of other political party elected members, make up the remainder of the Council.

Thus, it would be perfectly feasible for them to come to an arrangement to run the Council as a Coalition.

What Cllr Shaz Nawaz said

Cllr Shaz Nawaz, speaking after the count.

Therefore, there have suggestions locally, that a conversation is now taking place between Labour, the Lib Dems and Greens, with the aim of tricking seeking the support of the Werrington First councillors, who might be persuaded, via assurances regarding the opening of Werrington Sports Centre etc?

Might be worth people keeping an eye on Cllr Shaz Nawaz‘s Twitter account?

Do Coalition Councils work?

That’s a question that cannot really be answered. But, there are certainly a range of Councils in this country that operate as a coalition!

However, some of the Councils that do operate as a coalition include:

• North Somerset: Indie/Green/Lib Dems
• Stoke-on-Trent: Conservative/Independents
• Lancaster: Labour/Green/Lib Dem/Independent

And there are several others ….!

Conservatives in Peterborough are BIG fans of money! 🙂

Reasons why the Tories want control

You might think that the Tories want to continue in control of the City Council, on democratic merits alone? Personally, I would suggest there is more to it!

For example, by maintaining control of the Council:

1. It makes them feel important in their otherwise underdeveloped existence!
2. It means they can continue to give themselves additional allowances, on top of their basic councillor salaries, worth hundreds of thousands of £’s a year!
3. It also means, contributions to local party remain high, as Tory councillors are expected to give a monthly % of their money to the party. This pays for the literature and campaign materials, helping them spread their lies and broken promises …..

More reading ….

• Peterborough City Council 2022: Labour group leader Shaz Nawaz says ‘some kind’ of Labour-run administration ‘very real possibility’

#PCCelections2022 – Tory controlled vs Coalition?

Local elections for the City Council, take place on Thursday 5th May. The polling stations are open from 7am until 10pm. You do NOT need to take any ID with you, and simply need to tell the staff your name and address om arrival!

Presently, Labour have 16 city councillors, the Conservatives have 28, the Lib Dems, 8, Greens have 3, Werrington First have 3 and there are 2 Independent …. with one vacant Lib Dem seat.

Chances of a Lab council?

I’ve just done some number crunching and, sadly, for Labour to take outright control of Peterborough City Council, will require a god like miracle! In so much they would need to win every one of the seats up for grabs!

Together we can do better for Peterborough!
Vote Labour on the 5th of May for a better future for our city.Don't vote for more of the same pic.twitter.com/lMQws3LORe

— Shaz Nawaz (@ShazNawaz1) March 30, 2022

Let me point out that this is not a criticism, its merely an observation.

I genuinely think most people in the city, would like to see the back of the Tories, but the way the Council elections work i.e. a 1/3 of wards up for election this year, the majority of them are NOT conservative, and thus real change is nearly impossible!

Guarantees RE: Pboro Local Elections

• Turnout is always low, in some wards as a low as 21.12%!
• Ironically, the lowest turnout is always in the wards that have the biggest problems, issues and social concerns?

Labour whitewash

Make up of PCC: If Labour won every single ward in this years local elections.

If, in theory, every Labour candidate standing, was victorious, this would be the make up of the City Council. I’ve had to tweak the info, VERY slightly as for some reason in Fletton & Stanground, despite there being 2 seats up for election, the local Labour Party have only put up 1 candidate?

So as you can see, even if Labour won EVERY single ward in the local elections, the Tories could create a coalition between themselves and the other political parties!

My predications

Anyhow, having had a read through each of the wards historical voting patterns, looked at who is standing and using my own knowledge, below is how I expect the City Council to look come the morning of Friday 6th May.

Fower’s 2022 predications of Council make-up POST results!

The Council are in a MESS!

Just look at this video someone sent me, of Tory Council leader, Cllr Wayne Fitzgerald, talking to the local media.

Personally, I worry he believes his own rhetoric!

I mean, the Council ONLY exists today because they got bailed out by money from central Government, a special task force of “well paid” bureaucrats has been sent in to keep an eye on things, council services have been cut and Council Tax has been raised to record levels!

Don’t VOTE Tory!

Either way there are STILL plenty of benefits to not voting Tory this year! Less Tory councillors ….

1. A better quality of City Council!
2. Less chance of a Tory majority, and therefore more influence for party councillors!
3. Less money going into the local Tory party coffers, via monthly contributions made by Conservative councillors!

Local libraries must stay open!

Peterborough City Council has been under Tory control for 22 years!

Where’s the money gone?

Last year we discovered that the bank balance of the Council was kaput! As a result special Government measures had to be introduced and millions of extra £’s of taxpayers money was loaned to the authority!

On top of that, Councillors in Peterborough, were told, in an effort to balance the books, sweeping cuts had to be made to services, which could see local libraries close!

Keep them open!

Now, Leader of the Labour Group on the Council, Cllr Shaz Nawaz, has said “we can do better for Peterborough” and that under his remit, they would remain open!

What about Werrington?

My nearest Library is Werrington, and whilst I myself might not be a regular, I am fully aware of the benefit such facilities can offer; to local groups, those needing a quiet place to study, young families, people without internet access etc

That said, during the 22 years of the Tories “running” the Council, Werrington library has already experienced cuts and belt tightening!

In 2014 for example, they reduced the opening days and the opening times.

Don’t forget!

• Local elections take place on Thursday 5th May, and polling stations are open from 7am until 10pm.

Werrington Sports Centre should “remain open for the community”

At the end of last year, the Tory controlled City Council in Peterborough, announced plans for the Werrington Leisure Centre to be closed, as part of plans to resolve the city council’s financial crisis.

Whilst some Councillors at the meeting, commented on the news, the Werrington First councillors remained quiet during the meeting!?

Labour will Re-Open Centre

Now, Labour Group Leader at the Town Hall, Cllr Shaz Nawaz, has promised to “work collaboratively with other parties“, to ensure assets like the Werrington Sports Centre “remain open for the community“, rather than ignoring the local residents and mothballing them!

Interestingly ….

A few weeks after the closure announcement, Cllr Wayne Fitzgerald claimed the closure related to a shortage of staff …. despite not previously mentioning this? It reminds me a little of the excuses they used for the Brown Bin cancellations?

• You can watch him on video via my Facebook page!

What about the Ward councillors?

The ironically named Werrington First councillors for the area, once public opinion showed dismay at the decision to close the centre, were quick top respond!

1. Newborough resident, Cllr John Fox told local media he was “…very disappointed and angry – all three of us (Werrington first councillors Stephen Lane and Judy Fox).“
2. Then a few weeks ago, the aforementioned Cllr Stephen Lane, had the casting vote, supporting the Tory budget, which included the closure of the sports centre!?
3. In recent times, Cllr John Fox has also been claiming he’s sorted out a “new sports centre with a pool”, which is BS! If he has, then its been done illegally, as there’s been no planning permission sort, no consultation and other areas like Walton, Gunthorpe or Paston, haven’t been asked their views!
4. Latest murmurings suggest the whole “vanity project” has been put on hold for at least three years.
5. Reminds me of all the promises around the development of the Tesco Werrington Centre and how fantastic that “was” going to be!?

Sports Centre Petition

Once the community heard about the planned closure, a petition was launched, which received 747 signatures.

The Tory controlled Council, who have been kept in power by the Werrington First lot in recent years, essentially ignored the petition!

One other thing

Another point to keep in mind, is the suggestion that, in the long run, and given the nearby Schools plan to become an Academy, the desire of some at the Town Hall, is simply to pass this community asset over to the school!?