Politics of Peterborough

In this general election special, I speak to 4 of the North West Cambridgeshire candidates who hope to gain your votes at the General Election on the 4th July.If you want to listen to any of the candidates' interviews in full, they can be found over on the new YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/@PoliticsPboroIf you have any suggestions for future guests, or have questions you'd like asking, you can email them to politics.peterborough@hotmail.com.You can also find the podcast on X (formally Twitter) and Facebook @PoliticsPboro Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this general election special, I speak to 4 of the North West Cambridgeshire candidates who hope to gain your votes at the General Election on the 4th July.If you want to listen to any of the candidates' interviews in full, they can be found over on the new YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/@PoliticsPboroIf you have any suggestions for future guests, or have questions you'd like asking, you can email them to politics.peterborough@hotmail.com.You can also find the podcast on X (formally Twitter) and Facebook @PoliticsPboro Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this general election special, I speak to 2 of the Peterborough candidates who hope to gain your votes at the General Election on the 4th July.If you want to listen to any of the candidates' interviews in full, they can be found over on the new YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/@PoliticsPboroIf you have any suggestions for future guests, or have questions you'd like asking, you can email them to politics.peterborough@hotmail.com.You can also find the podcast on X (formally Twitter) and Facebook @PoliticsPboro Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guests on this episode of the podcast are former BBC Radio Cambridgeshire breakfast presenter and current Director of Marketing and Communications at Peterborough Cathedral, Paul Stainton; Independent councillor for Orton Waterville ward, Cllr Julie Stevenson; and Local Democracy Reporter, Joanna Taylor. In this second part, we discussed:The state of each of the local parties going into the local electionsSome of the most competitive wardsPredictions for the electionIf you have any suggestions for future guests, or have questions you'd like asking, you can email them to politics.peterborough@hotmail.com.You can also find the podcast on X (formally Twitter) and Facebook @PoliticsPboro Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guests on this episode of the podcast are former BBC Radio Cambridgeshire breakfast presenter and current Director of Marketing and Communications at Peterborough Cathedral, Paul Stainton; Independent councillor for Orton Waterville ward, Cllr Julie Stevenson; and Local Democracy Reporter, Joanna Taylor. In this first part, we discussed:The events of the last full council meetingTurnout at local electionsWhether Councillors should live in the ward they representPlus much more.If you have any suggestions for future guests, or have questions you'd like asking, you can email them to politics.peterborough@hotmail.com.You can also find the podcast on X (formally Twitter) and Facebook @PoliticsPboro Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guests on this episode of the podcast are the current leadership of the Council - Leader Councillor Mohammed Farooq and Deputy Leader Councillor John Howard. We discussed:How Councillor Farooq got into politics, and his departure from the ConservativesHow Peterborough First took control of the CouncilThe Hilton HotelThe closure of the Regional Pool and potential replacement detailsThe Station QuarterThe upcoming Local ElectionsPlus much more.If you have any suggestions for future guests, or have questions you'd like asking, you can email them to politics.peterborough@hotmail.com.You can also find the podcast on X (formally Twitter) and Facebook @PoliticsPboro Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest for this episode is Peterborough Liberal Democrats group leader Councillor Christian Hogg. We discussed:The Lib Dems aims for the 2024 local electionsWhat changes there have been since Peterborough First took on the leadership of the Council.The Council's net zero targetThe Regional poolYouth engagement within the cityPlus much more.If you have any suggestions for future guests, or have questions you'd like asking, you can email them to politics.peterborough@hotmail.com.You can also find the podcast on X (formally Twitter) and Facebook @PoliticsPboro Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest for this episode is Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Mayor, Dr Nik Johnson. We discussed:What brought him to Cambridgeshire from NorthumberlandWhat made him want to go into politicsHis apology following the recently released report into his conduct during his first year in officeThe changes in leadership at Peterborough City Council, and how that has changed the relationship with the Combined AuthorityPeterborough MP Paul Bristow's tweets about himWhether he wants to see a Low Emissions Zone introduced in PeterboroughThe introduction and potential tripling of his mayoral preceptPlus much more.If you have any suggestions for future guests, or have questions you'd like asking, you can email them to politics.peterborough@hotmail.com.You can also find the podcast on X (formally Twitter) and Facebook @PoliticsPboro Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this month's episode, I sat down with North-West Cambridgeshire MP Shailesh Vara. We discussed:His upbringing and route into politicsThe racism he has faced along with the current dangers of being an MPHis reaction to the double by-election defeats suffered by the ConservativesThe resignation of 7 Conservative councillors and likely imminent change of leadership of the CouncilThe Showground development and potential loss of the Peterborough PanthersPlus much more.If you have any suggestions for future guests, or have questions you'd like asking, you can email them to politics.peterborough@hotmail.com. You can also find us on X (formally Twitter) and Facebook @PoliticsPboro. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This month, I sat down with Conservative councillor and Cabinet Member for Legal, Finance and Corporate Services, Councillor Andy Coles. He gives his response to the accusations made by the 7 councillors that departed the Conservative group after May's local elections; discusses the financial situation of the Council, including how close it came to having to issue a Section 114 notice; as well as many of the issues facing Peterborough currently.If you have any suggestions for future guests, or have any questions that you'd like asking, you can email them to politics.peterborough@hotmail.com. You can also find us on X (formally Twitter) and Facebook @PoliticsPboro. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest this month is Peterborough First Councillor John Howard. As well as chatting about how he got into politics, his time as a cabinet member, and some of the issues facing Peterborough today, we took a deep dive into his departure from the Conservative group as he talks about the events for the first time.If you have any suggestions for future guests, or have any questions that you'd like asking, you can email them to politics.peterborough@hotmail.com. You can also find us on X (formally Twitter) and Facebook @PoliticsPboro. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This month, our guest is Peterborough's member of the Youth Parliament, Eva Woods. We discussed what the role entails, what got her interested in politics from a young age, why youth turnout is much lower than other age groups, what Peterborough is like as a city for young people, her interactions with the City's MPs, and much more beside.If you have any suggestions for future guests, or would like put questions to a guest, send them in an email to politics.peterborough@hotmail.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this month's episode, we sat down with Labour Councillor Dr Shabina Asad Qayyum. We discussed her journey into politics, her suspension from the party in 2021 and her time as mayoress over the last year.We then dived into the recent local elections, Labour's performance and what lessons have been learned for the next election.We also discussed some of the issues currently facing Peterborough, including the local plan, the social media polling around the Cathedral Square fountains, the state of the NHS is the city, and much more.We also looked at the recent resignations by Conservative councillors, although this was recorded before the 3 further resignations took place on 7th June. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This month, we sat down with local radio luminary Paul Stainton. In Part 2, we got into the state of each party locally; What he thinks are the major problems with the Council and the city currently; What his first 5 priorities would be as leader of the council; Where he would put a new stadium for Peterborough United; And whether Peterborough's MPs are too visible, or not visible enough. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This month, we sat down with local radio luminary Paul Stainton. In Part 1, we talked about the state of national and local media and what effect that was having upon the city and its people; and whether we might see Councillor Paul Stainton in the future. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this month's episode, we sat down with former local Liberal Democrat leader and long time member of the Council, Councillor Nick Sandford. We discussed his political journey, from joining the Liberal party to standing multiple times in General Elections. We also talked about his thoughts on the current set up of Peterborough City Council, the Lib Dem's 8-point plan for Peterborough going into the local elections in May, and whether he thinks taking control from the Conservatives after 23 years is a realistic possibility.If you have any feedback to give on the episode, want to suggest potential guests for future episodes, or have any questions that you'd like us to ask of future guests, send us an email to politics.peterborough@hotmail.com. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter @PoliticsPboro. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this month's episode, we chat with the principal of ARU Peterborough, Professor Ross Renton. Obviously, there was a lot of talk about the University's development and how things have gone since it opened in September 2022, and what the future holds as it continues to grow.We also talked about its place on the Embankment; the relationships they require with the Council and Combined Authority; how further education will develop as time goes on; whether the Government has been providing enough support; and whether Professor Renton has considered moving into politics in the past or future. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode, we sat down with local Green party leader, Councillor Nicola Day. We discussed her journey in politics from the Labour party into the Greens; whether the Greens can ever become of a party of Government; The defection of Councillor Skibsted from Labour; is Peterborough a safe city; and whether the city is ready to be carbon neutral by 2030; along with a whole host of other topics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We sat down with Peterborough MP Paul Bristow, for a chat about the recent Conservative leadership issues, Brexit, the financial state of Peterborough City Council, the recently opened University, and his comments on the use of the Great Northern Hotel as a base for asylum seekers.We also asked the question that everyone wants an answer to...Has he been voting for Matt Hancock to undertake trials on I'm a Celebrity? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second part of our conversation with Peterborough Council Leader Wayne Fitzgerald, we covered the embankment including the university and the potential for an arena, whether the city's net zero target is realistic, and the rejection of a change in voting frequency. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In part 1, we chat with Peterborough Conservative leader and leader of the Council Wayne Fitzgerald about how he got into politics, how he has found being leader and the current state of national politics.We then got into the issues facing Peterborough, from the financial position and the cuts to services that have resulted from that, and the recently released Future City Council Strategy report. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Part 2 of our conversation with independent Councillor Julie Stevenson, where we get into the issues facing Peterborough including: The problem of drifting in Orton; The climbing wall development at Ferry Meadows; Whether the city is a friendly place for people with disabilities; Should Peterborough move to an all-out system of voting; Honesty in politics; And whether local councillors should be full time, professional positions, and whether they get enough money for the job they do. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In part 1, we chat with newly independent Councillor Julie Stevenson about how she got into politics, how she ended up as a Green, whether the Greens have been given enough credit for their results in Orton Waterville, and why she recently stood down as Green party leader before leaving the party entirely. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk to Labour group leader, Councillor Shaz Nawaz, about how he got into politics, the resignation of Boris Johnson, Labour's local election performances, and some of the key issues facing Peterborough. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Politics of Peterborough is a new podcast exploring the issues that face our city, and finding out more about those who influence the direction the city is taking. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.