Labour says 'wheels have come off' Conservative council group but still rules out coalition to oust administration

The “wheels have come off” Peterborough City Council’s (PCC) Conservative group, the Labour group has said – but a coalition with other minority parties to oust the current administration remains out of the question.

Labour leader, Cllr Dennis Jones (Dogsthorpe), said that his group’s position is clear: “we must put the interests of the people who elect us first,” he said. “There will be no coalition.”

The Conservatives have come under renewed scrutiny this week after three more of its councillors resigned from the group and became Independents.

Cllr Mohammed Farooq (Hargate and Hempsted) left the party, alleging that he was driven out by its “toxic culture”, after having been suspended but allowed back in.

His son, Cllr Saqib Farooq (Glinton and Castor), left too, as did fellow ward councillor John Howard (Hargate and Hempsted), who had also served in leader Cllr Wayne Fitzgerald’s (Conservatives, West) cabinet.

Labour also ruled out the possibility of a “rainbow coalition”, whereby it would join forces with multiple parties to create a new ruling bloc, after the first spate of resignations in May.

Shortly after the local elections, Cllr Ray Bisby (Stanground South), Cllr Brian Rush (Stanground South), Cllr Peter Hiller (Glinton and Castor) and Cllr Gavin Elsey (Wittering), resigned from the Conservative group and joined Peterborough First.

The Conservatives have now lost seven of their 30 councillors, putting their numbers at 23 – the lowest in more than two decades.

Cllr Jones leads the second-largest party on PCC – the Labour group is made up of 14 councillors – and has said that “absolute power, unchallenged for more than two decades, is unhealthy” and that “clearly things are amiss” in the Conservative group.

But he still wants to wait until the next elections, almost a year away, before trying again to enact a change in leadership.

One of the issues is that Peterborough First – now a major force on the council, with eight members – is virtually a second Conservative Party, according to both Cllr Jones and Liberal Democrats group leader Cllr Christian Hogg (Fletton and Stanground).

Most of its members, including leader Cllr Chris Harper (Stanground South) are ex-Conservatives and may still hold those viewpoints even if they’re no longer party of the party on PCC, they say.

“Just because we’ve moved some deck chairs from one side of the deck to the other doesn’t necessarily mean we’ve changed the political landscape of Peterborough,” as Cllr Hogg put it.

Like Cllr Jones, he also believes that any future change must come from future voting.

“We want to get through this year so that maybe the electorate can push through change in terms of leadership by voting for other parties than they have done in the past,” he said.

“Until that happens, we need to see what we can do to keep things together; we need stability in Peterborough.”

The Green Party has also confirmed it hasn’t held any coalition talks, while Peterborough First says it’s “too early” at the moment, but its leader at least would be open to the possibility in the future.

“It may well be that a coalition is the way forward; a rainbow coalition may well be the way forward,” Cllr Harper said. “It’s too early at the moment. To say we’re too Conservative is a little shallow because we do have a lot of common ground.

“We’re not ready at the moment, but we shouldn't write it off.”

Peterborough First, however, has no whip telling members how to vote, so all of its members would have to agree to a coalition before it could be agreed.

The Conservative group, meanwhile, "strenuously denies" allegations of bullying or that it has a "toxic culture".

"We strenuously deny that there is a toxic culture and refute any allegations of bullying towards Cllr Farooq from any member," Cllr Andy Coles (Conservatives, Fletton and Woodston) said on behalf of the group.

"Our group’s priority is to deliver for the people of Peterborough. The Conservatives won extra seats in Peterborough at the recent local elections and the popular vote convincingly. We have a mandate to get on with our plans for Peterborough and deliver good services. This is what we are going to do."