Category: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson – a Message to Marco Cereste

07:20 Thursday 29th May 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[C]HRIS MANN: Arrogant aggressive and bombastic. Words used by the Peterborough MP Stewart Jackson to describe the Leader of the Council there Marco Cereste. It follows an interview councillor Cereste did on the Bigger Breakfast Show yesterday with me where he insisted he would stay as Leader, despite the fact his party lost overall control in last week’s local election. I asked him whether the results meant he should question his position as Leader.
(TAPE)
MARCO CERESTE: No. Absolutely not. What it is is a message that we’ve got to understand, and we as a Conservative Group understand it very very well. Because we are the only party in the country that is offering a referendum on Europe. We understand the message very well. We respect the voters’ views. And we will be working .. we will be working to make sure that we listen ..
CHRIS MANN: We’re talking about Peterborough City Council, not what’s happening in Europe, and the fact that you’ve lost overall control.
MARCO CERESTE: No. No. I disagree. No. No. No.
CHRIS MANN: Is that not a vote about you Marco?
MARCO CERESTE: Listen. Listen. If you want me to continue speaking to you, then you must let me speak. If you want to listen to yourself, you don’t need me on the other end of the telephone.
CHRIS MANN: Do you not agree that this vote was about matters to do with Peterborough City Council?
MARCO CERESTE: What I’m saying to you is that whilst the vote elected local authority councillors, throughout the entire country the same thing repeated itself. So it’s a national issue. That doesn’t mean that we locally don’t need to listen to the voters, because we absolutely do need to listen to the voters. And we as a party will listen to the voters.
CHRIS MANN: So how will you be doing that? What are you going to change?
MARCO CERESTE: Well what we will do is we will continue to do what is necessary for Peterborough, and that is to deliver good services efficiently, effectively, keep the council taxes low .. as low as we possibly can, and work within our budget, which is what we’ve been doing all along. And if you look at the record of our Conservative administration, it is phenomenal. We are outperforming most of the cities in the entire country.
(LIVE)
CHRIS MANN: So that’s what Marco Cereste had to say live on this programme yesterday morning to me. Listening to that was Peterborough MP Stewart Jackson, a fellow Conservative of course, and he joins me now. Morning Stewart.
STEWART JACKSON: Good morning Chris.
CHRIS MANN: What did you think of Marco Cereste’s attitude to what happened at the polls?
Continue reading “Stewart Jackson – a Message to Marco Cereste”

No Confidence in Marco Cereste

17:19 Wednesday 28th May 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[S]UE DOUGAN: The political future of Peterborough City Council hangs in the balance after the Conservative group lost its overall majority last week. Last night Marco Cereste was re-elected as Leader of the Tory Group. He claims to have the support of three Independent councillors, and vowed to continue as Leader. But others on the Council say it’s time for him to reconsider his position. Conservative councillor for Eye and Thorney David Sanders told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire that the public had made their feelings clear.
Continue reading “No Confidence in Marco Cereste”

Marco Cereste on Minority Government

08:25 Wednesday 28th May 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

Audio Extract from @BBCCambs

[C]HRIS MANN: So we are discussing the future of Peterborough City Council this morning. It’s after Marco Cereste was re-elected as the Leader of the Tory Group on Peterborough City Council. We understand he told his Conservative colleagues that he would be able to form a majority with the help of three Independent councillors, but it’s not stopped other councillors from voicing their concerns. David Sanders is the Conservative councillor for Eye and Thorney, and believes it’s time for a change in leadership.
(TAPE)
DAVID SANDERS: Unfortunately it leaves the Conservatives very vulnerable indeed. I believe that at this stage Marco should consider his position and do the honourable thing and resign, and allow a new leader with new vision, new ideas, new focus and vision, and take the Council and Conservatives forward.
(LIVE)
CHRIS MANN: And he isn’t alone. David Harrington leads the Peterborough Independent Forum. He’s also called on Marco to consider his position. The LibDem are thought to prefer changing to a committee system. So what does the future hold for Peterborough City Council and indeed Marco Cereste? Well the man himself joins us now. Marco, good morning.
MARCO CERESTE: Good morning. How are you?
CHRIS MANN: I’m very well thank you. Congratulations on being re-elected first of all by the Tory Group.
MARCO CERESTE: Unopposed.
CHRIS MANN: How did you convince them you should continue?
Continue reading “Marco Cereste on Minority Government”

Peterborough 2014 Election Roundup – New Kid on the Block

17:08 Friday 23rd May 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[B]EN STEVENSON: An historic night, not just for UKIP. As well there’s the Tories, who have lost overall control of the City Council for the first time since 2001. There’s a new kid on the block. UKIP created history by winning their first seat in the city, and then followed it up moments later with their second, and then their third. UKIP struck in Paston, Bretton North and in Orton Longueville, and it could have been more. A few high profile Conservatives were given a shock as well. Cabinet Adviser Janet Goodwin lost her seat to UKIP. Wayne Fitzgerald needed a recount to survive in the West Ward, and there were also recounts in Eye and Thorney. The Libdems and the Liberal groups both held on to their seats, and there were re-elections for three members of the Independent Group.

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Compost Awareness Week in Cambridgeshire

09:55 Tuesday 6th May 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[A]NDIE HARPER: It’s the start of Compost Awareness Week. This is a week of activities, events and publicity to improve awareness about using organic waste as a resource to produce compost. We’ve just been treated to a beautiful Bank Holiday weekend, and no doubt many of you spent the time in your gardens, but how many of you bothered to make your own compost? How many of you would have bothered to do what we did, which is when we moved quite recently, we filled two sacks up of compost that I had created in one of our two compost bins, and took it with us, because it was such good stuff? Well Mark Shelton is the Education Manager for AmeyCespa. Mark, good morning.
MARK SHELTON: Morning Andie.
ANDIE HARPER: Nice to talk to you. I remember when Donarbon ran the site at Waterbeach a few years ago, I spent a fascinating day there, I have to say, being shown around, and certainly the garden composting department was a busy one, and you could in those days go and buy garden sacks of compost. Does it still happen?
MARK SHELTON: We give it away free. It still happens, and we’ve actually got a visit today, so we are still showing people around, and people are still welcome to come. It’s free here at the Waterbeach site, and we also make the compost available free at our March and our Alconbury sites.
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The Gambler’s Tale

17:46 Wednesday 30th April 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[C]HRIS MANN: Proposals to tighten up on gambling have been set out by the Government today. It’s an attempt to tackle problem gambling. The Government will force the betting industry to give warnings about the amount of money players are risking on fixed-odds betting terminals. But just how effective will that be? Our reporter Johnny D has been in Peterborough today talking to people who use gambling machines.
(TAPE)
JOHN DEVINE: So you’ve just come out there Charley.
CHARLEY: I have.
JOHN DEVINE: So do you mind me asking you a few personal questions?
CHARLEY: Yes.
Continue reading “The Gambler’s Tale”

Councillors in Cahoots

09:35 Thursday 17th April 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[A]NDIE HARPER: The Liberal Democrats in Peterborough caused a stir last night after walking out of the City Council meeting. They were protesting against a decision to give five senior officers in the Council pay rises ranging from £10,000 to £30,000 a year. Councillor Darren Fower told the Bigger Breakfast Show why he led the walkout.
(TAPE)
DARREN FOWER: I made the point that the whole thing had reached a new level in PottyBorough. I think the phrase I used was obfuscation personified, as far as I’m concerned. Luckily my colleagues supported me. And the only thing we could do at the end of the day was to protest by walking out, and showing our dissatisfaction with what we considered to be a truly truly out of touch, insane idea.
(LIVE)
ANDIE HARPER: Darren Fower talking earlier. But is walking out of a meeting the best way of making a political statement? The Liberal Democrat group leader for Peterborough is Nick Sandford, and I’m delighted to say he joins me now. Nick, good morning to you.
NICK SANDFORD: Morning Andie.
ANDIE HARPER: Was much thought given to how you would register your protest? Or was this something which just happened off the cuff, almost?
Continue reading “Councillors in Cahoots”

Boundary Commission on Peterborough Council

07:07 Wednesday 16th April 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[D]OTTY MCLEOD BBC: Our population is growing and therefore we need more councillors to represent us. Or do we? Advice by the Boundary Commission to Peterborough City Council suggests they need at least another three.

07:14
MARCUS BOWELL BOUNDARY COMMISSION: One of the most important things we do in an electoral review is we talk to the council at an early stage about what their expectations are, how they want to run their authority. And the Council came to us and proposed the small increase in councillors.

08:13
PCC CLLR HOLDICH: I’ve got some sympathy for having less councillors. If it was my business of course I wouldn’t want 57 or 61 directors of that company. But that’s not our decision. Our decision from Government is purely and simply that we need so many councillors per so many electorate. And in this proposal, and we did ask them, Charles Swift put it to them that we needed less councillors. But the Boundary Commission insisted you needed so many councillors per electorate.

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