Peterborough constituency general election 2024 debate

Five candidates are taking part in today’s debate. In alphabetical order, according to surname, they are:

Paul Bristow, Conservative Party

Paul Bristow was elected as Peterborough’s MP in 2019, with
46.7% of the vote, just ahead of Labour’s 41.3%.

He said he had responded to more than 30,000 constituency
inquiries during his time as MP.

Paul says he wants to see more local police and better schools.
He says he supports dualling the A47 to ease congestion around the villages of
Thorney and Eye.

Nicola Day, Green Party

Nicola Day is the leader of the Green Party group on Peterborough City Council, and a councillor for Orton Waterville.

She’s been vocal in her support for a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to UK military co-operation with Israel.

Nicola says she is “extremely concerned” for vulnerable people in the city and also wants to see Peterborough make the most of its cultural assets such as the city’s cathedral and museum.

Sue Morris, Reform UK

Sue Morris runs a print business in the city and says she is motivated to run in the election to serve the best interests of the population.

Sue will be hoping to capitalise on a pocket of support in Peterborough for the Brexit Party, the previous iteration of Reform UK, which won 4.4% of the vote in the 2019 general election.

Sue said we need to support families with homes to live in and give people the opportunity to earn money. She called for “centralised decisions” when it comes to dealing with the climate.

Andrew Pakes, Labour and Co-operative Party

Andrew Pakes is the head of communications at the trade union, Prospect, and describes himself as a “new town boy at heart”, having grown up in Milton Keynes.

Andrew says people in Peterborough have been losing out on skilled jobs for “too long” and he wants to bring better opportunities for young people.

He says the city centre needs a new plan, promising to revamp empty shops and deliver new, well-paid jobs.

Nick Sandford, Liberal Democrat Party

Nick Sandford is a former Peterborough Mayor, long-standing councillor, and worked for the Woodland Trust for 30 years.

He lost his Paston and Walton seat by just a handful of votes in the local elections in May.

Nick said local authorities like Peterborough City Council needed to be given more certainty over their funding and said the Liberal Democrats’ promise of a £9 billion rescue package for the NHS and social care would help local issues, such as the lack of NHS dental care in the city.

Also running, but not taking part in the live debate, are:

Image source, Leanne Rogers

Tom Rogers, Christian People’s Alliance

Tom Rogers for the Christian People’s Alliance lives in Gunthorpe and works as an education manager.

Tom ran in the 2019 general election and won 151 votes, less than 1% of the overall share.

He said he wanted to revitalise the city centre and address poverty, bringing an end to people’s reliance on food banks. He said he’d guarantee everyone sleeping rough a free night shelter.

Image source, Amjad Hussain

Amjad Hussain, Workers Party of Britain

Amjad said the conflict in Gaza motivated him to represent the Workers Party of Britain in Peterborough.

He has also spoken about making the workplace more inclusive, advocating for workplace rights, equal pay and better working conditions.

In a recent video with George Galloway, the party leader described Amjad as a “giant” and “full of ideas”.

Zahid Ejaz Khan, Independent

Zahid Ejaz Khan has called for a peaceful and humanitarian solution for the conflict in Gaza, as well as in Myanmar.

He said he would focus on a number of issues locally, including improving the NHS and NHS dentist care.

Zahid also wanted to reduce flytipping by providing free skips to communities and resurface damaged roads and pavements.