Tag: John Peach

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”

Lee Hammered In Peterborough Leadership Challenge

07:15 Wednesday 8th May 2013
Bigger Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[R]ONNIE BARBOUR: The Leader of the City Council in Peterborough has survived a challenge for his position from his own Deputy. Marco Cereste won the vote to be Leader of the Conservative Group last night, beating Matthew Lee. Johnny D. has more for us. Morning to you Johnny. (OB)
JOHN DEVINE: Good morning Ronnie. Yes. Good morning everybody. I’m outside Peterborough Town Hall on Bridge Street Ronnie, which last night was the scene of another dramatic night in Cambridgeshire politics. Just days after the King of Cambridgeshire Nick Clarke was dethroned in the elections, there was a chance that the Peterborough Leader was going to meet a similar fate Ronnie. Every year the Conservatives in Peterborough have their annual group meeting, and the councillors within that group have the opportunity to stand for certain positions. Last week the current Deputy Matthew Lee shocked us all by announcing he’ll be taking on Marco in the Leadership vote. But in the end the Tory group stood behind their Leader and gave him a huge vote of confidence, voting in favour of him by twenty four votes to eight, which is quite a big margin.
RONNIE BARBOUR: This type of Leadership challenge, has it happened before Johnny? Continue reading “Lee Hammered In Peterborough Leadership Challenge”

Hard Fi Festival Fiasco – Massive Inquiry Planned

08:18 Monday 9th July 2012
Peterborough Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: Many of you contacted us about the Peterborough Festival, the Finale of which fell victim to the bad weather this weekend. Thousands of you expecting to see Hard Fi playing in Central Park. But disappointment after torrential downpours, when Vivacity decided to put a stop to the festivities. A small scale street theatre performance was held yesterday on Bridge Street. It was an unfortunate way to end what would have been a great event. Wonderful stuff booked in. And it looked like it was only going to get better on Saturday. Criticism of how Council officials communicated with each other and the public, the way Vivacity and Enterprise perhaps worked together with the Council in the run up to the Festival. We saw a bit of confusion all round, and we spoke to Cllr Yvonne Lowndes earlier, who said the show should have gone on, should have carried on.
YVONNE LOWNDES: They could have cordoned off the areas with a lot of the mud, and everything could have gone ahead. In hindsight, yesterday it was quite dry, and we could have had continued the Festival. And there are lots and lots of disappointed people. And I was talking to them. Some people yesterday came all the way from Lincoln, thinking they were going to see the orchestra last night. And of course they were very disappointed.
PAUL STAINTON: Well Deputy Leader of the Peterborough City Council Matthew Lee is here now. Morning Matthew.
MATTHEW LEE: Good morning.
PAUL STAINTON: Before I get into the weekend, can I take you back to the planning of this, last week, and the fact that .. this is how I read it last week .. there was an application to increase the capacity of Central Park to 15,000 at the last minute, which seemed like some sort of panic act by Enterprise. You, according to Cllr John Peach, knew nothing about this. And then at the last minute you slapped it down and said 5,000 would be enough. Have I read it right? Continue reading “Hard Fi Festival Fiasco – Massive Inquiry Planned”

Crossing the Line – Government Targets Urban Blight

07:55 Monday 11th June 2012
Peterborough Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

ANDY GALL: People who turn their gardens into rubbish dumps could be given on the spot fines of £100. It’s a Government proposal which would apply to privately owned homes in the city as well as social housing. Our reporter Samantha Appleby is in one part of Peterborough which suffers with some scruffy gardens.
SAM APPLEBY: I’m standing outside a house in the centre of Peterborough this morning, and it’s quite a sight to behold. Continue reading “Crossing the Line – Government Targets Urban Blight”

Secrets and Lies

Tuesday 21st February 2012
Peterborough Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

Peterborough Tories fall out in deselection row.

CLLR.RAY DOBBS: I think there’s been a witchhunt. There is a divide in the Conservative Party, and there’s those who support Marco, and those who don’t. I’m seen as being a Marco man, and seeing as how the selection committee is made up five members who don’t support Marco in any way, what chance have you got? .. South of the river are predominately Marco’s men. And anything north of the river, they would prefer another Leader. .. They never stop bickering, and trying to score silly political points, although we are one Party. And we should act as one Party. .. It’s not a case of sour grapes. It’s reality.

CLLR. MIKE FLETCHER: There’s definitely a split. And I know, the decision to oust Pat Nash was made at least six months ago. And for Wayne Fitzgerald to claim she has not been deselected is just a play on words. Of course she’s been deselected. They knew they were going to deselect her. And what’s more, Pat herself had already been told or heard of rumours, that she was going to be deselected, several weeks ago. .. John Peach and Wayne Firzgerald persuaded me to stand as a Conservative, because I told them then I was going to stand as an Independent. They wanted me to stand as a Conservative to form an alliance to get rid of Marco Cereste. They know that’s the truth. I know it’s the truth. Everybody else knows it’s the truth. And then they found they couldn’t do that. They hadn’t got quite enough votes. And so, in the end, I’m so disillusioned with them, I decided to take the bull by the horns and go where I can vote to my own conscience, and for the benefit of the people of South Bretton, who elected me. With the Conservative Party, it’s more like a dictatorship. They sit round like a bunch of nodding donkeys, and they’re told what to do by two or three people. And they follow that line.

=========

Peterborough Conservatives Up in Arms Over Council Cuts and Rate Rise

08:15 Monday 23rd January 2012
Peterborough Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

BBC PAUL STAINTON: Lollipop ladies .. it’s caused an absolute furore, and your proposals to get rid of lollipop patrols across the city, in particular in places where it’s incredibly dangerous to cross the road. I’m thinking Newark Hill Primary, I’m thinking Eastfield Road, with cars whizzing up and down there. The first time a child gets knocked down, it’s on your heads, isn’t it, as councillors? Are you going to row back from that now? Is the Council going to see sense on that?
DEPUTY LEADER CLLR MATTHEW LEE: These proposals are all out for consultation ..
BBC PAUL STAINTON: But who came up with that idea?
DEPUTY LEADER CLLR MATTHEW LEE: What we did last year was we put forward a number of proposals. We listened to what the public said, and where we could maek changes we did make changes.
BBC PAUL STAINTON: Do you expect that to go through? Do you expect that to be a proposal that actually gets through? Continue reading “Peterborough Conservatives Up in Arms Over Council Cuts and Rate Rise”

Health Consultation – PCT Probity Questioned

08:35 Monday 6th June 2011
Peterborough Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: Cllr Marion Todd, earlier on in the show, said certain wards in Peterborough are only offering residents the equivalent health care of a third world country. We spoke to her earlier this morning. She said if the threatened Parnwell Medical Centre itself gets closed, then residents will have to visit Dogsthorpe or Paston to get help from a GP. She said it was unacceptable for some people. Peter Whiteman came on, Interim Director of Primary Care at NHS Peterborough and said that everything was going to be hunky-dory. We were going to get this new lovely health centre for the people of Paston and Dogsthorpe, and it was all going to be fine. Let’s speak to Cllr. John Peach, who’s with us this morning. John Good morning.
JOHN PEACH: Good morning Paul.
PAUL STAINTON: One of them’s right. Or are they both right? They seem to be polar opposites at the moment. Peter Whiteman’s one side, Marion Todd’s at the other side. They’re way apart. Who’s right John? Continue reading “Health Consultation – PCT Probity Questioned”

Peterborough News 3rd November 2010

A summary of the Peterborough Breakfast Show from BBC Radio Cambridgeshire broadcast from 06:00 to 09:00 on Wednesday 3rd November 2010.

Topics:
Peterborough City Council are considering selling off the family silver to maintain their spending levels. There seems to be an issue on whether land sales would be a bad idea in a depressed market. What has not been made clear is how planning permission issues would affect the outcome. Selling plots of land to developers who then apply for planning permission to build houses would obviously benefit the developers most. But it would clearly make more sense for Council to grant outline permission before selling, and the legality of this has not been made clear.

Peterborough Council’s highest earners are hunkering down in their bunkers over suggestions that they might like to take a small voluntary paycut in these times of austerity. Council are still claiming that the scrapping of the Deputy Chief Executive post is an example of their willingness to tighten their belts. In fact, the post was vacated in March, long before austerity became the watchword. The real reason for scrapping the post is that it was created in the first place specifically for a consultant, who became the focus of unwelcome attention when it became clear that Council were spending many millions on consultancy without any clear and evident benefit to the taxpayers.

Some but not all of the general population consulted are prepared to get excited about a new tenant for the Woolworths building.

Continue reading “Peterborough News 3rd November 2010”