Cost-of-living crisis key issue in election debate

10 hours ago

Shariqua AhmedPeterborough

A pre-election debate was held in Peterborough's Anglia Ruskin University campus on Wednesday

BBC Andrew, a man with grey hair -wearing a white shirt and a blazer, standing next to Chris Hogg, a man in a brown T-shirt, Heather, a woman - wearing a blue jumper, Chris Mann, wearing a white shirt, Shabina, a woman - wearing a white jacket and a blue dress, John, a man - wearing a blue suit. They are standing in front of a purple BBC Radio Cambs board, smiling for the camera. — A pre-election debate was held in Peterborough's Anglia Ruskin University campus on Wednesday

Voters across Peterborough will be going to polls on Thursday with 18 of the city council's 60 seats up for re-election.

Peterborough City Council currently has no party in overall control, but Labour - the largest group with 13 councillors - runs the administration in coalition with the Liberal Democrats and Peterborough First.

Representatives from Labour, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Greens and Reform UK met to debate on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire's Chris Mann show. Peterborough First was invited but did not attend.

The cost-of-living crisis, housing and the Hilton hotel sale were among the issues discussed during the event held at the city's Anglia Ruskin University's campus.

Shabina Qayyum said the sale of the Hilton hotel was a "fiscally responsible" decision

Shariqua Ahmed/BBC Head and shoulders image of Shabina Qayyum. She has long black hair and is wearing a white suit jacket. She is smiling at the camera. — Shabina Qayyum said the sale of the Hilton hotel was a "fiscally responsible" decision

Shabina Qayyum, the authority's Labour leader, said: "We are fortunate that, under the Labour government, we are addressing the cost of living.

"Locally, we have launched a crisis resilience fund, providing cash payments to the most vulnerable families.

"We also have Family Hubs across the city offering money advice, as well as cafés providing free meals or 'pay what you can' options.

"Additionally, there is a holiday food programme for parents on benefits. People will begin to see improvements."

Conservative John Howard said the party disagreed with the sale of the Hilton hotel

Shariqua Ahmed/BBC Head and shoulders image of John Howard. He has spiky grey hair and black glasses. He is wearing a navy suit, with a white shirt and multi-coloured tie. — Conservative John Howard said the party disagreed with the sale of the Hilton hotel

John Howard, from the Conservatives, said: "We are all feeling the pressure. We support the crisis resilience fund - it's a good platform.

"Locally, we must address the housing issue. There are 2,930 people on the housing waiting list - that's far too many.

"We should also consider more innovative local policies, such as the mayor's free parking plans, to ease the burden on shoppers."

Christian Hogg, from the Liberal Democrat group, is part of the council's current administration

Shariqua Ahmed/BBC Head and shoulders image of Christian Hogg. He has short grey hair, a grey beard and is wearing a dark grey polo shirt with a yellow lanyard. — Christian Hogg, from the Liberal Democrat group, is part of the council's current administration

Christian Hogg, the authority's leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: "Housing is extremely important issue, and we need to work with partners more closely like Cross Keys Homes and other local providers.

"We have implemented the maximum increase in council tax, but we are still the lower band in Cambridgeshire. That is because over the years the Conservatives have been ducking the issue."

Heather Skibsted, from the Green Party, said lessons needed to be learned on the Hilton hotel failure

Shariqua Ahmed/BBC Head and shoulders image of Heather Skibsted. She has shoulder length light brown hair and is wearing clear rounded glasses. She is wearing a blue jumper with a black top underneath and a white lanyard. — Heather Skibsted, from the Green Party, said lessons needed to be learned on the Hilton hotel failure

Heather Skibsted, the leader of the Green Party, said: "We have a cost-of-living crisis. We can improve this with social housing. We no longer have enough council housing, and rental prices are spiralling out of control.

"We need more affordable housing and must ensure energy bills are reduced. These all contribute to the cost of living.

"We are campaigning to build more council housing, and to ensure these homes meet proper standards so they are well insulated and cheaper to run."

Andrew O'Neil became the first Reform UK councillor at Peterborough City Council in February following a by-election

Shariqua Ahmed/BBC Head and shoulders image of Andrew O'Neil. He has short grey hair and is wearing a black and white suit with light blue chequered shirt. — Andrew O'Neil became the first Reform UK councillor at Peterborough City Council in February following a by-election

Andrew O'Neil, Reform UK's first Peterborough City councillor, said: "Nationally, we need to move towards energy independence by opening up oil and gas fields we have in the Red Sea.

"Locally, we should be working to bring down council tax and we can do that by cutting back on capital projects that we don't need."

Hogg asked him which project between the new swimming pool, new school buildings and Station Quarter among others would Reform "put a big X on?", as part of cutting back on capital projects.

O'Neil replied: "It's none of those but the extra money needed for the Cygnet Bridge is what I would be looking at - was that costed properly because there's a shortfall of £2m."

Cygnet Bridge is a new £8.3m bridge over the River Nene, which will link Fletton Quays to the Embankment.

Initially, the bridge was estimated to cost £6.3m, funded with contributions from the city council, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA), and the government's Towns Fund.

But in January last year, the city council asked the CPCA to provide an extra £2m.

The council said this was due to complex design modifications and higher costs for sewer diversions.

The hotel on Fletton Quays is about 80% complete

Emma Baugh/BBC The outside of the hotel, which is a multi-floored tower block with grey-coloured cladding. There is a red sign at the top saying "Hilton Garden Inn". The hotel is behind black barriers. — The hotel on Fletton Quays is about 80% complete

The sale of the unfinished, pigeon-infested Hilton hotel in Fletton Quays was also discussed.

Qayyum confirmed it has been sold to "someone who will turn it into a high-end hotel", but she did not disclose the sale price or the identity of the buyer.

Skibsted, Hogg, and O'Neil all agreed it was the right decision to sell the site.

However, Howard said it was the "wrong decision to sell it at a significant loss at the worst possible time, when we could have sought a partner to complete and operate the hotel".

A full list of candidates taking part in the Peterborough City Council elections on 7 May can be found on the authority's website.

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