Meltdown in Peterborough as Voting Is Denied

Meltdown in Peterborough as Voting Is Denied

Attending a second public meeting at Peterborough City Council, Sand Martin House, proved to be an exhausting three‑plus hours. Throughout the session, various councillors spoke at length, presenting dense volumes of information on a range of projects.

The issue that most gripped the public audience, however, was the fallout from the previous council meeting. At that earlier session, councillors agreed to write to the UK Secretary of State recommending that the May elections be cancelled. At this latest meeting, a motion was put forward calling for a new letter from Peterborough City Council — this time recommending that the elections should go ahead. That motion was defeated by 28 votes to 18 with 2 abstentions.

As the meeting dragged on, the public — who had patiently sat through the lengthy proceedings — grew increasingly restless. Protests broke out, with many insisting that their democratic rights were being denied. A group of security staff dressed in black approached the crowd, delivering a stark warning: “Be quiet or leave.” For a moment, it was unclear whether the situation would escalate further before order was restored.

A link to the full meeting video is provided, though few are likely to have the time or inclination to watch the entire recording. For that reason, we have also included a shorter clip, along with a social media statement shared by Conservative Councillor Alex Rafiq, capturing the intensity and emotion on display throughout the debate.

Council elections were being demanded — and denied.

We are bombarded daily in the UK with stories of free speech being controlled, and it seems increasingly clear that those enforcing these restrictions are fighting desperately to protect their positions and ambitions from anyone who dares to hold a different view. At CyprusScene, we believe these conversations matter — so tell us below, where do you stand? Your voice shapes this debate.

Alex Rafiq for Paston & Walton is in Peterborough.

“Local Elections are Cancelled!

It was made clear by the legal officer at the start of the meeting that the Conservatives’ motion would have only been to send a letter to the insurer to “Express the views of all the Cllrs” that attended the meeting last night

The Motion was defeated anyway as not enough Cllrs voted in favour of the Chief Executive of the council sending a letter to the Labour minister expressing their views & support for the elections “Not to be Postponed.”

I was told when I arrived at the meeting yesterday by democratic services that I wouldn’t have the time I thought I would have to speak

No surprise really, as I have been very Vocal on this issue over the last few weeks

Lots of other Councillors were given discretion to go over time limits & finished what they said, but as soon as I got my time limit, I was stopped abruptly

The meeting lasted for over 3 Hours & in this time, I wasn’t given any discretion to have the extra 30 seconds I needed to finish taking

You will see this on the full stream…..

When I was cut off

My point I was making to the Labour Cllr Shabina Qaayum was that Central Government Money that taxpayers pay is different to Peterborough residents paying council Tax & that the elections had already been budgeted for & work had begun.

So I am not sure why at the last Cabinet meeting on the 12th Jan, she was giving the impression that “We” would be putting Patients at risk In A & E in these local elections went ahead – Baffling, Mind blowing & quite frankly Pathetic.

The last point I was going to make was to the Cabinet member of Finance who had already confirmed that £33,000 had been spent towards these elections, much of which would have come off the final amount had they gone ahead…

I was disappointed that I didn’t get an answer as to how many staff hours went into this, which formed part of my question….

I am still yet to hear from our Andrew Pakes for Peterborough On his views….. & have still had No response to my email…

I was humble enough to give a full public apology to Our Mayor Cllr Judy Fox & I had already previously sent her an email.

I have No problem admitting my mistakes however big or small

Thank you to all the members of the public that attended & if I missed getting round to speak to you before or after the meeting, then please do get in touch as I would love to have a cup of coffee with you sometime

I will go through the rest of the video in the coming days & put some more clips up.”

To read more Reviews and Readers Mail click here