Peterborough City Council: Fourth Conservative resigns from party

The resignations come just two weeks after the local elections

A fourth Conservative councillor in Peterborough has left the party amid concerns about its direction.

Gavin Elsey, who represents Wittering, is the latest to jump ship and join independent group Peterborough First.

It means four Conservative members have quit in as many days, with Peter Hiller, Brian Rush and Ray Bisby leaving last week, but the party still has the most seats on the city council.

Mr Elsey said he was "not prepared to compromise my integrity".

"What I mean by that is I was first elected as a councillor in 2008," he said.

"I've been a Conservative all my life... the reality is, I was elected and I [said] I would continue to be a councillor all the time that I felt I was making a difference to the people who elected me to represent their views.

"This was potentially compromised a year or so back when we had the boundary review and effectively, the four villages that I now represent did not want the Tory plan of subsuming them into a Peterborough constituency."

'Enough is enough'

Mr Elsey said he spoke out against that "and the Tory Party didn't like that, so that was where my feelings changed".

He said: "More and more decisions and directions of travel were taking me away from the point where I could freely and effectively represent the people of my ward in the way they expect me to, and I want to, so... I've got to the point where enough is enough."

The move means the Conservatives have gone from 30 seats to 26 on the city council since the local elections, with no party having a majority.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that another Tory councillor, Mohammad Farooq, who represents Hargate and Hempsted, has been suspended by the Conservative group at the council.

When approached he offered no comment and the reason for his suspension is not known. He remains president of the North West Cambridgeshire Conservative Association.

Peterborough Conservatives have been asked to comment.

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