
Councillor for 21-years to become new mayor of Peterborough
A councillor who has represented a ward for 21 years has been appointed as mayor of a city.Judy Fox, a Peterborough First independent councillor at Peterborough City Council, will be the first female to become mayor of Peterborough since 2014.Fox told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "It means a lot to me really because I'm representing the city of which I was born and bred in."She will take over the position from Marco Cereste, a Conservative councillor at the authority, during a meeting on Monday.
Fox, who represents Werrington, will become the 138th mayor of Peterborough, and will follow in the footsteps of her husband, John Fox, who served as mayor from 2017-18.John Fox said he was "really chuffed" for his wife.Fox said she felt "very honoured" to become the new mayor. "I'm looking forward to it because I'm Peterborian through and through."I feel really excited about the year and I've got a few invites already," she added.According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service she said she was keen to work with all the communities in Peterborough.
What does the mayor of Peterborough do?
The mayor of Peterborough is a very different role to the mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.The mayor of the combined authority, which is currently Paul Bristow, receives a salary and is responsible for areas such as transport, skills, business support and growth.In May of each year, a long-serving Peterborough councillor is appointed as the mayor of Peterborough, with their term of office lasting for one year.The role acts as a politically impartial chair of the authority, making sure that proper conduct takes place during full-council meetings.They are also invited to attend community and fundraising events held for the mayor's charities, which they choose at the start of the civic year.
Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Independent
22 minutes ago
- The Independent
Nigel Farage calls for ‘re-industrialisation' of Wales
Nigel Farage has said his party wants to restart Port Talbot's blast furnaces and 're-industrialise Wales'. On a visit to South Wales, the leader of Reform UK said the resumption of traditional steelmaking and coal production is the party's long-term ambition if it comes to power. The speech came one year ahead of the Senedd elections in May next year, where the party is looking to end Labour's 26 years of domination. Addressing reporters, Mr Farage acknowledged that plans to open a traditional furnace could take years and cost 'in the low billions'. The GMB Union has branded the plans 'more lies from an opportunistic chancer'. Port Talbot's remaining blast furnaces were shut down in September last year, with a new electric arc furnace being built in their place. 'Our ambition is to re-industrialise Wales,' Mr Farage said. 'We are going to be using more steel over the next few years than we have probably ever used. 'As we increase military spending and as we attempt a house building programme in Wales, and even more so in England, of massive proportions, just to catch up with the population explosion over the last 20 years, we are going to need a lot of steel.' The Reform leader said 'specific types of coal' are needed in the UK, particularly for a new blast furnace. 'We should be producing ourselves, rather than importing,' he said. While he acknowledged 'mining is dangerous', he said the industry could provide well-paying jobs. Mr Farage acknowledged the plan to open a new furnace would cost 'in the low billions' and would be 'no easy thing'. 'It's a massive, expensive job to re-open blast furnaces, we're going to need cheaper energy, we're going to need much cheaper coal, we are going to need private business partners prepared to come into a joint venture,' he said. Responding to the GMB Union allegations that his party's plans were 'lies', Mr Farage said the union was tied to the Labour Party as one of its biggest funders. He said: 'They see us as a challenge, and therefore, they'll be rude about us. 'What you will find is that increasingly, GMB members are going to vote for us, and the more GMB members vote for us, the more upsetGMB officials and leaders will become. 'Frankly, the trade unions have done nothing to protect British workers through open borders over the last 20-25 years.' During his speech, Mr Farage said he doubted that the electric arc furnace, which is due to come online in 2028, 'will ever, ever be switched on'. Challenged on what evidence he had, he argued that with British energy prices being so high, it would be producing 'very, very expensive secondary steel'. He added: 'I hope I'm wrong, an electric arc furnace is not the real deal, but it's better than nothing.' Mr Farage said the party's campaign for the Senedd election next May 'starts today', but would not say when Reform would announce aleader in Wales. Regional officer Ruth Brady, speaking at the GMB's annual conference in Brighton, said: 'The people of Port Talbot will see this for what it is – more lies from this opportunistic chancer. 'Nigel Farage was happy to let British Steel go to the wall. He'll trot out any line when the cameras are rolling. He doesn't care about steel communities or steel workers.' Ms Brady said the plans to shut the blast furnaces were made by the last Tory government and the union wanted Labour to 'make good on their promises to our members in Port Talbot'.

The National
22 minutes ago
- The National
Nicola Sturgeon's memoir Frankly – here's what we know so far
The former first minister's hotly anticipated memoir is set to hit the shelves in the coming months. Published by Pan MacMillan and titled Frankly, the book is likely to dominate headlines once it is available. So, here's what we know about it so far. READ MORE: Ruth Maguire reveals she's cancer free and 'excited to return to work' 'Deeply personal' Announced in August 2023, Sturgeon said the book would be 'deeply personal and revealing'. Pan MacMillan won a bidding war out of nine publishers at an auction after she resigned as first minister in February that year. The book will tell the story of Sturgeon's childhood in Ayrshire as well as her career in politics, where she was Scotland's first female first minister and the longest serving in Holyrood's history. She also worked with five different prime ministers during her time in office. Sturgeon said at the time the book was announced that writing it was 'exciting, if also daunting'. (Image: Andrew Milligan) 'Restrictions' Under the Radcliffe Rules, former government ministers, civil servants and special advisers are free to publish memoirs of their time in office. However, this has to be signed off by the Permanent Secretary, Scotland's most senior civil servant, who will review the manuscript to make sure it doesn't impact national security interests, intergovernmental relations, or anything confidential. According to documents recently published on the Scottish Government's website and released via FOI, Sturgeon's memoir passed checks with no changes. Officials were sent four hard copies of the book, with the documents revealing that 'at all times strong security arrangements have been observed' and that only a small number of staff had access to it. 'On the basis of advice from my review group, it is not considered that any changes are required to the manuscript in order to comply with the Radcliffe Rules or the Scottish Ministerial Code,' John-Paul Marks, the former permanent secretary, wrote to Sturgeon in April. READ MORE: Labour Government 'must protect' UK-flagged Madleen aid ship Publication The book is due to be published on August 14, with Sturgeon being paid a £300,000 advance for her work. This is being paid in instalments to her company, and is made public through her MSP register of interest. Sturgeon is set to go on a launch tour for the book across Scotland, including an appearance at Edinburgh's Usher Hall and the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Ticket prices range from £33 to £73. Sturgeon also posted a video of herself signing a huge pile of pages that will be attached to the book for those who have pre-ordered. There have been some hints about what the book will contain. 'Full of the verve and wit that made Sturgeon one of the most high-profile politicians in the UK, this is a unique blend of personal insight and captivating vignettes,' a blurb for the book reads. 'Infused throughout with a love of Scotland and its people, it honestly discusses Sturgeon's mistakes, her battles, and her triumphs. Frankly is the compelling story of no ordinary politician.'


BBC News
31 minutes ago
- BBC News
Prudhoe High School safety report due 'imminently'
Investigations into damage that forced a school to close are said to be nearing are working to determine the cause of cracks that appeared in the structure of Prudhoe High School, in Northumberland, in building, which opened in 2016, has been closed for almost four months with pupils being taught 16 miles (25kms) away at Washington, near Cheviot Learning Trust academy chain, which runs the school, said the completion of tests was "imminent", adding: "We will then be able to update on how the building can be repaired." It said it would then allow plans to be formulated for September and government said it hoped to return pupils to the site as soon as possible.A Department for Education (DfE) spokeswoman said: "We have worked closely with Prudhoe Community High School and the Cheviot Learning Trust to return students to face-to-face learning at the earliest opportunity."We are continuing to work with the school and the trust in next steps." Wait 'too long' Prudhoe Community High School cost £14.6m under the previous Conservative government's priority school building programme (PSBP).Tory councillor Guy Renner-Thompson, cabinet member for education at Northumberland County Council, said the DfE "needs to release the detailed report on the condition of the building" as soon as possible."The school building is still under warranty. It shouldn't cost the taxpayer anything to put right," he said."Parents and the council have waited too long for further information about the school."Renner-Thompson also said he continued to believe a site formerly used as Hexham Middle School was a more suitable solution than sending children to Washington and back on buses each council has said it offered the building to the DfE as an alternative but was turned middle school on Wanless Lane closed in 2021. It is 10 miles (16kms) from Prudhoe and benefits from existing transport links, according to Local Democracy Reporting DfS has not commented on reports it was offered the site. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.