Labour councillor Mohammed Haseeb to step down at local elections

A Labour councillor will step down from Peterborough City Council (PCC) in May rather than stand for re-election.

Cllr Mohammed Haseeb (Labour, North) served a single term after winning his seat in 2021.

His is one of just two seats Labour will be defending this year.

The Conservatives, meanwhile, are defending 14, with six of their councillors stepping down.

Cllr Haseeb said that “due to work and a young family, the time commitment isn’t there like it used to be before”.

The departure of fellow North ward councillor Ansar Ali after last year’s elections also increased his workload, he said, as he was an “important cog” in the local operation.

Mr Ali ran unsuccessfully as an independent councillor after resigning from the Labour party.

He alleged he hadn’t been re-selected over comments he made on social media.

Cllr Haseeb said he’s proud of the work he did with police in North ward, which “has made a difference on the streets” to public safety.

But he feels that money allocated to improvements on Lincoln Road is “not spent wisely” as he’d prefer to see more parking provision – possibly in place of Stagecoach’s depot – than benches and flower beds.

Planters look nice if they’re maintained, but become a “dumping ground” if not, he added.

PCC says its Lincoln Road improvement project is aimed at making the area an “attractive destination for residents, visitors and shoppers” and “encouraging more people in the area to walk and cycle”.

It also wants to see a “cafe culture” and boost local businesses with the £2.5m government Towns Fund money it’s allocated to the project.

Other plans include more cycle parking, electric vehicle charging points, trees and shrubs, wider pavements and a new pedestrian crossing.

Cllr Haseeb’s final meeting with PCC was an eventful one.

Much of the Conservative group walked out after Cllr Shabina Qayyum (Labour, East) successfully brought a motion requesting Cllr Wayne Fitzgerald (Conservatives, West) no longer be heard from after what she called a “derogatory” comment about her loving the limelight.

“I won’t forget that in a hurry,” Cllr Haseeb said. “I was expecting a nice, quiet meeting. I’ll say my goodbyes and off you go.”

“I didn’t know the last one was going to be one of the most exciting meetings I was going to have.”

He added that Cllr Fitzgerald needed to be held “accountable” for his words during the meeting.

Cllr Fitzgerald said that if Cllr Qayyum was offended by the remark he’s “happy to apologise” but that it “doesn’t mean I can’t think it”.

He later refused to withdraw the remark after the motion preventing him from speaking further passed.

PCC’s final full council meeting of the administrative year was held on Wednesday, 20th March.