New mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Paul Bristow says his win is a victory for ‘positive politics’
New mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Paul Bristow says it’s time to “start with a fresh page” following what he described as a “vindictive, nasty and wicked” campaign against him that preceded his victory.
Speaking to the Cambridge Independent minutes after his win, Conservative Mr Bristow says his victory shows “positive politics is the future”.
The former Peterborough MP, who succeeds Labour’s Nik Johnson, said: “It’s a Conservative gain from the Labour Party, who have been absolutely rejected by the people of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. They have come third, which is a blow to them. We’ve got lots of work to do.”
Mr Bristow overcame a challenge from Reform UK’s Ryan Coogan, who came second, with Labour’s Anna Smith narrowly beating Liberal Democrat Lorna Dupre to come third. The Green Party’s Bob Ensch polled the fewest votes.
Mr Bristow, who has committed to scrapping the Greater Cambridge Partnership and supports light rail for Cambridge, says he intends to stick to his promises.
“We at no point attacked any of the other candidates. Labour tried to win with a very personal, vindictive and wicked campaign about me personally. It failed. We won every single ward in Peterborough. It’s a triumph, and I think it shows that positive politics is the future,” he said.
During the campaign, Labour leaflets focused on the fact that Mr Bristow owns a home in St Albans. But he responded by pointing out that he lives in Wansford, near Peterborough, and keeps a St Albans home for family reasons.
Elsewhere, a number of Conservative councillors have lost their Cambridgeshire County Council seats to Reform and Mr Bristow will have to work with a Labour government.
“Democracy is democracy,” he said of Reform’s success. “We’ve lost some good conservative councillors, which is a real shame. But the real triumph is Cambridgeshire and Peterborough was a Conservative gain.
“It shows you that we’re still very strong in this part of the country, and we’re going on to win, and hopefully my job now is to show what Conservatives will look like in government.”
He continued: “The time we start a fresh page. This was the most vindictive, nasty and wicked campaign I’ve ever seen in Cambridgeshire, but tomorrow is a new day. We start with a fresh page, and I intend to work with everyone to get Cambridgeshire and Peterborough moving.”
But, first, he said: “I’m going to kiss my wife and have a drink first, but after that, we’re going to go out and start delivering for the people of Cambridge and Peterborough.”
The mayoral result in full
Paul Bristow - Conservative: 60,243 ELECTED
Ryan Coogan - Reform UK: 49,647
Lorna Dupré - Liberal Democrats: 41,611
Bob Ensch - Green Party: 18,255
Anna Smith - Labour: 42,671
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