Misplaced Pages

2021 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayoral election

← 2017 6 May 2021 2025 →
Turnout	37.0%
Candidate Nik Johnson James Palmer Aidan Van de Weyer Party Labour Co-op Conservative Liberal Democrats First round 76,106 93,942 61,885 Percentage 32.8% 40.5% 26.7% Swing 14.2pp 2.5pp 3.2pp Second round 113,994 108,195 Eliminated Percentage 51.3% 48.7% Eliminated
First Round Results Second Round Results
Mayor before election James Palmer Conservative Elected mayor Nik Johnson Labour

The 2021 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayoral election was held on 6 May 2021 to elect the mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

The supplementary vote system was used to elect the mayor for a four-year term of office. Subsequent elections will be held in May 2025 and every four years thereafter. The election was held alongside a full election for Cambridge City Council, the Cambridgeshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Cambridgeshire County Council and one-third of Peterborough City Council and a number of District and parish by-elections.

Background

The mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough serves as the directly elected leader of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority. The mayor has power over investment directly to the combined authority from the government of £20 million a year for 30 years from 2017. The mayor does not incorporate the Cambridgeshire Police and Crime Commissioner into the post.

In the 2017 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayoral election, the Conservative candidate James Palmer was elected with 38.0% of the vote in the first round and 56.9% of the second round vote. The Liberal Democrat candidate Rod Cantrill came in second place with 23.5% of the first round vote and 43.1% of the second round vote, with Labour in third place with 18.6% of the first round vote.

Electoral system

The election used a supplementary vote system, in which voters may express a first and second preference for candidates. As there are only three candidates, the process would proceed:

• If a candidate receives more than 50% of the first preference vote, that candidate wins
• If no candidate receives more than 50% of first preference votes, the candidate in third place will be eliminated and their votes redistributed according to second preference votes to the remaining two candidates
• The candidate who then has the highest overall total of votes cast is declared the Elected Mayor.

Candidates

Three candidates stood for election. The Green Party said that they weren't fielding a candidate in order to focus on council elections.

Conservative Party

James Palmer was standing for re-election. He was previously a leader of East Cambridgeshire District Council.

Labour Party

Nik Johnson, a children's doctor at Hinchingbrooke Hospital, was their candidate. He had been the party's parliamentary candidate for Huntingdon in 2015 and 2017, and has served as a district councillor since 2018. He defeated Cambridge city councillor Katie Thornburrow in a vote of party members in November 2020.

Liberal Democrats

Aidan Van de Weyer, the deputy leader of South Cambridgeshire District Council, was their candidate.

Campaign

Palmer, the Conservative candidate, supported a proposed Cambridgeshire Autonomous Metro project that would connect towns and villages across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough using driverless pods. The Liberal Democrat candidate, Aidan Van de Weyer, opposed the project and the Labour candidate, Nik Johnson, said he would cancel the whole project. Van de Weyer and Johnson opposed plans considered by Palmer to build new garden villages to help fund the metro project.

Palmer said he was delivering bus franchising. Van de Weyer and Johnson also supported bus franchising, and Van de Weyer said Palmer's claims about progressing the process were "hollow" given a lack of progress. All three candidates opposed the construction of an incinerator in Wisbech.

Results

The Liberal Democrat candidate was eliminated in the first round. The Labour and Conservative candidates received the second preference votes. The close race was not finally decided until the Peterborough votes were announced and despite a large vote for the Conservative candidate in Fenland district the outcome was a Labour win.

Overall

• First round results of the mayoral election
• Second round results of the mayoral election

By local authority

Cambridge

East Cambridgeshire

Fenland

Huntingdonshire

Peterborough

South Cambridgeshire

Aftermath

Johnson was elected mayor and repeated his commitments to introducing bus franchising. He cancelled plans for an autonomous metro system that he described as having "all the hallmarks of being an expensive folly and a potential financial blackhole".

Palmer said he would leave politics following his defeat. Tim Wotherspoon, a Conservative councillor who lost his seat in the concurrent county council election, said Palmer "had it coming". Van der Weyer stood down as the deputy leader of South Cambridgeshire District Council to "recharge batteries" after the campaign.

See also

• 2021 Cambridgeshire County Council election
• 2021 Cambridgeshire police and crime commissioner election

References

1. "Local Elections 2020". Peterborough City Council. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016.
2. "Elections in 2020". Cambridge City Council. Archived from the original on 18 May 2020.
3. "Police and Crime Commissioner elections". The Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 11 September 2013.
4. "Mayor of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough". BBC. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
5. "Choosing an elected mayor for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough". ITV News. 9 April 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
6. John Hill (2021). Election of Mayor for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority. John Hill.
7. "Choosing an elected mayor for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough". ITV News. 9 April 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
8. "Green Party won't contest mayoral and crime chief elections in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire". www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk. April 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
9. ^ "Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayoral elections: The candidates who say they will be standing". BBC News. 11 February 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
10. "Labour selects NHS doctor as candidate for Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough election". www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk. 16 November 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
11. Veale, Andy (6 June 2020). "Cambridgeshire Lib Dems announce candidate to take on 'aggressive' mayor". Cambridge Independent. Archived from the original on 20 August 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
12. ^ "Cambridgeshire mayoral candidate vows to scrap 'foolish' £4bn Metro". Construction News. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
13. Hatton, Benjamin (26 March 2021). "Labour pledge to halt Cambridgeshire metro plans if elected". CambridgeshireLive. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
14. elworthy, john (25 March 2021). "Labour's stark warning on Cam Metro". Ely Standard. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
15. "Mayor's plan for new garden villages to pay for metro is 'barmy', claims opponent". Cambridge Independent. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
16. "Bus franchise system will be delivered in Peterborough says Metro Mayor". www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk. 29 March 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
17. "Trio fighting for role as Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mayor back Wisbech anti-incinerator campaign". Fenland Citizen. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
18. Hepburn, Louise (24 March 2021). "All Cambs mayor candidates say they oppose Wisbech incinerator". Wisbech Standard. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
19. "Astonishing Labour Victory". www.cambstimes.co.uk.
20. "Cambridgeshire mayor: 'I will listen to the experts to tackle county's challenges'". Cambridge Independent. 21 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
21. "Mayor Nik Johnson to scrap £2 billion metro project". Varsity Online. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
22. "Former Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayor James Palmer quits politics after election defeat". Cambridge Independent. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
23. elworthy, john (11 May 2021). "Surprise attack on 'toxic' Tory brand". Ely Standard. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
24. "South Cambs deputy leader stands down from role after mayoral election loss". Cambridge Independent. 20 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.

v t e (2019 ←)   2021 United Kingdom local elections   (→ 2022)
Mayors of multiple LAs	Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Greater Manchester Liverpool City Region London Tees Valley West Midlands West of England West Yorkshire
Mayors of single LAs	Bristol Doncaster Liverpool Salford North Tyneside
County councils	Cambridgeshire Derbyshire Devon East Sussex Essex Gloucestershire Hampshire Hertfordshire Kent Lancashire Leicestershire Lincolnshire Norfolk Nottinghamshire Oxfordshire Staffordshire Suffolk Surrey Warwickshire West Sussex Worcestershire
Metropolitan boroughs	Barnsley Bolton Bradford Bury Calderdale Coventry Doncaster Dudley Gateshead Kirklees Knowsley Leeds Liverpool Manchester Newcastle upon Tyne North Tyneside Oldham Rochdale Rotherham Salford Sandwell Sefton Sheffield Solihull South Tyneside St Helens Stockport Sunderland Tameside Trafford Wakefield Walsall Wigan Wirral Wolverhampton
Unitary authorities	Blackburn with Darwen Bristol Buckinghamshire City of London Cornwall Derby Durham Halton Hartlepool Kingston upon Hull Isle of Wight Isles of Scilly Milton Keynes North East Lincolnshire North Northamptonshire Northumberland Peterborough Plymouth Portsmouth Reading Shropshire Slough Southampton Southend-on-Sea Swindon Thurrock Warrington West Northamptonshire Wiltshire Wokingham
District councils	Adur Amber Valley Basildon Basingstoke and Deane Brentwood Broxbourne Burnley Cambridge Cannock Chase Castle Point Cheltenham Cherwell Chorley Colchester Crawley Eastleigh Elmbridge Epping Forest Exeter Fareham Gloucester Gosport Harlow Hart Hastings Havant Hyndburn Ipswich Lincoln Maidstone Mole Valley North Hertfordshire Norwich Nuneaton and Bedworth Oxford Pendle Preston Redditch Reigate and Banstead Rochford Rossendale Rugby Runnymede Rushmoor St Albans Stevenage Stroud Tamworth Tandridge Three Rivers Tunbridge Wells Watford Welwyn Hatfield West Lancashire West Oxfordshire Winchester Woking Worcester Worthing
Other elections	Hartlepool by-election London Assembly Police and crime commissioners (North Yorkshire by-election) Scottish Parliament Senedd/Welsh Parliament

v t e Council elections in Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire County Council	1889 1892 1895 1898 1901 1904 1907 1910 1913 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964 1967 1970 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 2021 2025
Peterborough City Council	1889 1892 1895 1898 1901 1904 1907 1910 1913 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964 1973 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1997 1999 2000 2001 2002 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
Cambridge City Council	1973 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
East Cambridgeshire District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Fenland District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Huntingdonshire District Council	1889 1892 1895 1898 1901 1904 1907 1910 1913 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964 1973 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2022
South Cambridgeshire District Council	1973 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2022
Isle of Ely County Council	1889 1892 1895 1898 1901 1904 1907 1910 1913 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964
Huntingdon & Peterborough County Council	1967 1970 Abolished
Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough	2017 2021 2025
See also: Wards Boundary changes

• 2021 English local elections
• Mayoral elections in England
• Elections in Cambridgeshire
• May 2021 events in the United Kingdom