| Sir Peter Soulsby | |
|---|---|
| 1st Mayor of Leicester | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 6 May 2011 |
|
| Preceded by | Office Created |
| Member of Parliament for Leicester South |
|
| In office 5 May 2005 – 1 April 2011 |
|
| Preceded by | Parmjit Singh Gill |
| Succeeded by | Jon Ashworth |
| Majority | 8,808 (18.7%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 27 December 1948 Bishop Auckland, County Durham, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse(s) | Lady (Alison) Soulsby |
| Alma mater | De Montfort University |
| Religion | Unitarianism |
| Website | Leicester Mayor website |
Sir Peter Alfred Soulsby (born 27 December 1948) is a British Labour Party politician and the current Mayor of Leicester. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester South from 2005 until he resigned in order to contest the new post of mayor[1] in April 2011.[2] He is considered to be one of the most powerful public officials in the United Kingdom.[3]
Contents |
Born in Bishop Auckland, Soulsby attended the Minchenden School (a grammar school, which merged with Arnos School in 1984 to become Broomfield School although the former building is now used by Southgate College) on High Street in Southgate London, and then he studied at the City of Leicester College of Education in Scraptoft (part of Scraptoft Hall, which later was to become the Scraptoft Campus of De Montfort University until its closure in 2003) where he gained a BEd. He worked as a teacher at Crown Hills Secondary Modern School and in special needs schools.
He was first elected to Leicester City Council in 1974 and remained a Labour councillor until he was defeated in Spinney Hills ward in May 2003. Despite his own opposition to the Iraq War and his participation in rallies and marches, his defeat (and that of other sitting Labour councillors) reflected the widespread local opposition to the war.
He contested the Harborough parliamentary seat in 1979. In 1984, he stood for election to the European Parliament for the Leicester European Parliamentary constituency but lost to the Conservative incumbent Fred Tuckman by 1.6%.[4]
Since July 1998, he has been on the board of British Waterways, becoming Vice-Chairman in 2000. He is a senior Unitarian, serving on the Executive Committee of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches and acting as its convenor. He was knighted in 1999 for his services to local government. He has also served as a member of the Audit Commission.
In 2004 he was the Labour Party's candidate in the Leicester South by-election–he had previously been the election agent for the previous MP, Jim Marshall, and like Marshall was not always in agreement with the party's policies. Despite his anti-war stance, Soulsby lost by 5.6% to Parmjit Singh Gill of the Liberal Democrats in a by-election which was dominated by the Iraq war and the newly-formed left-wing party Respect, which took 12.7% of vote. In the 2005 general election, less than a year later, he won the seat back for Labour from Gill.
On 31 October 2006, Soulsby was one of 12 Labour MPs to back Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party's call for an inquiry into the Iraq War.[5] He also rebelled against the government on its proposals to permit the detention of terrorist suspects for 90 days without trial;[6] however, in June 2008, he supported the government on the proposal to extend the detention of terrorist suspects for 42 days.[7]
He retained his seat in the 2010 general election with a 5% swing from the Liberal Democrats.
In June 2010, he was selected as a Labour member of the political and constitutional reform committee.[8]
On 5 March 2011, Soulsby was selected as Labour's candidate for the directly elected position of Mayor of Leicester.[9] He resigned as MP for Leicester South in order to contest the Mayoral election.[10] On 1 April 2011, Soulsby was appointed Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead, allowing him to formally resign as MP.[2]
Sir Peter Soulsby was elected as Mayor of Leicester on 5 May 2011, with a majority of 37,260.[11] In August 2011, he claimed to have delived 99 out of 100 pledges within the first 100 days of office.[12] He said the remaining pledge on the future of the New Walk council offices would be achieved by Christmas.[12] However he was criticised by opposition councillors for not explaining what services would be cut in future.[12]
On 16th November 2011 there was controversy arising over the supposed independence of an advisory board that recommended raising Soulsby's annual salary by £44,000 to £100,000 which would make him the highest paid directly elected English Mayor after the Mayor of London.[13] The Conservative opposition councillor Ross Grant claimed that some panel members had vested interests as they worked closely with Soulsby.[14] He said: "The pay proposals are disgraceful. The panel has been promoted as independent, but its members were appointed by Labour after the election, with no involvement for opposition parties."[15] City council UNISON chief Gary Garner, who backed Soulsby's mayoral bid, also spoke out against the proposed pay rise: "It's clearly wrong and I'm against it at a time of significant cuts. The scale of the proposed rises isn't acceptable."[16] Soulsby sacked the board on 17th November, citing failings on the board's part, although not referencing the issue of his own salary, stating that a new board was to be appointed.[17]
Soulsby was also accused of nepotism for employing his two daughters as junior secretaries whilst serving as MP.[18] He also employed his wife Lady Alison, who earned £45,000 a year as office manager.[19]
He is married to Alison[20] whom died of an advanced form of cancer on 10th December 2011, aged 63 [21] and they have three daughters, one of whom is Leicester city councillor Elly Cutkelvin. He has traversed much of the British canal network in his own narrowboat.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Parmjit Singh Gill |
Member of Parliament for Leicester South 2005 – 2011 |
Succeeded by Jon Ashworth |