North West Cambridgeshire LAB: 33.28% (+11.19%) CON: 33.19% (-28.96%) REF: 19.68% (NEW) LDEM: 7.19% (-3.43%) GRN: 6.66% (+2%) Labour GAIN from Conservative Turnout: 58.76% (-9.57%) Margin of victory was 39 votes!

Bear in mind that the closest Labour have come to winning in NW Cambs was all the way back in 1997, when Brian Mawhinney won by 7,754 votes, or nearly 16%. Shailesh Vara won in 2019 with a majority of nearly 26k. This was a swing over over 20% to Labour

So, 8 hours after the polls closed, we now know that Peterborough will have 2 Labour MPs for the next few years. Plus, obviously the Council is currently being minority ruled by the Labour group.

I think it's time for a cuppa...

So Sam Carling MP🌹 will be the new baby of the house, or youngest member of parliament, when he takes up his seat. He was just 3 years old when Shailesh Vara was elected to the seat for the first time.

Anyone just waking up, Peterborough has turned red with Andrew Pakes MP winning after a full recount by a much smaller than expected margin of 118 votes.

In one of the biggest shocks of the night, Sam Carling MP🌹 also turned North West Cambridgeshire red after a full recount with a swing of over 20% to oust incumbent Shailesh Vara after 19 years.

If you want to listen to my pre-election interview with Sam Carling MP🌹 to what his thoughts/plans are for Peterborough, you can hear it on YouTube at the link below. youtu.be/hLoFijStcDU?si…

The Labour candidate Andrew Pakes has been elected as Member of Parliament for Peterborough, beating the incumbent MP Paul Bristow by 118 votes. More here: ➡️ bbc.in/3xNjlOR

Now former North West Cambridgeshire MP Rt Hon Shailesh Vara gives his initial reactions:

There was a lot of derision of Paul Bristow's vote share graph after the local elections. But when you compare them to results from Thursday, the Conservative and Labour vote shares changed by less than 1%.

Can anyone spot Peterborough's 2 new Labour MPs in this picture? There is no prize for doing so... In fairness, I don't know for sure that they're both there. Perhaps Sam Carling MP🌹 and Andrew Pakes MP can confirm either way?

Another chance for you to have a search for Andrew Pakes MP and Sam Carling MP🌹 in amongst a crowd. This time, alongside all the other newly elected MPs, well over half the chamber.

With Cabinet agreeing to the proposal to fence off 8 football pitches worth of land on Werrington Fields, it seems to have got quite lively with the feed cut and a 5 minute break proposed. youtube.com/live/2MtH2xxRH…

Now the dust has settled on the election, can anyone give me some feedback on the election podcasts? Are they worth doing again in the future e.g. for the Combined Authority mayoral election next year? Obviously they only include the people who agree to take part...

Both Peterborough MPs voted No on the King's Speech amendment to remove the 2 child cap on benefits.

Deputy leader of the Labour group and Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Governance has apparently left the group and is now sitting as an independent. He's been a Councillor for 8 years and was only reelected in May with a majority reduced by half.

Further details provided by the Peterborough Telegraph regarding Cllr Iqbal's departure. peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/politics/…

Been a bit quiet on the podcast and social media front since the election, taking some down time after a hectic period! However, it's time to start thinking about getting some interviews in the diary, so who would you like to hear from in the run up to Christmas?

I guess with a number of changes since the Local Elections, it's time to update the profile picture #NewProfilePic