Parliamentary seat The city formed a
parliamentary borough returning two members from 1541, with the rest of the Soke being part of Northamptonshire parliamentary county. The
Great Reform Act did not affect the borough, although the remaining, rural portion of the Soke was transferred to the northern division of
Northamptonshire. In 1885, the borough's representation was reduced to one member, and in 1918, the boundaries were adjusted to include the whole Soke. Recent Members of Parliament for
Peterborough have included the
Conservative Sir
Harmar Nicholls (1950–1974),
Labour's Michael Ward (1974–1979), Conservative
Brian Mawhinney (1979–1997), Labour's
Helen Clark (1997–2005) and Conservative
Stewart Jackson (2005–2017).
Fiona Onasanya won in the
2017 general election for Labour; Onasanya was then expelled from the Labour party in December 2018, but kept her seat as an independent until being ejected on 1 May 2019 after a
recall petition, triggering a
by-election, which won by Labour's
Lisa Forbes (June - November 2019). Conservative
Paul Bristow won the seat in the
2019 general election and served as MP for one term, being defeated by Labour's
Andrew Pakes in 2024. In 1997, the
North West Cambridgeshire constituency was formed, incorporating parts of the city and neighbouring Huntingdonshire. The inaugural member was Sir
Brian Mawhinney, former
Secretary of State for Transport and
Chairman of the Conservative Party. Mawhinney, who had previously served as Member of Parliament for Peterborough from 1979, did not stand for re-election in 2005 and was created
Baron Mawhinney of Peterborough in the county of Cambridgeshire later that year. He was succeeded by fellow Conservative
Shailesh Vara; Vara remained MP until 2024 when he was defeated by
Sam Carling of the Labour Party; Carling, aged 22, became the
youngest member of the House of Commons.
Local government (1930–1933) From 1889, the ancient Soke of Peterborough formed an
administrative county in its own right with boundaries similar, although not identical, to the current unitary authority. The area however remained geographically part of Northamptonshire until 1965, when the Soke was merged with
Huntingdonshire to form the county of
Huntingdon and Peterborough. Following a review of
local government in 1974, Huntingdon and Peterborough was abolished and the current
district created by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Peterborough with
Peterborough Rural District,
Barnack Rural District,
Thorney Rural District,
Old Fletton Urban District and part of the
Norman Cross Rural District, which had each existed since 1894. This became part of the
non-metropolitan county of
Cambridgeshire.
Letters patent were granted continuing the status of city over the greater area. In 1998, the city became autonomous of Cambridgeshire
county council as a unitary authority, but it continues to form part of that county for ceremonial purposes. The leader and cabinet model of decision-making, first adopted by the
city council in 2001, is similar to national government.
Policing in the city remains the responsibility of
Cambridgeshire Constabulary; and firefighting, the responsibility of
Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service. The
Peterborough Volunteer Fire Brigade, founded in 1884, is unique in the United Kingdom in that it functions as a
retained fire station, under the control of the county fire and rescue service, but with unpaid firefighters. The
Royal Anglian Regiment serves as the county regiment for Cambridgeshire. Peterborough formed its first territorial army unit, the 6th Northamptonshire Rifle Volunteer Corps, in 1860.
Health service Following the
Health and Social Care Act 2012, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
Clinical Commissioning Group became the main commissioner of health services in the city. Adult
social care functions of NHS Peterborough transferred back to the city council in 2012 and
public health transferred in 2013. The responsibility of guided primary care services (general practitioners, dentists, opticians and pharmacists) transferred to
NHS England. In 2017 the responsibility for commissioning Primary Care Services transferred back to the CCG. Cambridgeshire and Peterborough is one of the largest CCGs in the England with over 984,000 registered patients, 91 GP practices and a budget of £1.16bn in 2017–18. Although predominately providing health services in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough the CCG also has practices in both Hertfordshire and Northamptonshire. Previously, NHS Peterborough (the public-facing name of Peterborough
Primary Care Trust) guided primary care services in the city, directly provided adult social care and services in the community such as
health visiting and
physiotherapy and also funded hospital care and other specialist treatments. Prior to the formation of the PCT, the North West Anglia Healthcare NHS Trust provided health functions within the city and before that, Peterborough Health Authority.
Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust became one of the first ten English
NHS foundation trusts in 2004 and in 2017, merged with
Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust to form
North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust. Although a £300 million health investment plan has seen the transfer of the city's two hospitals into a single site, the Trust has been plagued by financial problems since the move. The full planning application for the redevelopment of the former
Edith Cavell Hospital was approved by the council in 2006. Planning permission for the development of an integrated care centre on the site of the former Fenland Wing at
Peterborough District Hospital was granted in 2003. The City Care Centre finally opened in 2009 and the first patients were treated at the new
Peterborough City Hospital in 2010. The private Fitzwilliam Hospital run by
Ramsay Health Care UK is situated in the landscaped grounds of the
Milton Estate.
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, a designated University of Cambridge teaching trust, provides services to those who suffer from mental health problems. Following merger of the Cambridgeshire Ambulance Service in 1994, then the East Anglian Ambulance NHS Trust in 2006, the
East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust is responsible for the provision of statutory
emergency medical services (EMS) in Peterborough. The
East Anglian Air Ambulance provides helicopter EMS across the region.
Public utilities The council's budget for the financial year 2018–19 is £418.7 million. The main source of non-school funding is the formula grant, which is paid by central government to local authorities based on the services they provide. This was reduced by nearly 40% during the course of the
2010-15 parliament. The remainder, to which the
police and
fire authorities (and
parish council where this exists) set a precept, is raised from
council tax and
business rates. This amounts to £59.5 million in 2015–16.
British Telecommunications, privatised in 1984, provides fixed
ADSL enabled (8 Mbit/s) telephone lines.
Local loop unbundling, giving other
internet service providers direct access, is completed at four out of 12
exchanges. The city is cabled by
Virgin Media (previously Peterborough Cablevision,
Cable & Wireless and
NTL). These businesses are regulated by
OFCOM. Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council are embarking on a superfast broadband project to deliver access to improved connectivity to areas where it is acknowledged that the market is unlikely to deliver.
Civil parishes The district contains the
unparished areas of Peterborough, Old Fletton and
Stanground North and 29 civil parishes: •
Ailsworth •
Bainton •
Barnack •
Borough Fen •
Bretton •
Castor •
Deeping Gate •
Etton •
Eye •
Glinton •
Hampton Hargate and Vale •
Helpston •
Marholm •
Maxey •
Newborough •
Northborough •
Orton Longueville •
Orton Waterville •
Peakirk •
Southorpe •
St Martin's Without •
Sutton •
Thorney •
Thornhaugh •
Ufford •
Upton •
Wansford •
Wittering •
Wothorpe ==Demographics==