Defeated mayor on 'incredible' and 'some truly awful' people he met
Some of the images shared by James Palmer during his campaign. With him (centre) is Brandon Lewis, the NI minister who came to Peterborough to support him. - Credit: James Palmer
There was no ‘I’ll be back’ or ‘watch this space’ comment from outgoing mayor James Palmer today as he tweeted concluding thoughts on his four-year tenure.
Mr Palmer took to Twitter to reflect, briefly, on the tumultuous events of the weekend, announcing too that he would be deleting his social media account.
“This will be my last post in Twitter and will joyfully delete my account after today,” he wrote.
“Now it is time to move on.
“I have met some incredible people in politics and some truly awful ones too!”
He said: “ I very much look forward to a life off the radar and out of the public eye. I would like to thank all of my incredible team for their hard work and dedication to the cause.”
Mr Palmer began his Twitter thread by thanking all of the 94,000 people who voted for him and he offered congratulations to Dr Nik Johnson on his victory.
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“Politics has dominated my life for the last 14 years and it has been an incredible journey,” he wrote.
“As leader of East Cambs I restructured the council, making savings that has led to eight consecutive years of council tax freeze.”
“We delivered, free parking, reformed Ely markets, built Ely Leisure Village and drove the delivery of Ely Southern Bypass.
“As the first Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, I set up the authority from scratch and invested into all areas of the county fairly.
“Market Town Masterplans and Covid grants have directly helped businesses across the county.”
Mr Palmer also reminded people of his effort in adult education “helping those in the most need for the first time.
“ A new technical university is being built in Peterborough, funded by CPCA (Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority), government and local business.”
He added: “And Soham Railway Station opens this year. I went into politics to try and improve the lives of people in my area and as my responsibilities grew, so did the area I served.”
On the Combined Authority Twitter account, Dr Johnson wrote: “I would like to thank the outgoing Mayor, James Palmer, for the role he has played in laying some of the foundations for the success of the region."
He added: "James is passionate about Cambridgeshire and I wish him well.”