Peter Soulsby

Life

Soulsby was born in Bishop Auckland and attended the Minchenden School, a grammar school in Southgate, London. He studied at the City of Leicester College of Education in Scraptoft, 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 constituency at the 1979 general election. In 1984, he stood for election for the Leicester European Parliamentary constituency, losing to the Conservative incumbent Fred Tuckman by 1.6%.

Soulsby has been a member of the board of British Waterways (now the Canals and Rivers Trust) since July 1998, 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.

Parliamentary career

In 2004 he was the Labour Party's candidate in the Leicester South by-election; he had 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 the 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. He also rebelled against the government on its proposals to permit the detention of terrorist suspects for 90 days without trial; however, in June 2008, he supported the government on the proposal to extend the detention of terrorist suspects for 42 days. (see Terrorism Act 2006.) 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 Select Committee.

On 5 March 2011, Soulsby was selected as Labour's candidate for the new post of Mayor of Leicester. He resigned as MP for Leicester South in order to contest the mayoral election. On 1 April 2011, Soulsby was appointed Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead, effecting his resignation from the House of Commons.

Mayor of Leicester

Sir Peter Soulsby was elected Mayor of Leicester on 5 May 2011, with a majority of 37,260. In August 2011, he claimed to have delivered 99 out of 100 pledges within the first 100 days of office. He said the remaining pledge, on the future of the council offices in New Walk, would be achieved by Christmas. However he was criticised by opposition councillors for not explaining what services would be cut in future.

Salary review controversy

In November 2011, a salary of £100,000 was recommended by the Mayor's remuneration committee—a rise of £44,000, based on the fact that the mayor carried out the work of the city's former chief executive, who was paid £175,000. The council was at the time proposing cuts of £70m in services, and the recommendations were criticised by opposing councillors and trade unionists alike. The independence of the committee, which included the vice chancellor of the local university, the head of the chamber of trade and a charity sector worker, was also challenged by the only Conservative councillor "as they worked closely with Sir Peter". The committee, whose report had been leaked, also recommended a reduction in the number of councillors and the abolition of the post of Lord Mayor. Soulsby dismissed the committee the following day, saying it had made "fundamental costing mistakes" and would have led to "totally unacceptable extra costs."

In March 2012 Soulsby's salary was set at £65,000, "comparable to an MP's salary."

Personal life

He was married to Alison, who died of cancer on 10 December 2011, aged 63. They had three daughters, one of whom is Leicester city councillor Elly Cutkelvin.

He has traversed much of the British canal network in his narrowboat.