The true cost of Paul Bristow’s unfunded, undeliverable vanity projects has been revealed.
Analysis by the Labour Party has revealed that the Conservative candidate’s spending spree would cost more than £2 billion in taxpayers’ money.
The breakdown of Paul Bristow’s spending spree includes:
- £1.7bn to resurrect their failed light rail plans for Cambridge
- £8m on the last Conservative Mayor’s discredited £100k homebuilding initiative
- £500m on changes to railways in Peterborough, Cambridge and Ely
Analysis shows that, if he was elected, the Conservatives would spend £1.7bn simply resurrecting his predecessor’s failed light rail project in Cambridge. The mayor was previously forced to scrap plans for a light rail system because it did not offer value for money.
Paul Bristow, who lost his Peterborough Parliamentary seat in July’s General Election, has been selected as the Conservative candidate for the 2025 election to become Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority. PHOTO: Terry Harris
Bristow’s plans also include spending at least £8m on his so-called “£100k homes” initiative. The last Conservative Mayor tried this before but was forced to return millions of taxpayers’ money unspent while also taking out over £40m of loans against the Mayor’s budget. And the Conservative government was forced to admit the plans were badly made and implemented.
Despite this planned spending spree Paul is also claiming that he won’t increase council tax.
Labour is now calling on Paul Bristow to explain how exactly he plans on funding his pet projects if he won’t raise council tax.
Anna Smith, Labour’s Candidate for the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mayor said:
“It’s clear that Paul Bristow hasn’t learnt his lesson after he previously backed Liz Truss to be our Prime Minister.
“It’s the same old story with the Conservative candidate, spend big and get local taxpayers to pick up the bill. Just as Paul’s pick for PM Liz Truss crashed the economy with unfunded spending and tax cuts, Paul himself is now failing to show his working for his own plans. It’s Liz Truss 2.0.”
“Cambridgeshire and Peterborough deserves a hardworking mayor who will put them first. If elected, I promise to work with our Labour Government to deliver fully funded improvements that matter to you – from fixing potholes to cutting NHS waiting times to providing safer transport home.
“He needs to be straight with people. How is he going to spend nearly £2 billion without raising taxes? The question that every voter in this election should be asking is do you trust Liz Truss’s pal not to raise your taxes?”
