Peter Davies (politician)
Peter Davies | |
|---|---|
| Mayor of Doncaster | |
| Assumed office 5 June 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Martin Winter |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Woodlands |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | English Democrats |
| Website | www.doncaster.gov.uk |
Peter Davies is a politician in the English Democrats. He became Doncaster's second directly-elected mayor in June 2009.[1]
Personal life
Born on the outskirts of Doncaster, in Woodlands, Davies went to school in Thorne, then worked at Danum School as a teacher. He is also the Chairman of Sykehouse Cricket Club and a member of the Campaign for Real Education and the Campaign Against Political Correctness.[2] Davies is the father of Philip Davies, the Conservative MP for Shipley.[3]
Political career
Davies was a member of the Labour Party until 1973 when he joined the Conservatives. He remained in the Conservative Party until Prime Minister John Major signed the Maastricht Treaty in 1993.[4]
United Kingdom Independence Party
Davies then joined the strongly eurosceptic United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP). He contested Yorkshire South at the European Parliament election in 1994, taking 2.6% of the votes cast. Three years later, he contested Doncaster Central at the 1997 general election, getting 462 votes. The following year, in 1998, a by-election arose in the Yorkshire South European constituency and Davies stood again, against the wishes of the then UKIP party leader Michael Holmes but with the support of Nigel Farage and John Whittaker, who put up his deposit. Davies came last in the poll, but saved his deposit, increasing his share of the vote to 11.6%.[5]
English Democrats
Davies left UKIP and joined the English Democrats where he became the Chairman of the South Yorkshire branch of the English Democrats. He stood in Doncaster's Finningley ward in the 2008 local elections, achieving second place with 1,033 votes, over 20% of the vote[6] and stood in both the European elections and the Doncaster mayoral election in June 2009.[1] He was placed fourth on English Democrats' party list for Yorkshire and the Humber, a list that achieved 2.6% of the vote. In the mayoral race, Davies took second place in the first round of voting, but won by around 400 votes once second preferences had been taken into account.[1]
Mayor of Doncaster
Davies' mayoral campaign had called for harsher punishments for "young thugs", withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of council translation services, a reduction in the number of Doncaster councillors, and for local schools to opt out of local authority control.[7] Once elected, Davies was interviewed on BBC Radio Sheffield and Look North where the interviewers questioned the legality and achievability of his manifesto promises.[8]
One of Davies' first decisions was to announce a cut in his annual salary from £73,000 to £30,000.[9] He is an opponent of political correctness who pledged to stop funding the town's gay pride event, although organisers maintained that the event brought business to Doncaster.[10] Later, he confirmed that that year's event would be funded as arranged before his election.[11] He has also pledged to end and reverse town twinning as a waste of money, joking that he would use his two words of German to tell a visiting delegation Auf Wiedersehen (goodbye).[4] He also insists he is "not conned by global warming"[4] and has described climate change as "a scam"[12]
Vote of no confidence
On 22 February 2010, Davies' proposals for a three per cent council tax cut were opposed and a vote of no confidence against him was carried. Davies and his Cabinet were severely criticised for lack of political leadership during a meeting of the full council in Doncaster, and his budget for 2010-11 was slammed as "irresponsible". An alternative budget at the meeting, which found much more support within the council, had suggested an increase in Council Tax of almost three per cent.[13] Despite the vote of no confidence and repeated criticism of his "outrageous" policies, Davies has refused to resign.[14]
On 2 June 2010, the government appointed a new chief executive and three commissioners to lead the council. Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said the measures were needed to turn the council around "after 15 years of poor governance and dysfunctional politics". [15]
Elections contested
| Election | Constituency | Party | Votes | Percentage of votes | Source(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 European election | Yorkshire South | UKIP | 3,948 | 2.6 | [16] |
| 1996 Parliamentary by-election | Hemsworth | UKIP | 455 | 2.1 | |
| 1997 general election | Doncaster Central | UKIP | 462 | 1.1 | |
| 1998 European by-election | Yorkshire South | UKIP | 13,830 | 11.6 | [16] |
| 2008 Doncaster Council local election | Finningley Ward | ED | 1,003 | 21.6 | [17] |
| 2009 European election | Yorkshire and the Humber | ED | 31,287 | 2.6 | [18] |
| 2009 Mayor of Doncaster election | Doncaster | ED | 25,344 (both first and second preference votes) | 22.6 (of first preference votes) 51.7 (of second preference votes) | [19] |
References
- ^ a b c "'New broom' pledges to sweep political halls of Doncaster clean", Yorkshire Post, 5 June 2009
- ^ "PROFILE: Peter Davies", Doncaster Free Press, 28 May 2009
- ^ Smithard, Tom. "Shock message for Government as maverick Mayor takes control". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
- ^ a b c "Why can't Dave and Gordon learn a few lessons from Britain's most gloriously un-PC supermayor". Daily Mail. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
- ^ Mark Daniel, Cranks and Gadflies (2005), p.53
- ^ [1] doncaster.gov.uk, accessed 10th June 2009
- ^ Doncaster Mayoral Elections, Doncaster Borough Council
- ^ "Toby Foster meets Mayor Peter Davies". BBC. Retrieved 9 Jun 2009.
- ^ Social workers back in hospital BBC News, 9 June 2009
- ^ "Mayor vows to cut Gay Pride funds". BBC News. 6 June 2009.
- ^ "New mayor makes Gay Pride U-turn". BBC News. 12 June 2009.
- ^ Martin Slack (09 March 2010). "Town backing out of 'eco-vision' plan under green-sceptic mayor". Yorkshire Post.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Martin Slack (23 February 2010). "Yorkshire Mayor suffers double vote blow". Yorkshire Post.
- ^ "Troubled history of Doncaster Council". BBC News Online. 2010-04-19. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
- ^ "Government appoints new Doncaster Council chief". BBC News Online. 2010-06-02. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
- ^ a b "UK European Parliamentary Election Results 1979-99: England". Election.demon.co.uk. 1999-01-31. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
- ^ "Local Elections 2008 | Doncaster Council". Doncaster.gov.uk. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
- ^ "UK results: Yorkshire and the Humber". BBC News. 2009-06-07. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
- ^ "Mayoral Election 2009 Results | Doncaster Council". Doncaster.gov.uk. Retrieved 2010-08-04.