Council Green Party group leader steps down

A councillor who has led her local party for four years says she is standing down from her position to focus more on the community and the climate crisis.

Nicola Day has been the Green Party group leader on Peterborough City Council since May 2021 and is stepping aside to let current deputy leader Heather Skibsted take over.

The party has five councillors on the authority and gained two seats from the Conservatives during the 2024 election.

She said she wanted to spend more time with the "residents I represent".

Day, who represents the Orton Waterville ward, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "I would also like to focus my time and energy on of the most pressing issues of our time - the climate crisis - and how we mitigate and adapt to that whilst improving our local environment."

Ms Skibsted has been with the party for almost three years and has represented Orton Longueville since 2019.

She said: "I now have time in my life to focus on helping to push forward the Green agenda which includes protecting our green spaces, for example, the Embankment [in Peterborough], and ensuring new builds include the necessary adjustments to cope with our changing climate.

"We are also continuously promoting the protection of public services and community spaces."

While she has been described by Day as a "very hard-working, principled and trust colleague", the new party leader says she has "big shoes to fill".

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