'Doncaster is worse now than when I left office', says former Mayor of Doncaster Peter Davies

The former Mayor of Doncaster whose term ended with the City of Doncaster Council entering government intervention has said the city is worse off now than it was when he left office.

In his first media interview for a decade, Peter Davies lambasted his successor, Labour’s Ros Jones, claiming her 13-years in power have left Doncaster “run down”.

He said: “The state of the city is horrendous really by any standards.

“We left this city in an extremely good place. All crime was down and we’d won the most favourite market and market of the year in successive years.”

Mr Davies was elected to the position of Mayor of Doncaster in 2009. He was an English Democrat at the time, becoming the only non-Labour politician in the history of Doncaster Council to lead the authority.

In the interview, which took place in the regenerated Corn Exchange, Davies tore into the council’s handling of the Doncaster Markets, slamming the decision to relinquish management of the site to a third party.

He said: “The town is in a bad way and it’s entirely the fault of Labour politics, not helped by Tories and Liberal groups at a national level.

“The market’s on its knees now.”

The former mayor, who has been a member of five different political parties during his career, as well as being an independent, slammed the current council for its lack of cross-party collaboration.

“When I got in there I was alone. I was in danger of not being able to become mayor because there was nobody [in my party] there,” he said.

Doncaster Council’s directly elected mayor system means the Mayor of Doncaster wields considerable power over decision-making, direction and policy. They can choose councillors to join their cabinet.

Martin Winter and Ros Jones, the only other directly elected mayors since the system was adopted in 2002, were both elected as Labour candidates and chose Labour cabinets.

Mr Davies said: “We put together a gang of Tories, Liberal Democrats and independents.

“Politics was never the topic in cabinet meetings. The English Democrats had no policies on local government, so I had a free hand to do what I wanted, so party politics was never even discussed around the cabinet table.

“Party politics is the scourge of government. It always comes before the people.”

Despite Reform UK having a huge majority in the council chamber, as Labour did when Mr Davies was Mayor, Ros Jones has put five of the 12 Labour councillors on her cabinet.

Mr Davies claimed he offered Labour two seats in his cabinet, but they were refused.

The retired-politico said a lack of cooperation are the driving force behind widely covered clashes between Labour and Reform UK over Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA)

Mr Davies said: “[DSA] is only popular because she’s gone around asking people if we want the airport to reopen. She hasn’t added on it may cost you millions as the rate payer.

“Councils are there to provide essential services at the lowest possible cost to address everyone’s needs. They are never there to be entrepreneurs.”

In a recent interview, Reform UK Doncaster’s leader, Councillor Howard Rimmer, said his party was going to explore holding a referendum to remove the mayor system and revert to a leader and cabinet style of government, like that seen in Westminster.

However, Mr Davies warned against the idea: “It’s so much easier. [In other systems] everything had to go to full council or these different committees.

“The great thing about the mayor system is that you can get things done quickly.

“This is the great thing about it. – somebody is responsible. I got about three letters of unfounded complaints when I was mayor and I got thousands and thousands of people saying ‘come to Preston’ and ‘come here’. Even one asked me to become the President of the United States.”

Responding to Mr Davies comments, Mayor Ros Jones said: “When I first became Mayor in 2013 I inherited a council that had been classed as dysfunctional, in Government intervention and had let down local people including serious failings in the safety of children in care, my first priority was to put Doncaster Council back on the right track and that is what I have done.

“I have led Doncaster Council on a journey of recovery, out of intervention early, with children’s services back under council control and now rated as good. Our last Peer Review in 2022 identified ‘The Council has many good features and if continued, will be an exemplar council’.”

She said the majority of city and town centres across the country were struggling, but continued investment from the council would help the city and markets adapt.

The Mayor added: “In relation to Doncaster Sheffield Airport… our plan is to deliver more than just an airport, delivering a hub for aviation related industry, it can and will be the largest single economic stimulus for Doncaster and South Yorkshire, delivering skilled and well-paid jobs alongside economic growth and opportunities for Doncaster residents and businesses.”