He was first elected to Leicester City Council in June 1973 and served as the Leader of the Council twice, firstly from 1981 to 1994 and secondly from 1996 to 1999.[6] He remained a Labour councillor until he was defeated in the Spinney Hill ward in May 2003.[7]
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.[citation needed] 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.[10][11] In the 2005 general election, less than a year later, he won the seat back for Labour from Gill.[12]
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.[13] He also rebelled against the government on its proposals to permit the detention of terrorist suspects for 90 days without trial;[14] however, in June 2008, he supported the government on the proposal to extend the detention of terrorist suspects for 42 days.[15] (see Terrorism Act 2006.) He retained his seat in the 2010 general election with a 5% swing from the Liberal Democrats.[16]
Sir Peter Soulsby was elected Mayor of Leicester on 5 May 2011, with a majority of 37,260.[20] He had previously served as Leader of Leicester City Council from 1981 to 1994 and from 1996 to 1999.[21] In August 2011, he claimed to have delivered 99 out of 100 pledges within the first 100 days of office.[22] He said the remaining pledge, on the future of the council offices in New Walk, would be achieved by Christmas.[22] However he was criticised by opposition councillors for not explaining what services would be cut in future.[22]
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.[26] 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 De Montfort 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".[27] 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.[28] Soulsby dismissed the committee the following day, saying it had made "fundamental costing mistakes" and would have led to "totally unacceptable extra costs".[28]
In March 2012 Soulsby's salary was set at £65,000, at the time comparable to an MP's salary.[29]
Bribery allegation and subsequent court case
On Thursday 5 May 2016, Mohammed Zameer Khan, a businessman, approached Sir Peter whilst he was outside a city school campaigning for the Labour Party candidate in that day's Police and Crime Commissionerelection. Soulsby stated afterwards that Khan had tried to bribe him. Soulsby stated that the male patted himself down and said that he wasn't recording, then offered him ten per cent of any incentive money if Soulsby allowed him to open a bowling alley at the then disused and derelict Haymarket Theatre. Soulsby returned to his council office and wrote a report on the event, which he handed to council lawyers, who informed the police.[30]
In court, Khan stated that he had patted himself down to apologise as he was wearing pyjamas after dropping his child off at school, denied that he said anything about not recording the discussion and stated that he had said that he would give ten per cent to charity and had not offered it as an incentive to Soulsby. Soulsby stated that charity was not mentioned at any point and described the event as "the most blatant attempt to bribe me in forty years of public life". The defendant wept in the dock as the jury acquitted him. He said that Soulsby was a celebrity and "hero type" and that he was over-awed by the encounter.[30][31][32]
Christmas Day bus lane fine
On 25 December 2017, a man who pulled in to a bus stop on Christmas Day to help a homeless man was fined by the council. Lee Williamson said he stopped to give a homeless man a blanket, hat, gloves, scarf, food, and to chat to him. Williamson later received a £70 fine, despite no buses running on 25 December. Leicester City Council said the camera enforcement was an important safety measure. Soulsby confirmed that the penalty would not be enforced, saying, "It was quite clear what Lee was doing was an act of a good Samaritan on Christmas Day and even though it's important to keep this safe... there are exceptions."[33]
Breach of COVID-19 restrictions
On 14 June 2020, the Leicester Mercury and The Sun newspapers published photographs appearing to show Soulsby breaking rules on movement during a lockdown[34] by visiting his girlfriend during the COVID-19 pandemic.[35] In response, the leader of the opposition on the Leicester City Council, Nigel Porter, and local Liberal Democrat and Conservative councillors called for Soulsby to apologise and resign his position.[36] He rejected calls to stand aside and apologised the following day. He was quoted by the BBC as having said "It can be certainly interpreted as being against the spirit of the lockdown, if not against the regulations."[37]
The insignia of a knight bachelor devised in 1926Ribbon Bar of a Knight Bachelor
He was married to Alison Soulsby,[38] who died of cancer on 10 December 2011, aged 63.[39] He has three daughters and nine grandchildren from his marriage.[4] One of his daughters is Elly Cutkelvin, a councillor for Saffron ward since 2011, whom Soulsby appointed as one of his assistant mayors in 2019.[40][41]