Hitting the High Notes - Peter Soulsby

Hitting the High Notes - Peter Soulsby

From 50 Shades of Planning by Samuel Stafford

June 20, 2026 · 1h 4m · Episode 172

About this episode

Samuel Stafford interviews Peter Soulsby, a long-serving politician and current City Mayor of Leicester, discussing the intersection of planning and politics.

Sam Stafford was invited to a ProCon Leicestershire event in Leicester in October 2025 and also on the panel that evening was his old friend Grant Butterworth. Grant, Head of Planning at Leicester City Council, kindly invited Sam down early for a tour of the city, and whilst so doing suggested that Peter Soulsby would make a good podcast guest. Peter has been a politician for over 50 years. He was first elected to Leicester City Council in 1973, but lost his seat in 2003. In between he served as the Leader of the Council twice, first from 1981 to 1994 and then from 1996 to 1999. He was the Member of Parliament for Leicester South from 2005 until he resigned his seat in 2011, in order to contest the new post of City Mayor, a role he has held since 2011. Long-serving listeners will know that, hitherto, it has been preeminent figures in the planning and property sectors that have talked Sam through the planning permissions or projects that helped to shape them as professionals during these Hitting the High Notes episodes. Given the relationship between planning and politics it was a good idea of Grant’s to broaden that tent and hear another perspective. Hitting The High Notes is…

People in this episode

Host: Samuel Stafford

Guest: Peter Soulsby

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Leicester City Council

Places: Leicester

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