In her final blogpost before standing down as a Cambridge City Councillor representing Queen Edith’s Ward, the comments in response demonstrate what has been missing in Cambridge’s local democracy for decades: Public understanding of politics.
Have a browse through the comments here
See also Alex Spencer’s report for the Cambridge Independent here.
“Sam Davies has been made an MBE in the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to the community in Queens Edith’s, Cambridge, particularly during Covid-19”
You can read the Cambridge Independent’s report from the time here. I also put together a medley of video clips of her in her role as Chair of the Queen Edith’s Community Forum. I think it got to the point where volunteering for a community forum or residents’ association can only take you so far; at some point you have to engage with and ultimately take on the political parties. Which is what she did first in 2019, where against a strong field she came second, and then in 2021 where she polled the highest number of votes for a single candidate in the city in the ‘super-elections’ that also saw every seat on Cambridge City Council, plus the County Council seats, plus the Mayoral office for the Combined Authority all up for grabs. That’s how popular she is.
Above – by Phil Rodgers on the electoral records of the political parties vs Sam…and me!
“I know from many conversations with residents that they have really valued someone taking the time to explain what’s going on, why things are as they are, and how our local government structures are woefully inadequate for both tackling the problems and maximising the opportunities which the city’s growth presents.”
Cllr Sam Davies MBE, 09 October 2023
I’ve been with Sam when having some of those conversations at the Queen Edith’s Food Hub’s cafe – something that grew out of the service that distributes food to anyone who turns up and needs it, no questions asked. The request from residents was in part a response to the lack of a proper, full time, fully-staffed council-run community centre. It reflected the loneliness many of us feel in the face of both long term austerity imposed by central government, and the demands of 21st Century living in a place like Cambridge.
I had similar feedback both from the hustings in April 2023 where instead of urging people to vote for me, I simply explained how we got to here, how and why the system is broken, and the sorts of questions that residents may want to put to the candidates in private conversations regarding overhauling the system. I had similar feedback from the first Great Cambridge Crash Course event at Rock Road Library at the end of September. People across the city have asked me to organise more, so I have – have a look here. In the grand scheme of things all I’m doing is extending what Sam has been doing for years, and making it a collective neighbourhood-based activity. What participants choose to do with their learning us up to them.
“I have worked as hard as I could to do my bit, but it is more apparent than ever that, without a major overhaul of local government structures, financing and powers, our council will struggle with relentless demands to maintain current levels of service and protect residents’ quality of life.”
Cllr Sam Davies MBE, 09 October 2023
If you support calls for that major overhaul, see https://www.cambsunitaries.org.uk/ which both Sam and me have expressed support for (it was established by Phil Rodgers, Chris Howell, and Martin Lucas-Smith, all three from very different political dispositions, yet each recognising the root of our city’s problems).
Cambridge cannot afford to lose councillors of the calibre of Sam Davies, Hilary Cox Condron, Alex Collis or Dr Carina O’Reilly.
The fact that all of them are women (in a sector dominated by older men) and that all of them raised structural and governance problems of our city during their time as councillors over the past decade should send alarm bells ringing not just within local political parties, but all the way up to political party headquarters too. Cllr Heather Williams of South Cambridgeshire District Council spoke about the emotional and mental health impact of the debate on the future transport of Cambridge at the GCP Assembly in Sept 2023 here. This was something that Hilary Cox Condron cited as one of the reasons for her resignation after two years as a Cambridgeshire County Councillor. This is a cross-party issue that goes beyond Cambridge. The social media policy side ultimately is an international issue requiring co-operation between nation states against multinationals. That does not mean however, that we can do nothing at a local level.
*What is the one small one off action or one small behaviour change you are prepared to undertake following the news of Sam’s resignation?*
Remember we are due a general election in the next year or so. So think about how you might prepare for how to scrutinise the candidates who will be seeking your vote. Or think about how you can get more of your existing social circles interested. I picked up this comment from TV political commentator Marina Purkiss who was speaking at a Labour Conference Fringe event (i.e. an unofficial one based outside the conference zone)
““My friends don’t [care] about politics. They listen… and said: “You make it really interesting and really relevant to me””
Marina Purkiss to Labour Social, 09 Oct 2023 [NSFW]
I think some of you may also be able to relate to the other comment Marina made:
Above: “Sometimes we don’t want to read a massive Guardian article!”
Or a massive blogpost for that matter! (Guilty as charged!)
“What happens now?”
There’s no point in trying to find ‘a replacement Sam Davies’ because there isn’t one. Furthermore, the demands the our broken structures and systems placed upon her were ultimately too much for anyone to deal with. While she’s still with us locally, interested people with time to spare may want to step forward and take on one of the many activities she is involved with so that the workload is spread amongst more of us. Part of that will mean having some informal gatherings and/or an EGM of the Queen Edith’s Community Forum to figure out what needs doing, who can take on what, and who might need support/help/training in order to do it.
Serious questions for politicians and senior decision-makers in big institutions
A reminder of one of the recent GCP meetings that Sam wrote about. Every single senior decision maker and influencer may want to reflect on their own individual conduct as well as the collective conduct of the GCP since its creation. How did we end up in such a situation?
It’s no secret that I think the GCP should be abolished and the governance structure of our city, county, and economic sub-region should be overhauled as part of a national overhaul recommended by Parliament less than a year ago.
Thank you Sam for your support over the years. Do stay in touch.
The Cambridge Town Owl 
One thought on “The legacy of Cllr Sam Davies MBE? She made local democracy relevant to the people – and shone a light on a broken system”
Comments are closed.