Famous last words? You can see the results here, where Coleridge councillor Anna Smith narrowed the gap further between Labour and Tories, but was unable to bridge the gap created by ministers changing the voting system for the Police & Crime Commissioner Elections from the supplementary vote (a choice of a top preference & thenContinue reading “Don’t count your political chickens before…so who won what?”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
‘We don’t do politics’ – a snapshot in time
Me and Ellie Breeze (or is that ‘Ellie and I’?) of Together Culture tried out an alternative way of getting people through the door to discuss their issues with council candidates. We managed to persuade…one person! With thanks to: ….for giving up their time to participate. Part of the deal was that Ellie and IContinue reading “‘We don’t do politics’ – a snapshot in time”
Young adults are being badly let down by political institutions – they are not preparing them for elections
BBC Look East on 29 April 2024 interviewed young adults at Basildon’s South Essex College campus about the local elections. Their responses made for sobering listening for anyone involved in politics and public policy. You can find the episode here – although sadly it won’t be up for long. Alternatively, see the tweet below AboveContinue reading “Young adults are being badly let down by political institutions – they are not preparing them for elections”
“You sound like technocrats! Where’s the passion?” Asks Trevor Dann of Cambridge 105 to election candidates
How Central Government turned local government into the place where major local decisions are made, into an administrative arm of Whitehall. Image – me at the Cambridge 105 studios off Gwydir Street by The Alex Pub You can listen to the Cambridge 105 Election Panel of 28 April 2024 here Scroll through to 36 minutesContinue reading ““You sound like technocrats! Where’s the passion?” Asks Trevor Dann of Cambridge 105 to election candidates”
Informal ‘Meet the candidates’ events provide a much-needed alternative to traditional election hustings
Comparing two local public events in support of the Cambridge City Council elections I was involved in organising in Queen Edith’s Ward – what I found out. This follows on from my post here which has links to videos and parties standing full slates of candidates We had candidates from all four political parties atContinue reading “Informal ‘Meet the candidates’ events provide a much-needed alternative to traditional election hustings”
How do you prepare a local electorate for local elections?
This weekend is the first series of ‘Meet the candidates’ drop in sessions that I’ve organised for the Cambridge City Council elections – Polling Day is 2nd of May! But trying to engage with the general public? That’s a very different challenge. We’ve had the two sets of hustings for the Cambridge City Council wardsContinue reading “How do you prepare a local electorate for local elections?”
Controversial developer wins planning appeal. Again.
In the grand scheme of things it was inevitable that planning permission would be granted one way or another. But the fact that councillors complained about the actions of the developer in going straight to appeal rather than working in partnership with an already over-stretched council planning service hardly boosts the reputation of the constructionContinue reading “Controversial developer wins planning appeal. Again.”
Will the future of Cambridge be decided at a £1,000-a-head property conference in Leeds?
Some of you may have heard about the UKREiiF event. Turns out they have a session about the future of Cambridge with keynote speakers not from Cambridge and no representation from the people who actually live in our city. Which is nice of them. If you want to go, you’ll have to stump up overContinue reading “Will the future of Cambridge be decided at a £1,000-a-head property conference in Leeds?”
Cambridge Liberal Democrats call for a unitary council for Cambridge
That’s the easy bit – the hard bit is deciding where the boundaries should be and what powers such an authority should have Some of you may have seen the leaflet: As I’ve mentioned on numerous occasions, history provides some pointers on what things to consider. Above left to right: Abandoned proposals from the Redcliffe-MaudContinue reading “Cambridge Liberal Democrats call for a unitary council for Cambridge”
What is the Government’s policy on creating new unitary councils?
A reminder just as much as a useful summary for anyone interested in the Cambs Unitaries Campaign. The late James Brokenshire, former Housing Secretary in Theresa May’s minority government made a written statement to Parliament on unitary councils, dated 22 July 2019, here. “What is a written statement? Or rather, what do they mean inContinue reading “What is the Government’s policy on creating new unitary councils?”
The Cambridge Town Owl 