Category Archives: Uncategorized

I lost count of the number of stalls and causes outside the guildhall on Saturday (09 Aug) and it seems that local activists want to move faster than what’s happening nationally “Tomorrow, Sunday 10th August, there is a coming together of our supporters. Why not join us at 1900 Jesus Green by the ice creamContinue reading “First informal gathering of Cambridge’s Corbyn/Sultana party branch”

On the latest lobbying scandal that UK Politics can ill-afford Some of you may have picked up on the reports about the Labour Infrastructure Forum. That article dated 05 Aug 2025 has what read as damage limitation quotations that seem ‘inconsistent’ with events and branding. “The Labour party said it had no connection to [LabourContinue reading “When is a Labour think tank not a Labour think tank?”

Cllr Dave Baigent (now Ind, Romsey) resigned from Cambridge Labour Party today in order to sign up and support the new left movement alongside two former Labour councillors in Cambridge You can see https://yourpartycambridge.uk/ and also Cllr Baigent’s press release (with contact details) here. I’m not going to go into the national politics of itContinue reading “Cambridge councillor quits Labour as activists establish a branch of Jeremy Corbyn’s & Zarah Sultana’s Your Party”

How does it all link to the latest research from the Government on Local Civil Society Infrastructure, and opinion polls for the 2029 General Election? I won’t repeat what I wrote at the start of the year here, which looks at the diversity of students’ groups, and the collective benefits to city and county ofContinue reading “I still think Cambridge needs an annual societies’ fair”

This year’s free replacement for the cancelled Cambridge Folk Festival attracted far more people than the council anticipated – as the extended queues to the beer and cider kiosk reflected! It’s worth noting that the Cambridge Folk Festival will be back in 2026. I hope by then the wealthy sci-tech sector will have re-appraised itsContinue reading “Crowds flock to Cambridge’s Folk in the Park at Cherry Hinton Hall”

What happens when you put sketches and drawings of old through AI-tools? Image – John Belcher’s guildhall line-drawn design of the late 1890s put through a generator and turned into a photograph You can see the old guildhall designs that I’ve put through in this Lost Cambridge blogpost As mentioned, the aim is to tryContinue reading “Revamping old designs for new buildings in an expanding Cambridge”

A new proposal written by Dr Sacha Hilhorst for the Institute for Public Policy Research proposes additional measures to reverse the long term decline of community venues and spaces where people used to meet You can read the paper here Although pitched as a response to the rise of TeamNigel and groups beyond, this framingContinue reading “Could a tax on Amazon-style businesses fund local community infrastructure?”

Cambridge Community Arts pleaded repeatedly for support from our supposedly wealthy city (see their IG feed here). So why didn’t we respond? “After more than a decade of creative impact, Cambridge Community Arts will formally close on 31 July 2025.” I knew a handful of people who were involved in the work of the CCAContinue reading “The closure of Cambridge Community Arts – and loneliness in society”

Furthermore, can they work with the EU to compel big tech firms to maintain the software and upgrades needed to keep older items functioning, or alternatively compel them to make the continuation of that work available to third parties? Image – Cambridge & South Cambs recycling bins for small electrical appliances See The Guardian onContinue reading “Will ministers scrap VAT on refurbished electronic goods?”

And ministers will ignore MPs. Again. What is the point? (And the same politicians then wonder why democratic structures and institutions are breaking down) Image: the LGIU’s guide to council finances – comparing the current system of council taxes with the Poll Tax, and the older system of rating. “Link between paying taxes and qualityContinue reading “MPs tell ministers that local council finances are broken. Again”