Category Archives: Uncategorized

MPs on the Commons Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee heard about our weak democracy structures yesterday (see my blogpost here), and today the Women and Equalities Select Committee heard a similar warning, Image – the UCL/Sydney study on the future of social connection report Have a listen to Dame Sara Khan here “TheContinue reading “MPs hear warning about the UK’s weak democracy structures. Again.”

Cambridge City Council’s housing committee met earlier – there are a number of headline statistics that should be high in the consciousness of both the construction industry and in philanthropic/charity-giving circles Cambridge City Council’s housing key facts You can read them at https://www.cambridge.gov.uk/housing-research Top ones that stand out for me: It’s one of those thingsContinue reading “Cambridge’s council housing – and newbuild design codes”

“Party funding and foreign interference in UK elections be examined by Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee” You can see the details and watch the meeting back here. Above – opening the debate the former Lib Dem MP Duncan Hames, now of Transparency International UK, set out how compromised the UK’s democratic structures, systems, andContinue reading “Select Committee MPs hear warning about the UK’s weak democracy structures”

Treasury Ministers should have learnt by now that this issue is not going away. So who are the individuals who make the final call? Image – The Trials of Democracy is back this Saturday outside The Guildhall on 08 Feb Their Lordships returned to the issue of Local Government Finance and replacing council tax withContinue reading “Minister says ‘No’ on local government finance overhaul”

Could you become a new councillor for your area? See https://www.local.gov.uk/be-councillor on the national ‘Be A Councillor’ campaign See outgoing councillor Seb Kindersley below: Above – from Cambridgeshire County Council “What does the county council do?” Have a listen to chief executive (i.e. the permanent head of paid service whose job is to ensure theContinue reading “County council chairman wants **You** to stand for election”

And if they don’t have the powers to do this, they should ask ministers and supportive MPs to table the necessary amendments to the Devolution Bill that’s due to be introduced into Parliament later this year The great thing about being a civil servant, my then permanent secretary told me, is that if you findContinue reading “The Combined Authority should make developers co-ordinate their employment and skills strategies”

On two developments along the Coleridge-Queen Edith’s boudary The controversial Paddocks redevelopment remains outstanding “Cambridge Re-Use asked the developers is they could make a provision for them somehow in the development – but they have said no we must leave, so we will be homeless. That means loads of people on low income including homelessContinue reading “Cambridge Re-use at risk due to sci-tech development as nearby Church has revamp”

Because my brain is frazzled after 46 posts in the first month of 2025, I thought I’d pick out trios of images from the past few years of blogging on this and work out why I put them there Summer 2020: Owls – can you see where the inspiration from ‘The Cambridge Town Owl’ cameContinue reading “What does a blog full of nearly 5 years of photos reveal about its author?”

The research paper was launched earlier today and as the venue was local to me, I popped my head around to see what it was all about. You can read the report here The guest panellists at the launch were: My top two takeaways from the event were: That second point was something that formerContinue reading “Insights into East Anglia from the Bennett Institute at Cambridge University”

Either Ministers need to crack up the funding, or provide Combined Authorities (that have devolved budgets on adult education) with substantial revenue-raising powers to pay for the investment in education, skills, and lifelong learning needed to being about a renaissance in adult education This is from Item 4 of the Cambridge City Council Strategy andContinue reading “Ministers won’t solve Cambridgeshire’s skills crisis with such feeble budgets”