Cambridge City Council local elections 2024 – public debates/hustings

You’ve read the manifestos (you have, haven’t you?), now meet your candidates! You can read the manifestos via the links below. …and once you’ve done that, find your candidates at https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/ and email your questions over to them! Above – from yesterday’s blogpost There are at least two public debates coming up that I know of forContinue reading “Cambridge City Council local elections 2024 – public debates/hustings”

Cambridge’s political parties publish their local manifestos for 2024

So…what do you think? You can read the manifestos via the links below. …and once you’ve done that, find your candidates at https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/ and email your questions over to them! More videos of candidates please people! Here are the first two I’ve seen in this campaign in Cambridge. Starting with Coleridge Ward and Cllr TimContinue reading “Cambridge’s political parties publish their local manifestos for 2024”

That’s *a lot of playing field space* that the public cannot access

I’ve moaned about this for years if not more. As Cambridge’s population grows, the pressure for access to large open green space will only grow. And that raises issues of fairness, as one youngster told me last summer at a Cambridge Playlaws event. At what point does unequal access become unsustainable? Above – a fairContinue reading “That’s *a lot of playing field space* that the public cannot access”

Can the Combined Authority put these display boards where people can see them?

This could be as part of a wider communications and public education campaign about how our county functions – and the data underpinning the decisions made by politicians. Note this also requires a ‘Total Place approach, that I covered here. You can view the snapshot posters here Above – detail of the first of tenContinue reading “Can the Combined Authority put these display boards where people can see them?”

Cambs Unitaries Campaign meets a public audience for the first time

The campaign for an overhaul of local government in Cambridgeshire & Peterborough had its first workshop today at Cambridge’s Central Library. It’s one thing agreeing that the present governance diagram is a mess, but it’s quite another thing to try and figure out what to so about it – as everyone at the Cambs UnitariesContinue reading “Cambs Unitaries Campaign meets a public audience for the first time”

International Bright Young Things? Time to rebrand the Foreign Office

A report out from University College London by a trio of former diplomats has ruffled the sensitivities of the traditionalists. “International bright young thingNow you know for sure that you make the world swingInternational bright young thingMake it swing” …was what Jesus Jones sang in 1990/1991 I played it lots during the 2000s whenever IContinue reading “International Bright Young Things? Time to rebrand the Foreign Office”

Cambridge elections 2024 – lists of the candidates published

The candidates have been named. Four political parties are standing full slates, two minor parties have one candidate each, and three independent candidates (not me!) are also standing for election to Cambridge City Council. There are also three candidates for Police and Crime Commissioner for Cambridgeshire & Peterborough See https://www.cambridge.gov.uk/elections-in-2024 and click on “Statements ofContinue reading “Cambridge elections 2024 – lists of the candidates published”

Does the Uxcester 2014 plan indicate what awaits Cambridge?

The winner of the Wolfson Prize 2014 highlights issues that the people of Cambridge need to be aware of when scrutinising and challenging decisions made about our city’s future. You can read the documents here As the firm stated: “Uxcester Garden City: Our essay describes a plan to create a garden city of almost 400,000Continue reading “Does the Uxcester 2014 plan indicate what awaits Cambridge?”

Independent candidate in Romsey cross-examined over transport issues

Independent Candidate Will Bannell hosted a gathering attended by both supporters and opponents of the proposed traffic filter on Mill Road Bridge. I went along to see what it was all about The Salisbury Club near the corner of Mill Road and Coleridge Road was where the gathering took place. The club was founded inContinue reading “Independent candidate in Romsey cross-examined over transport issues”

Modular community centres vs Gove’s ‘Build Back Beautiful’

I’ve been wanting to get into the specifics of community centres for some time now – and the constructor of Cambridge United Football Club’s new training centre facility provides some interesting case studies You can read ModuleK’s case study of their Cambridge United commission here Beautiful verses functional My previous blogpost on this asked whetherContinue reading “Modular community centres vs Gove’s ‘Build Back Beautiful’”