Announced earlier today, Civil Service World summarised the announcement by the National Infrastructure Commission as requiring a cash boost and ‘ambition’ (see their article here) Doesn’t it sound ‘same old, same old’? And won’t we get more of the ‘same old’ if we’re stuck with the same governance systems? Question: To what extent are thoseContinue reading “National Infrastructure Commission recommends the opposite of what ministers have been doing”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
“The Cambridge Pledge” – what should affluent and wealth-creating sectors provide in return beyond the minimum?
Mixed – even polarised reactions to the Innovate Cambridge event. (Image – from Theresa May’s Civil Society Strategy 2018 which I wrote about here) Some of you may recall the launch of Innovate Cambridge in September 2022 – see the Cambridge Independent here. “…an ambitious Greater Cambridge organisation that aims to collectively agree on andContinue reading ““The Cambridge Pledge” – what should affluent and wealth-creating sectors provide in return beyond the minimum?”
Sir Keir Starmer’s next generation of New Towns – where will the doctors and teachers come from?
Developers don’t build communities, they build buildings – for a profit. The Labour Leader will need to make some very big changes to not only to the planning system but also the financial system underpinning it, the regulation and enforcement of building, and the public service governance structures that will be needed once the buildersContinue reading “Sir Keir Starmer’s next generation of New Towns – where will the doctors and teachers come from?”
Cambridge City Council to debate unitary council proposals
Full Council meets on Thurs 19th October 2023. You can read the meeting papers here. This will be two days after Cambridgeshire County Council’s full council meets on Tues 17th October 2023. You can read the meeting papers here. I’ve not spotted anything substantial on the meeting papers so in the grand scheme of thingsContinue reading “Cambridge City Council to debate unitary council proposals”
Addenbrooke’s governors confirm they’ve had meetings with Michael Gove’s Cambridge chief on our city’s future
Or to put it more officially, Dr Michael More of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (which includes Addenbrooke’s) confirmed the Trust had met with Peter Freeman of Homes England – the man charged by Michael Gove to come up with a plan later this autumn on ‘supercharging Cambridge’ This was a comment sort of inContinue reading “Addenbrooke’s governors confirm they’ve had meetings with Michael Gove’s Cambridge chief on our city’s future”
The legacy of Cllr Sam Davies MBE? She made local democracy relevant to the people – and shone a light on a broken system
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 hasContinue reading “The legacy of Cllr Sam Davies MBE? She made local democracy relevant to the people – and shone a light on a broken system”
New Great Cambridge Crash Course Events for November 2023
Following the success of the pilot event on 30 September, combined with requests to explore specific issues in more depth, I’ve scheduled another set of events at Rock Road Library. For those of you who want to get an idea of some of the things you might cover (because the conversations are led by theContinue reading “New Great Cambridge Crash Course Events for November 2023”
It’s almost as if the publishers don’t want a democratically literate public
Trying to find a range of recently-published high quality, accessible books that introduce how our country functions is surprisingly difficult. What happened to the culture of civic learning we used to have? Three years ago I wrote about the Penguin Specials published during and after WWII – a series that educated a knowledge-hungry public wantingContinue reading “It’s almost as if the publishers don’t want a democratically literate public”
What’s the point in providing serious analysis to ministerial announcements unbecoming of the offices they hold?
It’s potentially the last political party conference season before the next general election – unless the Tories want to eek the whole term out to the grim and bitter end. As one of their former Chancellors once said, they are in office, but not in power. Even Twitter has broken which sort of reflects theContinue reading “What’s the point in providing serious analysis to ministerial announcements unbecoming of the offices they hold?”
Cambridge University’s Vice-Chancellor needs to state how she will engage with ‘town’
Professor Deborah Prentice, the recently-appointed Vice-Chancellor missed the opportunity to set out her vision for how she hopes the ancient institution that she is responsible for will engage with the town whose borough charter pre-dates the arrival of the scholars from ‘the other place’ Cover image from Civic and Community Engagement by David Watson (2007)Continue reading “Cambridge University’s Vice-Chancellor needs to state how she will engage with ‘town’”
The Cambridge Town Owl 