Category Archives: Uncategorized

This stems from two letters to the Cambridge Independent, and also following the recent votes at Cambridgeshire County Council’s full council of 21 March 2023 I posted the question about what law changes people thought were needed for Cambridge to be able to solve its own problems – and followed it up here. Two lettersContinue reading “How much ability does the City of Cambridge have to solve its own problems? A point-by-point analysis”

In the context of the South-West Chainsaw Massacre in Plymouth, the prospect of ploughing a busway through an orchard hasn’t gone down well at all. The final decision will be taken by the Secretary of State for Transport – after what is certain to be the establishment of a public inquiry by the Secretary ofContinue reading ““Council supports next stage of Cambourne to Cambridge busway””

The contrast between the corporate report on Cambridge University’s Economic Impact written by consultants London Economics (which I wrote about here) shows the difference that going out to where people are to listen to them, can make. TL/DR? Read pages 8-9 of the PDF here. You can read the full report here. It was researchedContinue reading “Cambridge Ahead’s Young Advisory Committee had a choice to look. And did. Their report is worth reading.”

A newly-published review of Cambridge’s economic impact by London Economics is (not surprisingly London-centric, and underplays some of the serious economic issues in and around our city – ones with significant social and environmental externalities that economists should be more than familiar with by now. You can read the Economic Impact Report (EIR) here TL/DR:Continue reading “Cambridge University had a choice to look. And didn’t. Despite calls from its own members.”

The Boundary Commission will present its final recommendations to Parliament in a few months time, proposing an additional constituency for Cambridgeshire (due to rising population in the face of the property boom/house building/sci-tech bubble). The result? Cambridge will be encompassed by three constituencies, instead of two. Which would you choose? (Also a reminder for https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/Continue reading “MP for South Cambs accused of abandoning South Cambs following redrawn constituency boundaries”

Do you remember Big Society [pictured]? Or was it “Levelling Up?” Either way, the collapse of local government in England in the face of outsourcing, cost-cutting, and Treasury cuts has had a devastating impact on community groups that rely on a properly-functioning local council. The announcement that The Big Weekend 2023 having been cancelled wasContinue reading “From ‘Big Society’ to ‘Culture wars’, ministers misjudged the essential links between local government and community groups”

The charity founded as the Cambridge Preservation Society call out the behaviour of one of Cambridge’s most controversial firms. TL/DR? ….and judge for yourselves. It’s a controversy that future generations will argue over just as the one before my return to Cambridge did with the proposals for the redevelopment of Cambridge Station. On my wayContinue reading “Cambridge Past, Present, & Future slam Brookgate’s ‘Great Wall of North East Cambridge’”

The Greater Cambridge Partnership senior officers and board members past and present of all three political parties, and the ministers that created the institution, only have themselves to blame. You can read the following: Residents in and around Cambridge (i.e. South Cambridgeshire district, and southern Cambridgeshire generally) have been protesting about a whole host ofContinue reading “Why the call for a referendum on congestion charging for Cambridge is flawed – but is not the fault of those signing it.”

…and MPs are not happy. Neither are others with proposals for regional committees of MPs to scrutinise combined authorities Scrutiny and accountability between elections has always been a problem for combined authorities and metro mayors. In late October 2022 (just over four months ago,) MPs on the House of Commons Public Administration and Constitutional AffairsContinue reading “Gove dismisses calls for an overhaul of how England is governed”

***Wow! This is rare!*** It has been decades since the Cambridge Conservatives organised a public meeting in Cambridge, let alone showcasing four election candidates at the same time. But the proposed road user charging / congestion charging plans from the Greater Cambridge Partnership (ironically established by the Conservative-led Coalition Government along with Conservative-led South CambsContinue reading “Cambridge Tories to host public meeting in Cherry Hinton”