Category Archives: Uncategorized

I’ve just returned from a consultation event funded by the developers and facilitated by independent facilitators CommunityRegen. It was about the future of Cambridge’s former Art Deco cinema building on Hobson Street that has been derelict and unused for nearly 15 years. It was one of those meetings where representatives of ‘key community stakeholders’ identifiedContinue reading “Hobson Street’s art deco cinema to be demolished”

“Labour’s National Policy Forum (NPF) launched its 2023 consultation on Monday 30 January.””Labour’s National Policy Forum (NPF) launched its 2023 consultation on Monday 30 January. [It] is open to branch and constituency Labour parties; affiliates such as trade unions and socialist societies; and external stakeholders such as charities, think tanks, businesses and civil society groups.”Continue reading “The Labour Party’s consultation for its next general election manifesto”

Quite a lot as it turns out – but very few people actually know about this. Because it’s local government finance – one of those boring but essential subjects at the heart of the century-long central vs local tensions. Starting with Cambridgeshire: “Cambridgeshire County Council has seen its core funding cut from £143million in 2013/14Continue reading “Central government takes ****how much?**** from Cambridge City Council’s business rates revenues?!?!”

…which was a more realistic headline of the exchanges (and afterthoughts) that were broadcast on Sunday morning (05 Feb 2023) You can read the report here. I went along because various people told me I had to be there, even though I was planning to give it a miss. Mainly because I am too familiarContinue reading “MPs politely disagree on GCP transport proposals as Cambridge labeled “a city in name only””

Continuing a long tradition of protest against central government policies (now joined by Australia’s Juice Media with their NSFW Honest Government Ad!) – with some links to publications about our civic, campaigning and political past. You can read the reports in the Cambridge Independent and the Cambridge News. Also not forgetting north Cambridgeshire & PeterboroughContinue reading “The Cambridge Strike March – 01 Feb 2023”

Above – from Juice Media in Australia lampooning the state of UK politics – have a watch of their video here, published in August 2022. (This is the NSFW version!) Overhauling what we mean by public life needs to be part of the wider overhaul of our political, economic, democratic, and constitutional institutions, structures systems,Continue reading “Standards in public life – or the lack of them?”

It took Members of the Youth Parliament of November 2022 to spell it out far more eloquently and more powerfully than many of the present cohort of backbenchers could. Here’s one outstanding speech by Izzy Garbutt MYP (Wigan and Leigh 2022/23) Above – Ms Garbutt’s speech, which you can also watch with the rest ofContinue reading “On ‘being educated to be ignorant’ – ministers not learning from the mistakes of their predecessors”

Still no deal with controversial property firm regarding the Castle Hill site on which once stood the county gaol Some of you may have picked this up from the County Council’s Strategy and Resources meeting papers. It’s the bit at the end following the *You can’t see this bit!* notice in today’s agenda at itemContinue reading “Please can we have our Shire Hall back?”

…a phrase heard far too often in these parts. Every so often, second hand copies of this excellent book on some of Cambridge’s worst buildings come up for sale. Messrs Jones & Hall could easily publish a second edition given the buildings that have been put up since they published this a decade ago inContinue reading ““How in the world did that monstrosity get planning permission?!?””

2024 will be the 50th anniversary of the last major restructure of local government and public services in England. So who is keeping count of how things have gone? This stems from responses to a report published 20 years ago covering Cambridgeshire & Peterborough. Ye olde structure planne They don’t make them like they usedContinue reading “Evaluating half a century’s worth of public services – county by county”