Cambridge City Councillor for Petersfield and Executive Councillor for Planning, Building Control, and Infrastructure
I made it around the Cambridge Half Marathon on Sunday March 3rd, and was boosted by the amazing support from friends and family – and we raised over £450 for the important work of ‘Something To Look Forward To, a charity that benefits people affected by cancer who are also suffering as a result of loss of income due to their illness. The charity provides positive things to look forward to generously donated by companies and individuals.
Thank you!
**** SPONSOR ME HERE ****
On Sunday March 3rd I’ll be running the Cambridge half marathon again, and have been training for a while using an excellent app that whispers encouraging words in my ear to accompany my playlist of fast-paced songs. It’s working so far, but the real test is yet to come.
I’ve mostly been training in Cambridge, joining the many others on Midsummer Common and Stourbridge Common, but had the occasional session in the Yorkshire Dales, which is significantly hillier and offers a very different challenge. I’m sure my calves will recover..
I’m running to support the important local charity ‘Something To Look Forward To’ which provides positive things for people affected by cancer who are also suffering as a result of loss of income due to their illness. It relies on donations from companies and individuals.
If you’d like to sponsor me and help me reach my goal of £300 then you can do so on the People’s Fundraising website.
Thank you!
The application to fell three trees on St Matthew’s Piece was rejected by the City Council planning committee today.
This application has had a lot of attention, and many residents attended the committee, to call for the protection of all trees. Several spoke including Friends of St Matthew’s Piece and Petersfield Labour ward councillors.
Unusually, there was no recommendation on whether the application should be accepted or refused, but the reasons for refusal were clear and strong. The debate that followed was rigorous and acknowledged the many residents who took time to write into object.
The final, formal reason for refusal was comprehensive and robust. The decision was unanimous.
This is what I said in my statement:
Continue reading “Saving the Trees on St Matthew’s Piece”The recent attack on Israel carried out from Gaza by Hamas was an appalling act of terrorism that killed many civilians, and has been rightly condemned.
Israel has the right to defend itself, but the current actions of the Israeli government seem to amount to collective punishment of the people of Gaza and may be in breach of international law. They have created a humanitarian crisis in Gaza and millions of people who played no part in the attacks, many of them children, are suffering. People in Gaza have no food, water, or power. Hospitals cannot function. There is no safe place, no exit, and currently very little aid is being allowed in.
I grieve for everyone killed or harmed, in Gaza or in Israel, by acts of terror or in retaliation. I want Hamas to stop terrorising not just Israel but the population of Gaza. I want the Israeli government to turn from its current path and operate within international law, allowing aid and supplies to a desperate population that has already suffered so much.
And I want those politicians and others in the UK who may have some influence on the Israeli government, particularly the leadership of the Labour Party, to make it clear that Israel must pull back from causing such suffering to those living in Gaza. Standing to one side is to side with the death of many innocent people, and we must speak out.
I also endorse the statement which was read by Mayor Jenny Gawthrope Wood at the meeting of Cambridge City Council on October 19 2023. It is published on the council website, but I wanted to reproduce it here:
Continue reading “Gaza”I’m really pleased that Pure Clean Water, a documentary made by my friend Tony Eva, is screening at the Cambridge Film Festival – and I’m in it!
It concerns the water crisis in the greater Cambridge area, and particularly looks at the impact on our precious chalk streams
It is screening on Wednesday 25 October at 1820 and Thursday 26 October at 1420 at the Arts Picturehouse – details on the CFF website. And I will be taking part in a discussion about the film after the Wednesday screening.
You can find out more on the Pure Clean Water website.
We all care about the Cam and the chalk streams that supply it, and we all know that no plan for the future of Cambridge or the greater Cambridge area can go ahead without some solution to the water crisis that we face – itself just one aspect of the much wider climate crisis.
This is something I’ve been arguing for years, and in 2019 I organised the first major meeting about water in the region. Since then, it has been acknowledged by all the local councils and MPs from every party, and widely reported (as here in the Cambridge Independent).
So it’s a real pity when we see members of one party misrepresent the steps that we are taking as a City Council to do something positive to improve the quality of the Cam, put pressure on the water companies and the Environment Agency to take action, and raise awareness of the importance of our water supply.
The Sunday Times (9 July) has a breathless report that Michael Gove is thinking of building a quarter of a million new homes in Cambridge, in order to turn the city into a ‘tech leader’, and that he will send a planning ‘hit squad’ over to ensure that annoying irritations like ‘eco rules’ don’t get in the way of his brilliant plan.
Apparently this will help to ‘fix England’s housing crisis and unleash growth in the life sciences and technology sectors’.
Let’s ignore for the moment that the chances of Gove still being Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities after next summer are very slim – indeed it is unlikely that his band of failed Tories will be anywhere near ministerial office.
And let’s ignore for the moment that the ‘tightly guarded’ plan, which goes under the mysterious code name ‘Cambridge 2040’ (I wonder what it could be about…) seems to consist of some under-researched aspirations and a briefing to a friendly newspaper in a desperate search for positive headlines.
What would it take to actually deliver such a plan, assuming we wanted it?
Continue reading “Cambridge Needs More Than Content-Free Headlines”
Thank you to everyone who voted in Petersfield on 4th May. Thanks to the other candidates Emmanuel Carraud, Joshua Morris-Blake and Paul Roper, who also stood in our democratic election for a seat on Cambridge City Council.
I’m grateful to have been returned as your councillor. Thank you for every vote. Thank you for telling me about your lives and issues over the last few weeks. Thanks for listening to me and reading my leaflets.
Continue reading “Thank you, Petersfield”it’s the last weekend of campaigning before the local elections on Thursday, and I’ve been all over Cambridge these past few days supporting my fellow Labour candidates, when I’m not canvassing and delivering leaflets in Cambridge. It’s hard work, but worth it to support great local candidates like Alice Gilderdale, Anne Miller, Antoinette Nestor and Mary Murphy, and everyone else, of course – see the full list on the Cambridge Labour website, and find out where to cast your vote here, if you haven’t already voted by post, on the excellent ‘Where do I vote?’ site from Democracy Club:
I couldn’t have managed it all without my trusty Urban Arrow electric cargo bike. Since we bought it in 2018 it has been a vital part of my life, getting me around, and carrying leaflets, shopping, books, clothes and a lot more. We have the ‘short’ cargo version, which is a lot more manoeuverable than the long one, but won’t take a small child!
(And see my earlier blog post about choosing the bike.)
Cycling is the main way I get around, so I’m always pleased to respond to the Camcycle election survey – see my answers on the Camcycle website.
The cargo bike is a complex machine, and so this week we took it back to Outspoken for a full service – which included upgrading the firmware on both the controller and the battery – and now it’s as smooth to ride as when we bought it.
I’ll try to wave as I whizz past you – and don’t forget to vote on Thursday (and bring some ID).
I’m pleased to say that the Petersfield ward has chosen me to seek re-election as the city councillor, and I’m standing in the local elections on Thursday May 4.
When I was first elected to Cambridge City Council in 2018 I promised people three things: that I would fight fairly for my arguments and always listen to and work with people from all sides of the political arena; that I’d stay in touch, even when I couldn’t sort a problem; and that I’d be here all year round, not just at election times. I believe I’ve fulfilled these promises, and if re-elected in May I will continue to live up to them.
Within the ward that means representing residents when a much-loved tree was threatened, finding funds for benches, bee banks and hedge replacement, and listening carefully to all sides on controversial issues like Mill Road bridge.
I’ve helped limit the number of builders’ lorries moving through our streets, and even got a major planning application near the station revised because it didn’t allow for walking or cycling.
And I’ve worked across the region to highlight the water crisis, helped develop the emerging local plan, and supported the consultation on the sustainable travel zone.
I hope that you’ll support me on May 4, so that I can continue to work with my fellow councillors for everyone in Petersfield, as Labour delivers One Cambridge Fair for All.
