Antony Carpen
@acarpen.bsky.social
Ex-Whitehall type still with views on public policy, but now local historian in Cambridge (UK) blogging at https://lostcambridge.com/ - also writing about the future of the city on The Cambridge Town Owl.
Reposted by Antony Carpen
Addendum to a thread with which I wholly concur: people who think art is only about power are invariably shit at art, and only intermittently effective at power.
The decline of right wing cultural production is just due to the fact that they don’t like culture, they like the signifiers of culture, ie “classic sculpture means white people are better.” They don’t like art at all except for this purpose. They don’t even like the nerd stuff they whine about
February 18, 2026 at 11:28 PM
Addendum to a thread with which I wholly concur: people who think art is only about power are invariably shit at art, and only intermittently effective at power.
"The Shadow Cabinet is an official part of the UK Parliamentary system, and is formed from members of His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition, appointed by the Leader of the Opposition."
"As he is not an MP or a member of HM's Opposition, he cannot be Shadow Home Secretary." 🤣
"As he is not an MP or a member of HM's Opposition, he cannot be Shadow Home Secretary." 🤣
February 18, 2026 at 10:11 PM
"The Shadow Cabinet is an official part of the UK Parliamentary system, and is formed from members of His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition, appointed by the Leader of the Opposition."
"As he is not an MP or a member of HM's Opposition, he cannot be Shadow Home Secretary." 🤣
"As he is not an MP or a member of HM's Opposition, he cannot be Shadow Home Secretary." 🤣
Reposted by Antony Carpen
The last time council housing was built at mass scale, we didn’t rely on private developers to deliver them.
It is time to allow councils to borrow to build a new generation of social homes. They pay for themselves over the long run.
It is time to allow councils to borrow to build a new generation of social homes. They pay for themselves over the long run.
February 18, 2026 at 7:54 PM
The last time council housing was built at mass scale, we didn’t rely on private developers to deliver them.
It is time to allow councils to borrow to build a new generation of social homes. They pay for themselves over the long run.
It is time to allow councils to borrow to build a new generation of social homes. They pay for themselves over the long run.
Reposted by Antony Carpen
notorious radical left communist rag says tax the rich
February 18, 2026 at 4:03 PM
notorious radical left communist rag says tax the rich
From 2018. How do you repair a big sprawling Victorian palace?
The last report I can remember on sorting Parliament out
www.parliament.uk/globalassets...
Commons debate
hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2018...
#BBCPM
www.parliament.uk/globalassets...
Commons debate
hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2018...
#BBCPM
February 18, 2026 at 5:54 PM
From 2018. How do you repair a big sprawling Victorian palace?
Reposted by Antony Carpen
"It is not simply about who gains access, but how the system allows well-resourced actors to exert disproportionate influence over policy decisions."
A powerful intervention from @patmillsuk.bsky.social on why we need to stop the super-rich from buying access to power.
Read the full piece ⤵️
A powerful intervention from @patmillsuk.bsky.social on why we need to stop the super-rich from buying access to power.
Read the full piece ⤵️
"If “one person, one vote” is to mean anything, we can no longer ignore how concentrated wealth can distort political influence." - Phil White, PMUK
https://lbc.pulse.ly/kneyuhnead
https://lbc.pulse.ly/kneyuhnead
The wealthy are buying political influence. As a millionaire, I'm asking you to stop us | LBC
An annual cap on political donations would ensure that wealth strengthens society rather than distorts it, writes millionaire Phil White
lbc.pulse.ly
February 18, 2026 at 4:18 PM
"It is not simply about who gains access, but how the system allows well-resourced actors to exert disproportionate influence over policy decisions."
A powerful intervention from @patmillsuk.bsky.social on why we need to stop the super-rich from buying access to power.
Read the full piece ⤵️
A powerful intervention from @patmillsuk.bsky.social on why we need to stop the super-rich from buying access to power.
Read the full piece ⤵️
NEW BLOGPOST: "Cambridge Ahead slams transport shambles" cambridgetownowl.com/2026/02/18/c... So I stayed home and hyperfocussed on the past decade or so of the Cambridge City Deal... 😳 (Three hours later...and this)
Cambridge Ahead slams transport shambles
In an eight-point battering, the influential group strongly criticised the failure of politicians over ‘poor transport options and lack of consensus on future solutions’. How do things …
cambridgetownowl.com
February 18, 2026 at 4:20 PM
NEW BLOGPOST: "Cambridge Ahead slams transport shambles" cambridgetownowl.com/2026/02/18/c... So I stayed home and hyperfocussed on the past decade or so of the Cambridge City Deal... 😳 (Three hours later...and this)
Reposted by Antony Carpen
Glad to see TfL regulation of pedicabs at last both for safety and to avoid exploitation of riders and their passengers.
Safe vehicles, DBS checks and controls on fares will let pedicabs play their part on London's streets.
(I rather like a bit of music though!)
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Safe vehicles, DBS checks and controls on fares will let pedicabs play their part on London's streets.
(I rather like a bit of music though!)
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
London pedicab rules target 'rip-off fares' and loud music
TfL is proposing a list of new requirements for drivers, including regulated fares and safety checks.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 18, 2026 at 12:30 PM
Glad to see TfL regulation of pedicabs at last both for safety and to avoid exploitation of riders and their passengers.
Safe vehicles, DBS checks and controls on fares will let pedicabs play their part on London's streets.
(I rather like a bit of music though!)
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Safe vehicles, DBS checks and controls on fares will let pedicabs play their part on London's streets.
(I rather like a bit of music though!)
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Antony Carpen
Reform has announced that only British nationals will be eligible for benefits.
Millions of taxpayers and their families with no support. Which is outrageous.
Including millions of EU citizens. Which would tear up the current Brexit agreement. Or would EU citizens be exempt?
Pretty chaotic.
Millions of taxpayers and their families with no support. Which is outrageous.
Including millions of EU citizens. Which would tear up the current Brexit agreement. Or would EU citizens be exempt?
Pretty chaotic.
February 18, 2026 at 12:43 PM
Reform has announced that only British nationals will be eligible for benefits.
Millions of taxpayers and their families with no support. Which is outrageous.
Including millions of EU citizens. Which would tear up the current Brexit agreement. Or would EU citizens be exempt?
Pretty chaotic.
Millions of taxpayers and their families with no support. Which is outrageous.
Including millions of EU citizens. Which would tear up the current Brexit agreement. Or would EU citizens be exempt?
Pretty chaotic.
NEW BLOGPOST: "Detailed plans for Cambridge North boxes to be presented to city council" cambridgetownowl.com/2026/02/17/d... Ministers in the outgoing Tory govt approved outline plans on appeal against Environment Agency concerns on water in 2024.
February 18, 2026 at 12:46 PM
NEW BLOGPOST: "Detailed plans for Cambridge North boxes to be presented to city council" cambridgetownowl.com/2026/02/17/d... Ministers in the outgoing Tory govt approved outline plans on appeal against Environment Agency concerns on water in 2024.
Reposted by Antony Carpen
#OTD Lilian Bader was born in 1918. Read Lucia Wallnak’s blog on ‘one of the first Black British women in the Royal Air Force’.
womenshistorynetwork.org/lilian-bader...
#WomensHistory #GenderHist
womenshistorynetwork.org/lilian-bader...
#WomensHistory #GenderHist
Lilian Bader: one of the first Black British women in the Royal Air Force by Lucia Wallbank
In 1990, a group of African and Caribbean ex-service personnel appeared on an episode of the BBC television show ‘Hear-Say’. One woman explained why Britain’s Black citizens chose to take up arms i…
womenshistorynetwork.org
February 18, 2026 at 12:12 PM
#OTD Lilian Bader was born in 1918. Read Lucia Wallnak’s blog on ‘one of the first Black British women in the Royal Air Force’.
womenshistorynetwork.org/lilian-bader...
#WomensHistory #GenderHist
womenshistorynetwork.org/lilian-bader...
#WomensHistory #GenderHist
Reposted by Antony Carpen
On Wednesday at 7pm I'll be joined by the Green Party leader @ZackPolanski for an hour long phone-in.
February 16, 2026 at 10:00 AM
On Wednesday at 7pm I'll be joined by the Green Party leader @ZackPolanski for an hour long phone-in.
The very visible potholes and empty shop units in town centres vs the extreme wealth inequalities paraded in the A-list celebrity & sports press through to publicity on sci-tech & property booms are also hard for politicians to avoid. The inequalities are right in front of them.
There is a difference between rhetorical focus and actual government focus and most people can tell the difference
February 18, 2026 at 12:15 PM
The very visible potholes and empty shop units in town centres vs the extreme wealth inequalities paraded in the A-list celebrity & sports press through to publicity on sci-tech & property booms are also hard for politicians to avoid. The inequalities are right in front of them.
Reposted by Antony Carpen
The thing about promising things like "levelling up" is that if you don't actually follow through (and the government didn't) then voters tend to get more nihilistic than if you hadn't bothered
It’s now quite hard to sustain that ex-mining, pro-Brexit, Labour-to-Reform swing seats (via levelling up) have been overlooked or forgotten by Westminster. They’ve been the axis of politics 15 years. Why it hasn’t worked is the question
This is fine as a snapshot of how things are in the place, but...what do we do?
Whatever it is will almost certainly need spending not tax cuts.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Whatever it is will almost certainly need spending not tax cuts.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
February 18, 2026 at 10:19 AM
The thing about promising things like "levelling up" is that if you don't actually follow through (and the government didn't) then voters tend to get more nihilistic than if you hadn't bothered
Reposted by Antony Carpen
This is actually interesting disclosure, because it makes explicit what a lot of commentators think: that all politics is about orientating yourself relationally with/ against your nearest opponent, rather than having a plan or vision or even a reliable set of values of your own
The article Danny should have written if he wasn’t desperately trying to cope with the extinction of the Tory Party;
“Kemi Badenoch appears to have no view on where her party should stand in relation to Labour or Reform.
“What is the point of the Tory party anymore?”
“Kemi Badenoch appears to have no view on where her party should stand in relation to Labour or Reform.
“What is the point of the Tory party anymore?”
'Ed Davey appears to have no view on where his party should stand in relation to Labour, Tories, Greens or Reform'
February 18, 2026 at 12:09 PM
This is actually interesting disclosure, because it makes explicit what a lot of commentators think: that all politics is about orientating yourself relationally with/ against your nearest opponent, rather than having a plan or vision or even a reliable set of values of your own
Reposted by Antony Carpen
The article Danny should have written if he wasn’t desperately trying to cope with the extinction of the Tory Party;
“Kemi Badenoch appears to have no view on where her party should stand in relation to Labour or Reform.
“What is the point of the Tory party anymore?”
“Kemi Badenoch appears to have no view on where her party should stand in relation to Labour or Reform.
“What is the point of the Tory party anymore?”
'Ed Davey appears to have no view on where his party should stand in relation to Labour, Tories, Greens or Reform'
The Lib Dems have lost all sense of direction
The Lib Dems have lost all sense of direction
www.thetimes.com
February 18, 2026 at 9:40 AM
The article Danny should have written if he wasn’t desperately trying to cope with the extinction of the Tory Party;
“Kemi Badenoch appears to have no view on where her party should stand in relation to Labour or Reform.
“What is the point of the Tory party anymore?”
“Kemi Badenoch appears to have no view on where her party should stand in relation to Labour or Reform.
“What is the point of the Tory party anymore?”
Reposted by Antony Carpen
Malaysia has blocked 200 tonnes of illegally shipped e-waste — a stark reminder that the so-called circular economy is still a distant goal.
There is no “away”. Our waste ends up somewhere — too often poisoning communities in the Global South. Producers must be held responsible.
#CircularEconomy
There is no “away”. Our waste ends up somewhere — too often poisoning communities in the Global South. Producers must be held responsible.
#CircularEconomy
February 18, 2026 at 11:01 AM
Malaysia has blocked 200 tonnes of illegally shipped e-waste — a stark reminder that the so-called circular economy is still a distant goal.
There is no “away”. Our waste ends up somewhere — too often poisoning communities in the Global South. Producers must be held responsible.
#CircularEconomy
There is no “away”. Our waste ends up somewhere — too often poisoning communities in the Global South. Producers must be held responsible.
#CircularEconomy
Now that Andrew is technically no longer a Royal, does that mean the Royal Family exemption no longer applies? 👀
I have tabled a motion in parliament, calling on Buckingham Palace to publish all communication which references the relationship between Jeffrey Epstein and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
Statements of support for victims of Epstein’s abuse are insufficient if crucial information is still covered up.
Statements of support for victims of Epstein’s abuse are insufficient if crucial information is still covered up.
February 18, 2026 at 10:54 AM
Now that Andrew is technically no longer a Royal, does that mean the Royal Family exemption no longer applies? 👀
Reposted by Antony Carpen
A liking for exotic coffee isn't a class signal in the UK. However, *thinking* that working class people prefer plain boring coffee is a very strong indicator that the speaker is upper middle class. No-one who actually has working class friends could be so deluded.
Please pray for Matthew. He went into a Greggs and the staff held him down and forced him to drink a woke beverage.
February 18, 2026 at 9:56 AM
A liking for exotic coffee isn't a class signal in the UK. However, *thinking* that working class people prefer plain boring coffee is a very strong indicator that the speaker is upper middle class. No-one who actually has working class friends could be so deluded.
Big revenues for chip-maker ARM. You can catch a bus in the opposite side of this potholed-road and in a straight line it’ll take you to the stop outside their HQ. Successive Treasury Ministers won’t let #Localgov tax the huge profits & excess wealth so Cambridge has private wealth & public squalor.
February 18, 2026 at 10:42 AM
Big revenues for chip-maker ARM. You can catch a bus in the opposite side of this potholed-road and in a straight line it’ll take you to the stop outside their HQ. Successive Treasury Ministers won’t let #Localgov tax the huge profits & excess wealth so Cambridge has private wealth & public squalor.
When will Treasury ministers get on with overhauling the broken system of council taxes & business rates? This was only meant to be a temporary replacement for the Poll Tax / Community Charge. Hence rates indexed to house prices in 1991. archive.org/details/9301... explains.
February 18, 2026 at 10:36 AM
When will Treasury ministers get on with overhauling the broken system of council taxes & business rates? This was only meant to be a temporary replacement for the Poll Tax / Community Charge. Hence rates indexed to house prices in 1991. archive.org/details/9301... explains.
Reposted by Antony Carpen
Now that elections are back on, there needs to be clarity around the exceptional circumstances where elections may be postponed in future. Democracy isn't an option extra for local government. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Councils face 'uphill struggle' after elections delay U-turn
Thirty councils across England now have to organise local polls after the government abandoned plans to delay.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 18, 2026 at 10:19 AM
Now that elections are back on, there needs to be clarity around the exceptional circumstances where elections may be postponed in future. Democracy isn't an option extra for local government. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Antony Carpen
They were sitting as various independents - we had Independent Group and Independent Reformers groups at KCC - after being kicked out of Reform. Burns came directly from Reform.
February 18, 2026 at 7:29 AM
They were sitting as various independents - we had Independent Group and Independent Reformers groups at KCC - after being kicked out of Reform. Burns came directly from Reform.
Reposted by Antony Carpen
The basic line between Restore Britain and Reform UK is simple: Restore is openly racist, Reform veils its racism.
Even the BNP wasn't as openly racist as Restore; for them to have Parliamentary and significant local govt representation feels a Rubicon crossed.
Even the BNP wasn't as openly racist as Restore; for them to have Parliamentary and significant local govt representation feels a Rubicon crossed.
Kent County Council latest:
Seven KCC councillors have defected to Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain tonight.
They are Paul Thomas, Brian Black, Oliver Bradshaw, Maxine Fothergill, Isabella Kemp, Robert Ford, and Dean Burns.
Most had already been kicked out of Reform, with the exception of Burns.
Seven KCC councillors have defected to Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain tonight.
They are Paul Thomas, Brian Black, Oliver Bradshaw, Maxine Fothergill, Isabella Kemp, Robert Ford, and Dean Burns.
Most had already been kicked out of Reform, with the exception of Burns.
February 18, 2026 at 10:17 AM
The basic line between Restore Britain and Reform UK is simple: Restore is openly racist, Reform veils its racism.
Even the BNP wasn't as openly racist as Restore; for them to have Parliamentary and significant local govt representation feels a Rubicon crossed.
Even the BNP wasn't as openly racist as Restore; for them to have Parliamentary and significant local govt representation feels a Rubicon crossed.
NEW BLOGPOST: Brookgate are back next week with their detailed plans of their Tory-minister-approved “Great Wall of North East Cambridge” of 2024 cambridgetownowl.com/2026/02/17/d... But Anglian Water’s policy change remains a big barrier
Detailed plans for Cambridge North boxes to be presented to city council
The Cambridge North planning application – outline permission for which was controversially granted on appeal by ministers in the dying days of the Conservative Government in 2024, is back wi…
cambridgetownowl.com
February 18, 2026 at 7:35 AM
NEW BLOGPOST: Brookgate are back next week with their detailed plans of their Tory-minister-approved “Great Wall of North East Cambridge” of 2024 cambridgetownowl.com/2026/02/17/d... But Anglian Water’s policy change remains a big barrier