Phil Rodgers
@philrodgers.co.uk
Well I thought it was interesting. Mostly about Cambridge. [email protected] / https://linktr.ee/philrodgers
Fairly small increases are planned for several of the city's off-street car parks, though there are bigger increases at Queen Anne Terrace, Castle Hill, Gwydir St, and Cherry Hinton Hall.
January 19, 2026 at 10:28 PM
Fairly small increases are planned for several of the city's off-street car parks, though there are bigger increases at Queen Anne Terrace, Castle Hill, Gwydir St, and Cherry Hinton Hall.
On the bright side for the council, it is getting a useful chunk of income from a new scheme charging packaging producers for recycling costs, and from higher than expected car park income.
January 19, 2026 at 10:17 PM
On the bright side for the council, it is getting a useful chunk of income from a new scheme charging packaging producers for recycling costs, and from higher than expected car park income.
A couple of expensive items in the budget relate to commercial rents from Lion Yard falling by more than half, and the apparent need to demolish Orwell House and Orwell Furlong, even though the plan to move the sewage works is no longer going ahead.
January 19, 2026 at 10:11 PM
A couple of expensive items in the budget relate to commercial rents from Lion Yard falling by more than half, and the apparent need to demolish Orwell House and Orwell Furlong, even though the plan to move the sewage works is no longer going ahead.
The budget includes various council events: the Out of the Ordinary Festival, Fireworks Night, Mayor's Day Out, Music in the Parks and the new-format Folk Festival. There is no return for the Big Weekend.
January 19, 2026 at 10:07 PM
The budget includes various council events: the Out of the Ordinary Festival, Fireworks Night, Mayor's Day Out, Music in the Parks and the new-format Folk Festival. There is no return for the Big Weekend.
The City Council's (relatively small) share of the council tax will be increased by 2.99% next year democracy.cambridge.gov.uk/documents/s7... (page 77)
January 19, 2026 at 10:01 PM
The City Council's (relatively small) share of the council tax will be increased by 2.99% next year democracy.cambridge.gov.uk/documents/s7... (page 77)
Council rents are to increase by 4.8%, nearly twice as much as last year.
January 19, 2026 at 9:52 PM
Council rents are to increase by 4.8%, nearly twice as much as last year.
Cambridge City Council is to reverse its widely-criticised decision to close the public toilets at Quayside democracy.cambridge.gov.uk/documents/s7... (page 11)
January 19, 2026 at 9:49 PM
Cambridge City Council is to reverse its widely-criticised decision to close the public toilets at Quayside democracy.cambridge.gov.uk/documents/s7... (page 11)
Your Party continues to do what it’s best at.
January 19, 2026 at 4:48 PM
Your Party continues to do what it’s best at.
A glossy A3 leaflet arrives from Arbury Liberal Democrats, with lots of local content promoting Fionna Tod, who is clearly their candidate for the May elections. Arbury has been a safe seat for Labour for many years, but perhaps the Lib Dems are feeling optimistic this year.
January 17, 2026 at 2:18 PM
A glossy A3 leaflet arrives from Arbury Liberal Democrats, with lots of local content promoting Fionna Tod, who is clearly their candidate for the May elections. Arbury has been a safe seat for Labour for many years, but perhaps the Lib Dems are feeling optimistic this year.
Thanks to Fenland District Council leader Chris Boden for pointing out this written answer to me. Cllr Boden is firmly opposed to any cancellation or postponement of elections in Fenland.
January 17, 2026 at 12:31 PM
Thanks to Fenland District Council leader Chris Boden for pointing out this written answer to me. Cllr Boden is firmly opposed to any cancellation or postponement of elections in Fenland.
On Thursday a Parliamentary written answer from Alison McGovern on council reorganisation said "On the most ambitious timelines, elections to new unitary councils could take place in May 2027" - so it sounds like they might well be later than this. questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-ques...
January 17, 2026 at 12:31 PM
On Thursday a Parliamentary written answer from Alison McGovern on council reorganisation said "On the most ambitious timelines, elections to new unitary councils could take place in May 2027" - so it sounds like they might well be later than this. questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-ques...
The picture isn't much better for B and C roads - Cambridgeshire scores 38.5/100, putting it in 136th place out of 154 authorities.
January 11, 2026 at 1:25 PM
The picture isn't much better for B and C roads - Cambridgeshire scores 38.5/100, putting it in 136th place out of 154 authorities.
But digging in to the data lets us see more details of how Cambridgeshire's roads compare to other local highway authorities - and it has to be said, the answer is "not very well". The rating for Cambridgeshire A roads is 61/100, putting it in 138th place out of 154 authorities.
January 11, 2026 at 1:25 PM
But digging in to the data lets us see more details of how Cambridgeshire's roads compare to other local highway authorities - and it has to be said, the answer is "not very well". The rating for Cambridgeshire A roads is 61/100, putting it in 138th place out of 154 authorities.
The government has launched a new road maintenance rating system, scoring each of 154 local highway authorities on how well it is maintaining the roads. Like many others, Cambridgeshire has an "amber" rating. maps.dft.gov.uk/local-road-m...
January 11, 2026 at 1:25 PM
The government has launched a new road maintenance rating system, scoring each of 154 local highway authorities on how well it is maintaining the roads. Like many others, Cambridgeshire has an "amber" rating. maps.dft.gov.uk/local-road-m...
Notice at Abingdon lock.
January 10, 2026 at 11:33 AM
Notice at Abingdon lock.
However, it's quite a different picture from the ElectionMaps Nowcast, which currently projects three Lib Dem holds, Reform gaining only NE and NW Cambs, the Conservatives holding Huntingdon and even retaking Peterborough, and the Greens capturing Cambridge.
January 9, 2026 at 4:32 PM
However, it's quite a different picture from the ElectionMaps Nowcast, which currently projects three Lib Dem holds, Reform gaining only NE and NW Cambs, the Conservatives holding Huntingdon and even retaking Peterborough, and the Greens capturing Cambridge.
Here are the Cambridgeshire seat projections from the recent More in Common MRP poll, which shows Reform UK sweeping almost all before them to take six of the county's eight seats. The only survivors of the cyan tsunami are the Lib Dems in South Cambs and Labour in Cambridge.
January 9, 2026 at 4:32 PM
Here are the Cambridgeshire seat projections from the recent More in Common MRP poll, which shows Reform UK sweeping almost all before them to take six of the county's eight seats. The only survivors of the cyan tsunami are the Lib Dems in South Cambs and Labour in Cambridge.
A survey from YouGov finds that people in Cambridge and South Cambs think that they live in the south of England, while the rest of the county identifies with neither the north nor the south. yougov.co.uk/society/arti...
January 9, 2026 at 3:15 PM
A survey from YouGov finds that people in Cambridge and South Cambs think that they live in the south of England, while the rest of the county identifies with neither the north nor the south. yougov.co.uk/society/arti...
Cambridge looks set to escape the worst of #StormGoretti as a rare red weather warning is issued for parts of Cornwall.
January 8, 2026 at 3:03 PM
Cambridge looks set to escape the worst of #StormGoretti as a rare red weather warning is issued for parts of Cornwall.
Confirmation from Cambridge City Council that it wants the May elections to go ahead. cambridge.gov.uk/news/2026/01...
January 8, 2026 at 2:46 PM
Confirmation from Cambridge City Council that it wants the May elections to go ahead. cambridge.gov.uk/news/2026/01...
Every notice tells a story.
January 3, 2026 at 7:17 PM
Every notice tells a story.
Hang on to the yellow snow jokes, as we are a little way outside the weather warning area for Friday.
December 31, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Hang on to the yellow snow jokes, as we are a little way outside the weather warning area for Friday.
Cambridge has not in fact had an extra MP while nobody was looking. Tristram Hunt was born in Cambridge but was MP for Stoke on Trent Central. www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/uk-worl...
December 29, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Cambridge has not in fact had an extra MP while nobody was looking. Tristram Hunt was born in Cambridge but was MP for Stoke on Trent Central. www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/uk-worl...
Opinion poll trends from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion... - Labour's slide continues; the Conservatives recover a little ground from Reform UK, but still lag well behind; the Greens overtake the Lib Dems in fourth.
December 28, 2025 at 10:32 AM
Opinion poll trends from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion... - Labour's slide continues; the Conservatives recover a little ground from Reform UK, but still lag well behind; the Greens overtake the Lib Dems in fourth.