Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Aidan Van de Weyer has pledged his unconditional support for the interim recommendations of the Independent Commission on Climate and has urged the other mayoral candidates to do this same.

“Baroness Brown’s report makes clear the gravity of the crisis that we are facing,” says Aidan. “Tackling climate change needs rapid action across a wide range of areas. The consequences of further delay in implementing a rapid plan will be catastrophic.

“The Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, with the largest electoral mandate in this area, must show leadership on climate change and wholeheartedly support these ambitious aims.

“Every decision and every policy that the Combined Authority makes should show how it maximises its contribution to reducing carbon emissions and protects residents from the damaging impacts of climate change. The current mayor seems to think that relying on the staid formulas provided by central government is enough – it just isn’t.

“The report recommends prioritising sustainable travel over road schemes when considering new investments. The mayor has shown over the last four years that he is most interested in building new roads regardless of the environmental consequences. This has to change.

“The commission has put a particular focus on the emissions from the peatlands of the Fens. Through a ‘whole farm’ approach, we can achieve both emissions reduction and biodiversity enhancement in the Fens. But this requires us to working closely with farmers so that we can continue to produce food for the nation.

“I fear that Mayor James Palmer just does not grasp the urgency of the situation. He is stalling when it is time for action. Adding caveats to the recommendations will send all the wrong signals to those who also need to up their game. He is once again showing that he fails when it really matters.

“Of course, the Mayor can’t single-handedly do all these things. But that is one of the main problems with tackling climate change: everyone has to be striving for the same goals for us to succeed.

“What is needed from the Mayor and other politicians is clear leadership on this issue. We must raise expectations about what we can do, but also what others can do. And then everyone must be held to account for how well they are meeting the milestones.

“If elected on May 6, I will immediately adopt these recommendations in full, without caveats or quibbles, and get on with implementing them.”

A young woman has been abducted and brutally killed. The man who has been charged with her murder is a Metropolitan Police officer.

In response to this event it has been distressing to read the vast and growing encyclopaedia on social media of women’s lived experience of daily and unremitting fear and intimidation by men, and there is a growing feeling among many women that We Have Put Up With This Sort Of Thing For Far Too Long. 

A number of women wanted to hold a peaceful and Covid-safe vigil for Sarah Everard at Clapham Common, and—as I understand it—were making good progress negotiating with the local force at Lambeth toward that end. Until Enter The Metropolitan Police, at which point the whole event turned confrontational.

When the women gathered, it appears that the Metropolitan Police (one of whose colleagues has been charged with the murder in question, let us remember) ‘kettled’ the women towards the bandstand, prevented any woman speaking from the bandstand, and behaved aggressively and violently as we saw.

The Metropolitan Police culture has long been regarded as in need of review. It is led by Cressida Dick, whose previous professional high point was the shooting of an innocent man, Jean Charles de Menezes, from which frankly her career should never have been allowed to recover. Her sex, and her sexual orientation, do not give her a free pass to avoid scrutiny. She has presided over a quite shocking piece of policing and should resign.

Cressida Dick reports to the Home Secretary, Priti Patel, who if she had any shred of decency would also resign. Instead, Patel and Boris Johnson are trying to roll the boulder back down the hill towards the police—but of course will do nothing other than mouth empty words about Lessons Needing To Be Learned as they have been doing for the whole of yesterday.

None of this is to cast any aspersions on individual police officers who like other uniformed public servants do an immensely difficult job every single working day. It’s about the culture and the leadership—the sort of thing for which, in previous and more honourable days, those at the top of the tree would have taken responsibility.

Meanwhile to put the cherry on top of all this, today is the day that Priti Patel is introducing in Parliament a Bill to remove the right of peaceful protest in all situations, not just for Covid but for life.

The Bill will require protests not to ‘impact’ anyone (an astonishingly low bar); will prosecute participants on the basis that they ‘ought to know’ of restrictions on the day even if they have not been advised of them; will extend restrictions on protests to include single-person protests (a piece of law specifically designed to silence one individual, the anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray); will extend the penalty for damaging statues to ten years’ imprisonment (compare that to the sentences meted out to people who commit violent assaults on actual human beings); and will give Priti Patel herself power to change the meaning of ‘serious disruption’ in relation to protests, without scrutiny by Parliament.

The launch of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Climate Commission’s interim report on Monday 15 January was nothing if not thought-provoking.

Most of our high levels of carbon emissions are transport-related, we were told, making it all the more important to get a collective grip of the transport agenda.

Because the stakes are high.

We have just six years left to take some serious remedial action, warns the Commission.

There are multiple benefits to tackling climate change: from cleaner air to healthier homes, and better public transport to good jobs in the growing green economy. But it’s a huge task, with significant investment needed. And behaviour change will be needed for around 60 per cent of the required reduction in carbon emissions.

The Commission’s first full report will be published in September, including

• The role of nature
• Adaptation
• Water
• Waste
• Business and industry
• Innovation
• Ensuring a just transition

The initial report can be found at https://cambridgeshirepeterborough-ca-gov-uk-6985942.hs-sites.com/cpicc-initial-report

The following planning application in the Sutton division has been published by East Cambridgeshire District Council.

21/00364/FUL
Mepal
Holne House Chatteris Road Mepal
Proposed demolition of existing extension / outbuildings and erection of two storey rear extension and side porch.

Further information can be found on the district council’s planning pages. If you would like to respond formally to the council about any planning application, comments should be addressed to the district council and not to me.  Comments may be made

• online using the council’s public access web page (the link above);
• by email to plservices@eastcambs.gov.uk;
• or by post to the Planning Department, The Grange, Nutholt Lane, Ely, CB7 4EE.

Ministers have withdrawn £45M of the £100M the Government promised to Cambridgeshire and Peterborough following concerns about insufficient delivery progress and below-expectations value for money under Mayor James Palmer.

The £100M programme for housing in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough (except Cambridge) is one of the central planks of the 2016 ‘devolution deal’ between the Government and the local authorities in the area.

Local Government Minister Luke Hall MP writes:

“I have concluded that the programme has made insufficient delivery progress and that the value for money being achieved is below our expectations. I will not be extending the timeframe or continuing to fund the programme on its current basis.

However, rather than closing the programme at this point, I remain committed to enabling investment in schemes that will deliver further affordable housing, at pace, in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

I have confirmed to Mayor Palmer that the Department will, subject to further work on the details, consider making further funding available to CPCA for the delivery of affordable housing by 31 March 2022.”

Mayor Palmer’s challenger for the Mayoralty in the forthcoming elections, Lib Dem Aidan Van de Weyer, has responded:

“This is disastrous news for the people of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

“As a result of Palmer’s incompetence and arrogance, hundreds of desperately needed affordable houses will now not get built. The housing programme is now at an end and several schemes than had been approved – and that residents were looking forward to – will have the rug pulled from under them.

“Peterborough will be particularly impacted as 215 of the affordable houses affected are in the city.

“The housing money devolved to the Mayor was not new money, but was going to be invested by the government through Homes England into the area. So we are now actually worse off because of Palmer’s tenure as Mayor than if he had never been elected.

“Palmer should have been focusing on getting the maximum benefit for our residents, not spending time on pet projects like the £100,000 houses, which were never going to contribute to solving the housing crisis.

“It is clear that the government simply do not trust Palmer to deliver on his promises or to spend tax payers’ money wisely.

“Palmer is the only metro mayor in the country who has had money removed from him by government. He is a national embarrassment. He is dragging the people of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough down with him. He needs to be replaced.”

Cambridgeshire County Council’s highways committee has agreed a new policy on maintaining road verges – and it’s excellent news.

I’ve been pressing the County Council for some time to make it easier for local volunteer groups like the one in Sutton to manage local rural verges and seed them with wild flowers, and asked for this to be included in the Council’s new verge maintenance policy.

The new policy states that the Council will not require an application for a licence before groups can do this. And the Council has now instituted a new verge maintenance programme that brings it into line with the recommendations of nature charity Plantlife.

Volunteers can use the already existing Highways Volunteering forms and once risk assessments have been completed, this will enable them to be covered by CCC insurance whilst working on the public highway of which the verge forms part. Local Highway Officers will be encouraged to promote this scheme through their meetings with Parish Councils, residents’ associations and individuals.

The new system looks far more encouraging and permissive, and I really hope that’s how it works out in practice.

Following the rejection of questions that residents wished to ask at the next County Council meeting, Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats have accused the leadership of the Council of attempting to cover up the findings of the audit investigation into the tenancy of Manor Farm, Girton held by former Tory councillor Roger Hickford.

Brian Milnes, a Lib Dem district councillor for Sawston, which Roger Hickford used to represent on the County Council, said:

“I have been following this issue with great concern for over two years. It has always astonished me that Roger Hickford was appointed to very powerful positions while he was being investigated. He was appointed to the Greater Cambridge Partnership, which controls £500 million of funds for infrastructure investment, and he sat on the Local Outbreak Engagement Board, which oversees the County-wide response to the coronavirus pandemic.

“I want to ask Cllr Steve Count, the Conservative Leader of the County Council, what he knew about the allegations against Roger Hickford and why he made these appointments. It is a basic principle of accountability that our council leaders have to explain their decision to the public. And the best place for that is at a council meeting. Cllr Count has not yet accounted for his actions. He should not appear to be hiding behind legal loopholes to prevent that happening.”

Geoff Seeff, a resident of St Neots, said,

“The Leader of the Council has not yet clearly stated that the report in Manor Farm should be published. Regardless of details of what’s in the report – which we don’t yet know – I’m concerned about the principle of transparency in the way that the leadership of the Council deals with these matter of great public interest.

“If Cllr Count is not willing to answer my question at a council meeting, then I put it to him now: does he or does he not agree that the report should be published? Does he adhere to the principles of openness and accountability that he signed up to when he became a councillor?

“The public has a right to expect better of our representatives. The residents of Cambridgeshire will not let the Tories who are running the County Council in such a disgraceful way off the hook.”

Liberal Democrats Lucy Nethsingha and Aidan Van de Weyer have demanded that Cambridgeshire County Council release the audit report into the tenancy of Manor Farm, Girton, following the decision by the Cambridgeshire County Council Audit & Accounts Committee to publish only one small part of the report.

Aidan Van de Weyer, Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, said:

“This sordid saga should have been coming to an end with the completion of the audit report into the tenancy of Manor Farm, Girton. Instead, the public is being kept in the dark while Tory councillors and their lawyers work out how much they can keep secret.

“Cllr Steve Count, the Tory Leader of the County Council has said that he ‘fully accepts all the findings of the audit, and its recommendations’. Yet he refuses to support the publication of the findings and all the recommendations. It is untenable to selectively refer to parts of a secret report in this way. Cllr Count is making a blatant attempt to influence the opinion of the public before the full facts are known.”

Lucy Nethsingha, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group at Cambridgeshire County Council, said:

“We heard on Friday that members of the audit committee had been told that they had personal liability if they stepped out of line and published any part of the report. The council lawyers should be finding ways of enabling publication, not giving ammunition to those who want to hide this scandal.

“I call on Cllr Count to tell us his side of the story, not hide behind spurious claims of impartiality. He is the Leader. This happened on his watch. The buck stops with him.

“Cllr Count has many questions to answer. What did he know about the award of the tenancy to his Deputy Leader Roger Hickford and when? When did he learn of any of the allegations against Roger Hickford? What action did he take as Leader at the time, especially in relation to the welfare of staff? Why did Cllr Count appoint Roger Hickford to the board of the Greater Cambridge Partnership when the investigation was under way?

“If Cllr Count and Tories on the County Council continue to cover up the findings of the Audit Report, public confidence in the Council’s ability to act fairly and in the interest of all residents will be severely damaged.”

On International Women’s Day, I’d like to say a big personal Thank You to all my women councillor friends and colleagues in my district and county council groups. Here’s to you for all you do!

Cambridgeshire County Council

• Barbara Ashwood
• Anna Bradnam
• Nichola Harrison
• Lucy Nethsingha
• Amanda Taylor
• Susan van de Ven

East Cambridgeshire District Council

• Charlotte Cane
• Victoria Charlesworth
• Alison Whelan
• Christine Whelan

An excellent explanation here from Professor Christina Pagel of Independent SAGE on what might happen with COVID-19 under current Government plans.

The vaccination rollout is going really well (thank you, NHS) uptake is better than expected (well done, everybody), and the vaccines appear to be more effective than at first thought (high five, science). Case numbers are dropping, and lockdown has been helping too.

But, says Professor Pagel, for all to continue to go well, the Government’s current strategy is relying on

• the vaccines doing most of the work to keep cases low as we open up
• being able to open schools up and keep cases reducing (R rate less than 1)
• no new variants popping up that resist the vaccines
• cases getting low everywhere.

Will that work?

Cases are still relatively high. SAGE thinks opening schools all at once, as is happening today in England, is likely to push the R rate over 1 (i.e. cases will rise again). Allowing cases to remain at current levels risks new mutations of the virus taking hold while most of the population is unvaccinated or at best half-vaccinated – and our border controls are nowhere near strict enough. And there are places, largely areas of deprivation, with stubbornly high COVID-19 rates.

According to Professor Pagel, these issues could be solved – with effective test and trace alongside supported isolation, safer workspaces, safer schools, tackling poverty, addressing vaccine hesitancy, and implementing stricter border policy this year.

But without those steps, the Government is putting all its eggs in the basket labelled ‘vaccination’.

• If you’re on Twitter, do follow the excellent Professor Christina Pagel for clear and well-explained commentary on COVID-19 science and policy.