Blog Posts

  • Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government – Eric Pickles

    On 19th May I attended a one to one meeting with Eric Pickles in his offices. I was really pleased to be able to make a mark with the SoS only two days after taking over as the Leader of the Council. I had the standard 30 mins, half of which I used telling him Read more

  • Enterprise

    Cambridgeshire should be the County which is immediately associated with successful business and business innovation. We need to encourage this and make sure everyone knows the County is not only open for business but is a great place to be in business. We are the economic heart of the region. The hi-tech, bio tech and Read more

  • Localism

    Localism and community engagement needs to be at the heart of everything we do. It is all about responding to local needs, wherever possible. It is critical to the success of the council and the success and growth of our communities. Communities should be able to define their own priorities, what is right for them Read more

  • Strong Leadership

    I believe in strong leadership. Leadership to me is about working with and encouraging colleagues to be their best and creating an environment which allows everyone to flourish. We are dealing with unprecedented times in terms of the financial challenges facing the council. Taking £161 million of new savings out of our budget over the Read more

  • Full Council – my new leaders speech

    Mr Chairman, It is with great pride that I’m able to address members for the first time as Leader of the Council. It’s a role I am honoured to take on. And I am under no illusions about how challenging it will be. Mr Chairman, it is true to say that despite all the help, Read more

  • Full Council – 17th May 2011

    The big day had arrived. After having been in the role of leader designate since 15th April, it was with a huge amount of excitement and sense of relief that the day had arrived when I would officially take up the role of Leader of the Council. In the last few weeks I had been Read more