Tag: Mayor’s blog
Mayor’s Blog: Seasons Greetings
For me, 2021 has been a year like no other. Looking back over the past 12 months, I occasionally have to pinch myself. It sometimes feels hard to believe how much has changed whilst recalling who I’ve met and where I’ve been, cramming in a lifetime of amazing personal experiences. Becoming the mayor of Cambridgeshire […]
Find out more
Mayor’s Blog: Platform for the Future
They say that to travel hopefully is better than to arrive but this week, as I joined the happy crowd alighting at Soham’s shiny new station, I was aware that it really is a destination in itself – as well as a waypoint in the Combined Authority’s journey to get us all connected, by one means or another. I […]
Find out more
Message from the Mayor: Covid 19 Update
As you may have heard, the Government has confirmed new precautions following the emergence of the Omicron variant of Covid 19 here in the UK. From 4am this morning, Tuesday 30 November, face-coverings became compulsory in shops and in places like banks, post offices and hairdressers, as well as on public transport, unless you are exempted. The booster programme has also been extended to all 18-39 year-olds, and the time between the second […]
Find out more
Mayor’s Blog: Nature for nurture
As summer draws to a close and we begin to see the first signs of autumn, I am again taken back by the natural beauty of a region that I have proudly come to call home. Having enjoyed a lot of time in the countryside with my children, I am convinced of the significance of […]
Find out more
Mayor welcomes Andy Burnham to Cambridge
On Saturday (17th July) Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Dr Nik Johnson, welcomed Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester to Cambridge to take a sunny tour of the city and to discuss how active travel and bus franchising are playing a role in Mayor Dr Nik Johnson’s transport plans for the region. The tour commenced […]
Find out more
Euros, million-jab June, and pitch-perfect Posh
Freedom Day delayed but we still have the Euros! Even those who don’t love the beautiful game can admire the team spirit, camaraderie, and sheer pride on display in this international sporting extravaganza. Whether school, club or international football, it’s all about co-operation and community and never was this more keenly felt than last Saturday […]
Find out more
Mayor’s Blog: That Was The Week That Was
Harold Wilson famously said a week is a long time in politics – but my first week as Mayor has been all too short. It’s flashed past in a blur of facts and faces, media interviews, meet-and-greets, and the truly exciting detail of planning action for change with my new colleagues in public service at […]
Find out more
Statement from Dr Nik Johnson, Mayor of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough
Dr Nik Johnson, Mayor of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough I am hugely honoured and proud that I have won this election with ‘better politics’. As I said throughout my election campaign, I want to present local politics, and run the Combined Authority, with compassion, cooperation and community for the benefit of a Greater Cambridgeshire. The political […]
Find out moreMayor’s Blog: Eating for England (well, for Cambridgeshire & Peterborough…)
I doubt I’m alone in suspecting that some people are deliberately trying to ‘misunderstand’ the careful balance of Covid-beating initiatives being put forward by the government and health chiefs – on the one hand, to jumpstart the economy and secure jobs, on the other, to protect life and suppress the spread of this dangerous virus. […]
Find out moreMayor’s Blog: Vision 2020: No Generation Lost
When Covid struck this country back in the spring and we went into lockdown, we had to put our lifestyles and livelihoods on hold to protect our lives. Lockdown became shutdown. But most of us knew that staying cocooned would be unsustainable once the first onslaught of the virus had abated. Inch by inch, we’ve […]
Find out more
Mayor’s Blog: Showing Covid a Clean Pair of Wheels…
One of the greatest conveniences of the modern world is public transport – and making it more available, more accessible, more reliable, more climate-friendly, more joined-up, and more affordable is high on my agenda as leader of the Combined Authority. Disappointing, then, that one of many casualties of Covid-19 is actually the public’s use of […]
Find out moreMayor’s Blog: University of the Future Makes History in Peterborough
Being part of history while the ink’s still wet – or part of a future still unwritten? It felt like both as we launched the Combined Authority’s new academic partnership with Anglia Ruskin for our trailblazing university in Peterborough. It’s a UK first, and being in at the start was exhilarating and humbling. Citizens, academics, the universities minister, and local councillors and MPs gathered to celebrate the birth of something that will outlast us all, make dreams come true, and shape thousands of lives for generations to come. And while setting up a future-now university – in a city with […]
Find out moreMayor’s Blog: Propping up the Local Economy – at the Pub
I had months to plan Saturday’s trip to my local and I thoroughly enjoyed it, socially distanced, and having a long-awaited catch-up with my pals. And I enjoyed my haircut, in preparation for a visit to Cambridge later today to meet shoppers and traders to find out how it’s all going for them. Watch this […]
Find out moreMayor’s Blog: Keeping Everyone Connected
If Covid has rammed home one thing, it’s that connectivity counts. If you’re in a mobile ‘notspot’ with faltering roads, no railway, crank-up chunternet, and only a big East Anglian sky where the twittersphere should be, you can feel pretty cut off. LinkedIn? Left out, more like. That’s why I’m pushing for superfast and inclusive […]
Find out moreMayor’s Blog: Lockdown Lift-Off!
Remember Narnia, where it was always winter and never Christmas? Then the White Witch was defeated and the whole world bustled back to life, full of the joys of spring. That’s how yesterday’s reawakening of our high streets felt, after twelve ghost-town weeks of lockdown. It felt like the first day of the rest of […]
Find out moreMayor’s Blog: The Home Front
Blackout, lockdown. I won’t be alone in seeing parallels between the war in Europe that ended this week 75 years ago and the national emergency we’re facing today – a common enemy, a community-first attitude, compliance with irksome but life-saving rules, death and self-sacrifice on all Fronts, and many heroes emerging. The Home Front of […]
Find out moreKeep Calm and…Qualify
People in our region are incredibly versatile in making the best of whatever situation they find themselves in. If life gives them lemons, they don’t get sour, they fix a G&T – and then have a party. But I’m still impressed at how quickly they’ve clicked into life online, not just using digital to defy […]
Find out moreMayor’s Blog: Keep Calm and…..Qualify
People in our region are incredibly versatile in making the best of whatever situation they find themselves in. If life gives them lemons, they don’t get sour, they fix a G&T – and then have a party. But I’m still impressed at how quickly they’ve clicked into life online, not just using digital to defy […]
Find out moreFools Rush In
It’s disappointing that we must grit our teeth for a few more weeks in solitary, but we’re using that time well to make plans for the Recovery. We can’t hunker down forever. We need to kickstart our lives, and soon. There’s mounting urgency to reopen Britain for business, bringing people out of Lockdown and back […]
Find out moreMayor’s Blog: Fools Rush Out
It’s disappointing that we must grit our teeth for a few more weeks in solitary, but we’re using that time well to make plans for the Recovery. We can’t hunker down forever. We need to kickstart our lives, and soon. There’s mounting urgency to reopen Britain for business, bringing people out of Lockdown and back […]
Find out moreMayor’s Blog: Locked Down But Logging On
As Lockdown is extended for another three weeks, I can’t help reflecting on what an incredible game-changer digital connectivity has been during these lonely and unsettling days. Suddenly, we’re living our lives online – our democratic processes, our business meetings, our socialising, our teaching and learning, our buying and selling, our comforting and counselling – […]
Find out moreLife v Lifestyle
They used to say that a week is a long time in politics, but this April, none of us can take a day for granted. Every hour is a journey into the unknown for every person, in every walk of life. Life. That’s the issue. A few months ago, we’d little have dreamed that we’d […]
Find out moreMayor’s Blog: Life v Lifestyle
They used to say that a week is a long time in politics, but this April, none of us can take a day for granted. Every hour is a journey into the unknown for every person, in every walk of life. Life. That’s the issue. A few months ago, we’d little have dreamed that we’d […]
Find out moreMayor’s Blog: Home Alone – Together
Today we face an unexpected new future and, in many ways, we all have to face it alone. It’s up to every one of us to do our best to keep safe for our loved ones, for our neighbours, for our community, for our country, and for ourselves. But we don’t have to do it […]
Find out moreMAYOR’S BLOG: Open for Business – but not Business as Usual
Sign up for business updates from the Combined Authority here. The ‘Combined Authority’ is just that. It brings people together and joins the region up to create stronger, unified action. And right now, every part of our community needs to join forces to push back against the virus that threatens our communities, our very lives. […]
Find out more