Quite remarkable that the parliamentary expenses furore has lead to a call for by all party leaders for a root and branch reform of democracy.  What is the connection?  So a number of MPs have stretched the expenses system which was designed to pay MPs without them having to show how much we pay them.  Some of them have stretched it so far that we could see them being hauled up for fraud.  Demote them, remove them and replace the rules with something more transparent.  Job done?

Apparently not.  We now need to “redistribute power from the powerful to the powerless.”  Another good Cameron slogan, but what does it mean?  And what does it have to do with the expenses scandal?  We now need to “consider anything that makes the political elite accountable to citizens.”  Well there’s a thing, Gordon.  The Freedom of Information Act - elections?  And who is in the political elite?  MPs who are whipped into obedience or party paymasters?

Liberal Democrats have long been in the forefront of devolution, voting reform, Freedom of Information applied to MPs and citizen involvement.  But it’s quite likely that more people are interested in the Premiership than politics.  Perhaps Nick Clegg has put it best:  

“We have a choice in this crisis. We can patch up the obviously rotten parts of our democracy like expenses and pretend that’s enough. Or we can choose to build a new democracy from scratch, with new rules for everything and new hope for the future. I know which side the Liberal Democrats are on.”

After the success in Whittlesford parish councillors filling the gap on Duxford’s Moorfield road, road markings remain in the spotlight.

The white and yellow lines around Junction 10 of the M11 are wearing out.  County Highways have them on their list for refurbishment.  But because the job is done by outside contractors - and will be so expensive to complete - there is no scheduled date.

If you’re passing you will see that outside the main entrance to the Imperial War Museum there is a mess of road chippings and muck.  Not a great advertisement for one of the region’s most important atttractions.  It’s one of the oddities that the County is responsible for maintaining the roads but South Cambs District Council is responsible for keeping them clean.  But not in the middle of the road.  The District only does the gutters, officially known as “channels”.

So I’ve asked County Highways to tidy the place up.  They’ll need to anyway before the lines are refurbished. 

Progress is being made at the station.  I last reported on 22nd April.

Since then the County has agreed in principle to pay £2,000 for a cycle wheeling channel over the station bridge.  That should help cyclists who use the station and those who use Station Road to avoid the A505.

New ticket machines are being designed to make them even more vandal-proof.  There has been a spate of attacks on ticket machines up and down the line.  British Transport Police are moving into Hackney Downs station and it is hoped that some of their surveillance will help on our part of the railway.

Area Manager Alan Neville is keen to brighten up the station.  Whittlsford Garden Club are to be invited to “adopt” the garden areas.  The Club already does an excelent job at Whittlesford’s Memorial Hall and behind the prefab at the Imperial War Museum.  Maybe a recruiting drive…