Yes! It finally happened. After this local resident left a comment underneath a news story, the council have announced that they’re changing their entire policy direction. After years of people saying it couldn’t be done, the critics are now having to rewrite the rulebooks, as this story turns everything we thought we knew on our heads.

When Cambridge City Council introduced plans to introduce an access charge to central roads in the Romsey area in order to help curb congestion at peak times, one man took a stand. Mr John Pevensey was sick of democratically elected officials making decisions on behalf of local people, and he just had to say something.

In a statement to cookywook’s blog, Mr Pevensey said: “Look, I’m all for cutting emissions, but I don’t understand why the council think this is a good idea at all. I don’t have access to any of the facts, studies, or expert opinion that the council does – but I do have a car. And I like to drive that car wherever I want, even if I don’t need to. That’s my right, right?”

He continued: “I pay my council tax just like everyone else. That means I’m literally paying the wages of the council. Which means they literally work for me. Which means they’re not allowed to do anything I don’t like. That’s how the system works.”

But what was the comment that changed everything? Underneath the article on the Cambridge News website, Mr Pevensey wrote:

ife had it wiv the concil (more like CLOWNCIL) tellin us how 2 live are lives. they shud NOT bring in this plan. its a bad plann! i h8 it so much.

The quote sent shockwaves through the city council halls. One city councillor is reportedly still off sick after apparently having become violently ill on reading  it. Needless to say, the council is having to rethink its entire strategy.

An inside source told us, “it’s just…. we’ve never seen anything like this. It’s chaos, just pure chaos. How could we carry on after a comment like that? It’s too much.”

The withdrawal of the policy is expected to cost thousands of pounds in fees,  but the good news is that Mr Pevensey is once again free to drive his car down the main road during rush hour. But he’s keen to not let the power go to his head. “I’m no hero,” he said, “I’m just a man with a keyboard who took a stand.”

Mr Pevensey is 40 years old, unmarried, and lives with his mother.