Cllr Dick Cole

"Mebyon Kernow sees the future in black and white” - The Guardian

2012-01-26T17:48:00.001Z

MK has had more positive publicity in recent days. I was featured on Radio 5live and Cllr Loveday Jenkin appeared in a piece on Newsnight Scotland.

The Guardian has also just published an on-line article by Steven Morris titled “Cornish party Mebyon Kernow sees the future in black and white” following interviews with myself, Cllr Loveday Jenkin and Cllr John Rowe in December. It is a positive article, but I really don’t like the accompanying photograph (see above). The article was as follows:

Loveday Jenkin was growing up, the Cornish flag was rarely seen. Now the white cross on a black background is ubiquitous, fluttering outside county hall in Truro and printed on everything from souvenir boxes of fudge to pasty packaging and car bumper stickers.

"I think it shows what a long way we've come in just a few years," says Jenkin, the latest member of Mebyon Kernow (MK) – the Party for Cornwall – to be elected to Cornwall council. "Everyone is so much more aware that we are separate, different, not a part of England and should have the right to govern ourselves."

Scotland has its own parliament, while the assemblies in Wales and Northern Ireland are maturing nicely. And in the far south-west MK is leading the campaign for a referendum on a Cornish Assembly.

It is demanding a meeting with David Cameron and Nick Clegg to ask why a petition of 50,000 names, the equivalent of a tenth of the Cornish adult population, appears to have been ignored. The Welsh nationalist party, Plaid Cymru, has laid down an early-day motion in the Commons supporting the call for devolution.

MK, which has just celebrated its 60th birthday, is beginning to do well in local elections, holding five seats on Cornwall council – four more than Labour. The party hopes that the unpopularity of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition will lead to it taking a leap forward at the next general election, and believes it is starting to attract younger voters disillusioned with the bigger parties.

"Being Cornish is about belonging to the place of Cornwall but also having a particular way of thinking about things," says Jenkin, a biochemist.

"We do things differently. Our culture is different, we have our own language. People ask why I identify myself as Cornish. It's simply because I am Cornish. We have more in common with Brittany and Wales than the south-east of England but we're subsumed into English decision-making."

Cornwall council has been discussing some interesting ideas that would help set the region apart from the rest of the UK. It has approved the idea of having a Cornish bank holiday at a different time to England. It has moved to stop people who have second homes in Cornwall voting there rather than where they live permanently. The possibility of setting its own tax on visitors has also been floated.

But MK wants to go much further. It does not want full independence but a legislative assembly responsible for health, education, training, local government, housing, economic development, transport, energy, law and home affairs, environment, agriculture, forestry and fishing, sports and the arts.

Like Plaid, MK often talks about social justice. Dick Cole, the party's leader who gave up his job as an archaeologist to become a full-time councillor, says that over the past 40 years Cornwall's economy has been fractured.

"Jobs have been lost, centralised out of here," he said. "Cornwall is now one of the worst places for wages and the living costs are getting ever higher. We are one of the most deprived areas and the over-centralised nature of the British state has done us no good."

MK's policies include more affordable housing, "fairer taxation" under which the richer pay more and the poorer less, and – like the Welsh government – pushing for what it sees as an equitable funding deal from Westminster.

The unpopularity of the coalition could be just what MK needs. Cole says that during last year's election campaign, voters told him they wanted to back MK but felt they had to vote Lib Dem to keep the Tories out, or vice versa.

"Then the next thing was we have a Conservative-led coalition. People think they have been sold a pup and are telling us they will vote for us next time." When the Guardian ran its Disunited Kingdom series of articles about devolution, it asked readers to say how they defined themselves in terms of nationality. The Cornish results were dominated by people who preferred to call themselves "other" rather than English or British. They were not given the option of describing themselves as Cornish.

Both Cole and Jenkin say they are Cornish first but British second. "If you do the history, the Celts are the ancient Britons. Being Cornish and British is completely logical," says Cole.

Jenkin points out that there had never been an act of union between Cornwall and England as there was between England and Scotland and England and Wales. She thinks of the monarch as "the queen" rather than "her queen", though MK would be prepared to let her open an assembly building if they get one. Jenkin also believes Prince Charles, the Duke of Cornwall, could do more to help champion the cause of Cornish separatism.

Cole and Jenkin are veteran MK activists but believe a new generation is beginning to take an interest; people such as John Rowe, a 25-year-old MK parish councillor.

Like many young Cornish people, Rowe admits he did not understand his identity until he left his family farm to go to university in Bath. "It may sound trite but I did not realise what Cornwall was all about until I left it," he said.

Rowe noticed not only the cultural differences – the language, the art – but also the economic differences between a relatively wealthy city such as Bath and the former mining town where he grew up, Camborne.

So will he see a Cornish assembly in his political career or even lifetime?

"I feel the tide is turning in our direction," he says. But he concedes that the turn could be slow.

I oppose the sale of the Council Offices in St Austell

2012-01-25T23:55:00.001Z

Today, Cornwall Council’s Cabinet voted to sell the former Restormel Council Offices to a developer, so that they could build yet another supermarket.

I fundamentally disagree with the decision, which I believe is short-sighted and does not make financial sense.

The Council owns significant land in this location and the offices are good. And yet the decision was to sell off three-quarters of the land, knock down perfectly good offices, and use the receipt from the sale of the land to build new (smaller) offices with less car parking, squashed up on the remaining land, with no space for future expansion.

It makes no sense and I will continue to oppose this sale.

We need an accommodation strategy for Cornwall Council that reflects the needs of Cornwall Council – and is not driven by developers and supermarkets.

A bad day and an agenda-rant!

2012-01-25T23:37:00.000Z

This morning, I had car problems. I won’t go into the boring details, but thought it would get sorted and I would be able to get to the Cabinet meeting by ten. This did not prove possible and I dived onto the 597 bus to Truro, knowing I would get there by 11.00.

It was my intention to speak on items relating to the sale of the Restormel Offices (see next post) and Old County Hall in Truro. There were many significant items on the agenda, including the development brief for land to the west of Truro. I knew that if I was there by 11.00, I would be in plenty of time to make my contributions.

I was therefore horrified to arrive to find that both items had been debated and voted through. It turned out that the Leader and some of the Cabinet members were not present at the start of the meeting in order to meet with representatives of the Local Government Chronicle. Something about nominations for awards!

Due to their absence the agenda was rejigged and the most controversial item deferred until later in the meeting – which led directly to me being denied the ability to make the representations that I had wished.

To say that I was angry would be a massive understatement.

For the record and apart from anger at the agenda shift, there were some positive decisions taken at the meeting. Members voted, for example, to increase funding to safeguard bus services (I still have to study the detail); and also to add mixed plastics and tetrapaks to what would collected as part of the kerbside recycling contract.

But this may be overshadowed by the blogosphere outrage at Alec Robertson’s decision to “ban” tweeters from Cabinet meetings. You can read about all that elsewhere …

How many new properties for Cornwall by 2030?

2012-01-24T23:58:00.003Z

In this week's Cornish Guardian, my column is a "balanced" attempt to encourage people to comment on the draft Core Strategy. It is as follows:

How many properties do you think should be built in Cornwall over the next twenty years?

The unitary authority’s Core Strategy document, which is out to consultation until 2nd March, recommends that 48,000 new housing units should be constructed between 2010 and 2030.

Before Cornwall Council’s ruling Cabinet agreed on this figure, it undertook a consultation exercise in which it sought views on three possible housing targets: 38,000 (described as low), 48,000 (medium) and 57,000 (high). Individuals and groups were also invited to put forward their own alternative proposals.

Most written responses from Parish Councils and local groups supported the low to medium options. Developers meanwhile mostly argued for the high option, while a number of them proposed even higher levels of growth.

Following this initial consultation, council officers presented a report to the Planning Policy Panel at Cornwall Council, which I continue to chair. It recommended a housing target for the Core Strategy of 54,000! The Panel did not agree and proposed a lower target of 40,000 new homes, which was more in line with the early soundings taken in local communities. This was, however, over-ruled by the Council’s ten-strong Cabinet, which plumped for 48,000 new properties.

There are many groups arguing for lower levels of housing growth, including the Cornish Social and Economic Research Group.

CoSERG points out that over the last 50 years, Cornwall’s population has grown by over 200,000 people and the number of houses has doubled from 132,000 to 255,000.

Back in 1989, this organisation produced a book titled “Cornwall at the Crossroads.” It called for a breathing space so that “Cornwall and its communities could cope with this unprecedented growth, safeguard the environment and retain what makes our place special, its Cornishness.”

Over these last two decades, approximately 45,000 new properties have been completed in Cornwall – something CoSERG has described as a “juggernaut of housing and population growth.”

CoSERG strongly argues that the proposed levels of growth in the Core Strategy are unsustainable and would lead to “the loss of significant areas of countryside, the urbanisation of our towns and villages, much more traffic and congestion, and the irresponsible depletion of our natural resources.”

So what do you think? Who do you agree with – CoSERG, Cornwall Council, developers?

Please take the time to find out more about the arguments and have your say on housing, the environment, employment land, and so much more.

The Core Strategy documents can be viewed online at www.cornwall.gov.uk, where there is an online consultation system, or in libraries and one stop shops, where feedback forms are available.

You can also call 01872 224283 to request copies of the documents and feedback forms to be posted out to you.

A referendum for Scotland: what about Cornwall?

2012-01-22T23:29:00.002Z

My column in last week's Cornish Guardian focussed on the coming referendum on Independence for Scotland. It was as follows:

Rows over the forthcoming referendum on Scottish independence has dominated the United Kingdom media, with numerous headlines referring to the potential “Break-up of Britain,” or a “Battle for Britain” pitching “Braveheart versus Lionheart.”

This follows the electoral success of the Scottish National Party in 2011, when it won overall control of the Scottish Parliament. It has announced a multi-option referendum for 2014, which will allow the people of Scotland to choose between (i) the status quo, (ii) the devolution of further powers (described as “devo-max”) to their existing Parliament or (iii) outright independence.

The SNP and Mebyon Kernow are both members of the European Free Alliance – a federation of political parties campaigning for varying degrees of greater self-government.

I follow the progress of sister parties such as the SNP with great interest but, as a Cornishman and a resident of Cornwall, it is not for me to say what is right for Scotland. The decision on their future governance is clearly one for the residents of that historic nation to take and we should fully respect their decision.

But whatever happens there are implications for the whole of the United Kingdom.

Recent days have already seen a series of increasingly fractious rows between the SNP and an alliance of politicians from the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties.

The debates have certainly been robust. The SNP, for example, challenged the mandate of David Cameron to “interfere” by commenting that there were more Giant Pandas in Edinburgh Zoo than Conservative MPs north of the Tweed.

But much of it has been extremely bad spirited and I was particularly appalled to watch last week’s Question Time (held in London) and witness the aggressive hectoring of the SNP’s Deputy Leader Nicola Sturgeon.

It is also interesting to note that the arguments being wheeled out against Scottish independence – it is too small or too poor or too weak to stand on its own feet – bear a striking resemblance to arguments used against Cornish demands for greater powers within the United Kingdom.

It is my view that, over the next two-three years, and irrespective of happens in Scotland, there needs to be a mature, respectful and wide-ranging debate about the future of the United Kingdom, and how it is governed.

Surely now is the time to address the unequal constitutional relationships between the various nations and regions of the UK, and to tackle the centralising influence of London and the South East of England.

And as part of this debate, we must be allowed to make the case for the meaningful devolution of political powers to Cornwall.

Please make your views known on the Core Strategy

2012-01-09T00:02:00.001Z

In last week’s Cornish Guardian, my column was critical of the failings of government and council consultations (“The concept of consultation has been undermined;” 4th January).

But this week, and with a little irony, I am seeking to encourage as many people as possible to respond to an extremely important consultation from Cornwall Council.

The Council is seeking views on a series of documents relating to future planning policies for Cornwall. This includes a “preferred approach” for its Core Strategy which, when finally agreed, will be the blueprint that will guide development between now and 2030.

As well as Cornwall-wide policies, booklets have been produced which illustrate potential options for each of the Council’s 19 community network areas, though the extent of detail does vary depending on the amount of local work that has been done.

A further booklet sets out specific options for energy, minerals and waste.

I have been heavily involved with the preparation of these documents, which were agreed by the Council’s ruling Cabinet at a meeting in October.

As the Chairman of the Planning Policy Panel, I encouraged local members to feed their views in for consideration but, like many others, there is much in the documents which I do not agree with.

For example, I do not support the proposal to build 48,000 new properties in Cornwall by 2030, which I consider to be too many. And personally, I disagree with the proposed approaches to waste management and eco-town developments, as well as the likely locations for large amounts of housing.

The consultation will last from 9th January until 2nd March 2012, and I think it is vitally important that local people tell the Council what they want for Cornwall as a whole and what they want for their own communities in particular.

There are numerous ways in which local residents can have a say and I hope thousands of people will give their views on housing, the environment, employment land, community facilities, leisure, retail and so much more.

The documents can be viewed online at www.cornwall.go.uk, where there is an online consultation system, or in libraries and one stop shops, where feedback forms will be available.

A series of exhibitions will be held across Cornwall, which everyone is welcome to attend. You can also call 01872 224283 to request copies of the documents and feedback forms to be posted out to you.

Please have your say. No promises, but I pledge that I will do everything in my power to ensure that your views are listened to and taken into account by the Council as it finalises its Core Strategy.

When consultation is a farce

2012-01-08T16:06:00.003Z

In my column in last week's Cornish Guardian, I wrote about the failings of governmental and council consultations. It was as follows:

What is consultation? What does it mean to consult?

Well, I have looked up “consult” in a couple of dictionaries for a clear definition. According to the experts it means to “have discussions with (someone), typically before undertaking a course of action” or to “discuss something with someone before you make a decision.”

Sadly, the whole concept of “consultation” has been undermined and devalued by successive governments, as well as councils and other bodies the length and breadth of the United Kingdom.

We are often asked our opinions on proposals, policies and documents. But time and time again, we are only being told what action a public body is planning to take, and any comments we make are inevitably discarded and ignored.

It seems to me that the powers-that-be have forgotten the bit about seeking views before decisions are made and that discussion is a two-way process.

Probably the worst example of this has been the government's recent consultation on solar panels and the feed-in tariff (FIT) paid to individuals and groups for the electricity generated by domestic-scale schemes.

The consultation ran from 31st October until 23rd December and one of the proposals was for the feed-in tariff to be reduced from 43p to 21p for each kWh. But the controversial cut in the tariff came into force from 12th December – two weeks prior to the closing date of the consultation exercise.

Is it any wonder that comments on the consultation have included:

· “This consultation is a hollow exercise with no intention of the feedback from the consultation making any difference.”

· “The consultation is a sham.”

· “The decision has already been made.”

· “Everyone thinks it’s a foregone conclusion.”

· “It’s just another cynical exercise in ‘consulting’ and then doing what’s already decided anyway.”

· “A waste of time.”

Whatever the merits of the proposed changes, I welcome the news that the High Court has overruled the government’s decision and that the Judge has described the decision of the Department for Energy and Climate Change as “legally flawed.”

It is about time that consultation does actually equate to consultation – and the views of ordinary people are listened to properly.

MK campaign featured in Scotsman and Western Mail

2012-01-05T21:03:00.001Z

MK’s campaign for a Cornish Assembly was today featured in both the Scotsman and the Western Mail newspapers. David Willcock’s article which appeared in yesterday’s Independent was in the Scotsman under the heading “We want to be just like Scotland, say Cornish nationalists.”

The Western Mail article was meanwhile titled “Plaid Cymru backs devolution bid by fellow Celts in Cornwall” and included the thoughts of Labour MP Paul Flynn. It was as follows:

A campaign for devolution for Cornwall is being backed by Plaid Cymru.

Plaid MP Jonathan Edwards, who represents Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, launched an Early Day Motion in Parliament calling “for the formation of a democratically elected Cornish assembly to take decisions for the benefit of the people of Cornwall”.

The motion commemorates the 10th anniversary of the presentation of a petition to Downing Street signed by 50,000 people, equivalent to 10% of Cornwall’s population, demanding a referendum on devolution.

Mr Edwards said the campaign chimed with Plaid’s call for greater powers for the National Assembly.

“The Cornish people feel they have a distinct national identity and that needs to be reflected,” he said.

“If I was a unionist what I would be putting forward would be a vision of a federal British state, with equal powers for each of the historic nations.”

The motion was signed by a number of other Welsh MPs – Plaid Cymru’s Elfyn Llwyd and Hywel Williams, as well as Labour’s Paul Flynn, who also lent his support to what he described as “one of the great issues of the day”.

“Cornwall is the one [region of England] which has the strongest identity,” said Mr Flynn.

“The Celts were driven west by the barbarous Anglo Saxons who were all dressed in wool and dyed blue.

“The civilised Celtic people were driven to the edges.

“I have been a lifelong advocate of devolution and I am keen to see as much devolution as possible to the other Celtic nations.”

That was echoed by Mr Williams, who said: “After successful referendums in Scotland and Wales in 1997 it was commonsense that the next should be in Cornwall.

“Plaid Cymru’s sister party Mebyon Kernow (Sons of Cornwall) collected 50,000 declarations in support of a Cornish Assembly but the Labour government of the time confusingly started the process of English devolution in the North East rather than Cornwall where there was a clear level of support.

“The ongoing constitutional change – in Europe, in Wales and with the upcoming independence referendum in Scotland – make it appropriate to put a Cornish assembly back on the agenda.”

The move is not the first attempt to secure devolution for Cornwall.

In 2009, Liberal Democrat MP Dan Rogerson presented, The Government of Cornwall Bill to Parliament calling for devolution on the grounds that: “Constitutionally, Cornwall has the right to a level of self-Government, as demonstrated by the Cornish Foreshore Case in 1858 which confirmed that Cornwall is legally a Duchy which is extraterritorial to England.”

Cornwall is considered to be one of six Celtic nations in Europe, along with Wales, Scotland, Ireland, the Isle of Man and Brittany.

It has its own language, similar to Welsh and which is still spoken, albeit by a far smaller percentage of the population. According to a study by Exeter University, only 0.1% of the population are competent conversationalists in the tongue.

However the language, Kernowek, has been undergoing a revival, with dual-language road signs an increasingly common sight and the opening of a creche teaching young children the language.

Although the Mebyon Kernow party, which campaigns for Cornish independence, is yet to rise to national prominence, it won three council seats in 2009.

Councillor Dick Cole, the leader of Mebyon Kernow, said: “It remains a disgrace that Tony Blair’s Labour government – which supported devolution to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – dismissed the declarations and refused to consider demands for greater powers for Cornwall.”

“Cornish devolution campaign revived by show of pan-Celtic political unity" - Independent

2012-01-04T20:59:00.002Z

MK’s campaign for greater self-government was today featured in the Independent newspaper. Written by David Willcock, it appeared under the heading “Cornish devolution campaign revived by show of pan-Celtic political unity.” The article was as follows:

A campaign aiming for devolution for Cornwall as a “historic Celtic nation” within the United Kingdom has been revived, with fresh support from Welsh politicians.

Cornish nationalist party Mebyon Kernow is repeating its “ambitious” call for an elected assembly and ultimately devolved powers from Westminster similar to those enjoyed in Scotland, ten years after 50,000 people - 10% of the population of Cornwall - signed a petition supporting its aims.

In a show of pan-Celtic unity from across the Bristol Channel, Plaid Cymru has given the campaign its backing, with MP Jonathan Edwards (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) launching an Early Day Motion (EDM) calling “for the formation of a democratically elected Cornish Assembly to take decisions for the benefit of the people of Cornwall”.

It comes after Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell, one of the country's most senior civil servants, said holding the United Kingdom together will be an “enormous challenge” in years to come.

Councillor Dick Cole, the leader of Mebyon Kernow, said it was hoping to “breathe new life” into the campaign under a new Government. “What we are campaigning for is devolution within the UK and for powers similar to those of the Scottish Parliament,” he said.

“We will campaign and campaign until we are successful.

“It remains a disgrace that Tony Blair's Labour government (which supported devolution to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) dismissed the declarations and refused to consider demands for greater powers for Cornwall.

“The previous Labour government spoke a lot about devolution, local control and democratic change. The present coalition Government also speaks a lot about devolution, as well as localism.

“But these were, and are, hollow words as far as Cornwall is concerned. Blair and Brown ignored calls for a Cornish Assembly, a situation that is being replicated by the present coalition Government.”

The nationalists argue that Cornwall has never politically officially been a county of England but is a separate country.

So far signed by ten MPs from his party, Labour and the Liberal Democrats, the EDM also “expresses disappointment that the then government did not act upon the subject of the petition” a decade ago.

It has been signed by Cornish Lib Dem MPs Andrew George (St Ives), Stephen Gilbert (St Austell and Newquay) and Dan Rogerson (North Cornwall), fellow Lib Dem Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South), Mr Edwards, Elfyn Llwyd (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) and Hywel Williams (Arfon) from Plaid Cymru and Labour's Jeremy Corbin (Islington North), Paul Flynn (Newport West) and John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington)

Mr Edwards said the campaign chimed with Plaid's campaign for greater powers for the Welsh Assembly.

“The Cornish people feel they have a distinct national identity and that needs to be reflected,” he said.

“If I was a unionist what I would be putting forward would be a vision of a federal British state, with equal powers for each of the historic nations.”

Cornwall's “Celtic” cultural identity has been growing in prominence in recent years. Its language, Kernowek, has been undergoing a revival, with dual-language road signs an increasingly common sight and, in January 2010, the opening of a creche teaching young children the language.

On December 22, Sir Gus warned that the question of whether the UK stayed together would be a major issue in the coming years.

His warning, on the eve of his retirement at the end of the year, came as the SNP administration in Scotland committed to holding a referendum on independence before 2016.

Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Sir Gus said: “Over the next few years, there will be enormous challenges, such as whether to keep our kingdom united.”

41% of children recorded as Cornish

2012-01-03T23:23:00.002Z

The findings of the Pupil Level Annual School Census (PLASC) show that more and more families are choosing to identify themselves as Cornish.

Last year (2011), 41% of pupils were recorded as Cornish compared to 37% in 2010. A total of 28,584 pupils out of 69,811 said they were Cornish, compared to 23,808 out of 70,275 in 2009.

Schools are required to complete the annual pupil census by the Department for Education. It recommends that parents and guardians should determine the national identity for their children at primary schools, but pupils at secondary schools should decide their own ethnicity.

For many years, families were denied the opportunity to self-identify as Cornish but, following a strong campaign by various cultural, language and political groups, the option was inserted for the 2005 survey. In 2006, 24% of children were recorded as Cornish, which steadily rose to 27% in 2007, 30% in 2008 and 34% in 2009.

It is good to see the growing confidence of so many families, who are keen to record their national identity as Cornish.

No to regional pay

2012-01-03T23:00:00.003Z

It is 2012 ... so back to blogging. First up is my article published in the Cornish Guardian over the Christmas break. It was as follows and focussed on central government plans to introduce regional pay:

Earlier this month, George Osborne announced plans to end “national” pay rates for people working in the public sector.

It has also been reported that he wishes to declare areas like Cornwall to be “low pay zones.”

Put simply, it would mean that teachers, nurses and civil servants in Cornwall would get less pay than someone doing exactly the same job in areas such as South East England.

I fundamentally believe this is wrong. Surely it should be an important principle that people are paid the same rate for the same job.

Quite rightly, business leaders and unions have joined together to slam Osborne’s announcement.

Tim Jones, Chairman of the Devon and Cornwall Business Council, has said that the move would be "unsustainable and devastating,” adding that the cuts would have a “horrendous” impact on the local economy.

The General Secretary of the PCS union, Mark Serwotka, meanwhile said it was “economically incoherent for the Chancellor to say he wants to help regions outside London and the South East, then say public sector pay there should be even lower than it already is."

The reality is that there is already great inequality across, and between, the nations and regions of the United Kingdom.

And I strongly believe that central government should be working to reduce this inequality but if Mr Osborne gets his way it will get even worse.

Indeed, his actions could depress local economies that are in need of investment as yet more money is siphoned off to be spent in London and the South East.

Cornwall suffers from the lowest average wages in the UK. And yet the cost of living is especially high, thousands are struggling to access housing at a price they can afford, while government cuts are having a devastating impact on public services and the local economy.

Cuts to Cornwall Council’s budget alone represent a cumulative reduction in spend of around £500 million in the Cornish economy over a four year period.

I consider it a disgrace that the Coalition wishes to consign us to a second class future, entrenching Cornwall as a low-pay economy in both the public and private sectors.

And it is unbelievable that they expect people in areas like Cornwall to subsidise richer areas.

How about some UK-wide parity from the Government in 2012?

Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year

2011-12-23T22:41:00.002Z

I would like to wish all readers of this blog a Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year. I hope you all enjoy the festive break.

Nadelik lowen ha blydhen nowydh da.

Blogging will recommence early in January.

Economic output in Cornwall falls

2011-12-22T16:50:00.004Z

The Office of National Statistics has just released the 2009 figures for GVA (Gross Value Added). It shows that GVA stood at £7 billion for Cornwall, down 2.6% from the 2008 figure of £7.2 billion.

Cornwall’s per capita GVA equalled £13,129 in 2009, down 2.9% from the 2008 figure. This is equal to 65.6% of the UK average (£20,000). We still lie 36th out of 37 Nuts 2 regions, above West Wales and the Valleys. Cornwall has fared worse than the UK average where total GVA fell by 1.6% and per capita by 2.2%.

Obviously, these figures do not reflect the present situation, and the full impact of the economic downturn and central government cuts which have happened since.

Information from Economic Intelligence, Environment, Planning and Economy, Cornwall Council.

Two MPs respond to Devonwall challenge

2011-12-21T09:52:00.003Z

As reported previously on this blog, Mebyon Kernow Deputy Leader Cllr Andrew Long has written to Cornwall’s MPs and challenged them to pledge to use their vote against any proposals for a Devonwall parliamentary constituency.

MPs will have a vote in 2013 as to whether proposed changes are accepted.

He has received two responses so far. South East Cornwall MP Sheryll Murray (Conservative) wrote:

“Thank you very much for your letter. I tabled an amendment to the Bill which sadly was not selected.

“I also voted to change the threshold which could resulted in a different constituency picture.

“I supported the majority of the Bill and am sure you appreciate that in this time of austerity also to ensure fairness, it is only right that we reduce the number of seats in Westminster and equalise the number of electors per Constituency, thus making essential saving to Government expenditure ensuring fairness throughout.”

Truro and Falmouth MP Sarah Newton (Conservative) meanwhile wrote:

“Thank you for your recent letter which I have read with interest. I have noted your comments regarding the possible creation of a Devonwall constituency and I understand the strength of your concern.

“I can assure you that I remain frustrated by the proposal of a cross-border seat and I certainly appreciate the historical and cultural sensitivities involved with the decision.

“As you may know, this matter has already been debated in the House of Commons and I am sorry that I, together with my fellow Cornish MPs, were not successful in blocking proposals for a cross-border Parliamentary constituency.

“It is very disappointing that not all those people living in Cornwall who are eligible to register to vote did not do so. If they had, it is my understanding that we would have had enough registered electors to keep Cornwall whole. Let’s hope we can persuade enough residents to register in future and the boundaries can be revised. The boundaries will be reconsidered for each General Election.”

Sarah Newton’s comments in her last paragraph are incorrect and it is very disappointing that neither MP is willing to oppose the creation of a Devonwall seat.

Further update on Early Day Motion

2011-12-21T09:30:00.002Z

Three more MPs have signed the Plaid Cymru EDM marking the 10th anniversary of 50,000 declarations demanding a Cornish Assembly.

They are Lib Dems Stephen Gilbert (St Austell and Newquay) and Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South) as well as Labour member Paul Flynn (Newport West).

Cornish MPs George Eustice, Sheryll Murray and Sarah Newton have yet to sign the EDM.

It is time to stop the “irresponsible lending” of “legal loan sharks”

2011-12-20T15:23:00.004Z

In my column for this week's Cornish Guardian, I have condemned the impact of short-term and "payday" loans on the less-well-off. The article was as follows:

I would like to start my column by wishing all readers of the Cornish Guardian a very Happy Christmas, as well as a healthy and prosperous New Year.

I would also like to thank everyone who has taken the time to read my column over the last twelve months, especially those who have contacted me to discuss issues and/or encouraged me with positive comments.

The Christmas and New Year period is a truly wonderful time that brings friends, families and communities together. Many will also celebrate their faith, while others will simply take a break and recharge their batteries for the coming year.

Whatever you have planned, I sincerely hope that you have a great time and enjoy the festivities.

But Christmas can also be a costly and difficult time for individuals and families on low incomes.

This is particularly the case this year. The ongoing economic problems mean that the cost of living continues to rise, while incomes remain static or decline in real terms.

Many families are already struggling to make ends meet, some are seeking help from food banks, whilst facing the additional pressures of the Christmas period such as buying presents for children and grandchildren.

It is little wonder that so many people are predicted to fall into debt or descend into even more debt.

I am disgusted that there is an ever-growing group of companies preying on people with offers of short-term small loans, but at extortionate levels of interest.

These include so-called “payday loans” (to cover bills in advance of the next pay cheque) with interest rates as high as 4,000 per cent.

I consider it a scandal that such loans, targeting low earners and the vulnerable, are continuously being advertised on television.

It is also the case that, if the “payday loans” are not paid back in full very quickly, the debt escalates rapidly. Thousands are already termed “zombie debtors,” struggling to pay back the interest while never reducing the capital element of the debt.

The situation is so dire that research has suggested that 3.5 million adults are considering taking out such a payday loan over the next six months.

Surely now is the time for central government to take action to protect the best interests of the less-well-off, to increase regulation of the financial sector, and tackle the exploitation of what one MP has described as “legal loan sharks” with their “irresponsible lending.”

Update on Early Day Motion

2011-12-16T16:31:00.001Z

As of this morning, a total of seven MPs had signed the EDM marking the 10th anniversary of 50,000 declarations demanding a Cornish Assembly.

As well as the three Plaid Cymru MPs who were the original signatories, it has now been supported by Cornish Lib Dem MPs Andrew George and Dan Rogerson, and Labour MPs Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) and John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington).

Other Cornish MPs George Eustice, Steve Gilbert, Sheryl Murray and Sarah Newton have yet to sign the EDM.

The issue was also covered in today’s Morning Star newspaper. Apparently, “three Welsh MPs joined forces with prominent Cornish campaigner Andrew George, Lib Dem MP for St Ives, in tabling a Commons motion in favour of a Cornish Assembly.”

For information, Cllr Loveday Jenkin and I were interviewed by a reporter from The Guardian newspaper yesterday concerning issues of Cornish identity, the campaign for a Cornish Assembly, the 50,000, and a wide range of other issues. Hopefully, there will be a feature sometime before or over the Christmas period.

Good news in St Enoder Parish

2011-12-15T19:10:00.002Z

Earlier today, I had the pleasure to help show Julian German (Cornwall Council’s Cabinet Member for the Environment) around Indian Queens Victory Hall to mark the completion of the replacement of the original 1920s roof with a new insulated modern roof.

It was about twelve months ago that the Hall entered into the “U Choose 2 Retrofit” competition within the China Clay Area, when a public vote selected the hall as one of three community spaces to receive a package of carbon reduction measures.

The cost was over £100,000 and came from Cornwall Council. The monies were provided by the Eco-Communities Programme of Development funding awarded to the authority by the Department of Communities and Local Government.

During the works, it also became clear that the original roof structure has come under extreme pressure over the years and this had actually led to some of the roof trusses needing repair and strengthening.

The project has been a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Indian Queens Victory Hall to make really important and much needed improvements. I feel privileged to have been involved with the project and the Hall Committee are to be congratulated in driving the project forward.

Elsewhere in the Parish, three community halls have benefited from free photo-voltaic panels from Kronos Solar, the firm which recently installed a solar farm at Trefullock near Summercourt.

Arrays have been installed at Summercourt School, the New Memorial Hall at Summercourt and Fraddon Village Hall. The School and the halls will benefit from both the generation of electricity and an income through the feed-in tafiffs. It was also good that the arrays were up and running before the feed-in tariffs were changed on 12th December.

Kronos Solar has further panels which are likely to be made available for three further community buildings in the New Year. Watch this space for an update.

Another day at Cornwall Council

2011-12-14T23:41:00.000Z

Today, I attended the latest meeting of Cornwall Council’s ruling Cabinet. I made a contribution in two debates.

In the first of these, the Cabinet voted to agree a development brief for land to the west of Truro. Without getting too technical, I expressed considerable concern at the proposal, raised a number of what I considered to be important issues with regard to planning policy and was not happy when these concerns were not even considered by the Panel.

In the second debate, the Cabinet declined to develop an alternative to their stalled incinerator proposal. A number of us made impassioned pleas for consideration to be given to a Plan B, but it was all to no avail.

In the end they agreed to “consider what further mitigation may be required to offset the impact of the further delay in delivering the Cornwall Energy Recovery Centre in order to continue to deal with Cornwall’s residual domestic waste.”

To be frank, I am not even sure what they have agreed …

Plaid Cymru table Early Day Motion calling for a Cornish Assembly

2011-12-13T09:12:00.004Z

I am pleased to report that yesterday in the House of Commons, our good friends in Plaid Cymru tabled an Early Day Motion (no. 2532) marking the tenth anniversary of the 50,000 declarations, further calling for a Cornish Assembly.

It was presented by Jonathan Edwards (above) who recently spoke at MK's Conference in November. The EDM was also sponsored by Elfyn Llwyd and Hywel Williams.

The EDM was as follows:

That this House notes that 10 years have passed since the presentation of a petition with 50,000 signatures in favour of a Cornish Assembly to 10 Downing Street on 12 December 2001 which equated to 10 per cent. of the adult population of Cornwall; recalls that this declaration of support for a Cornish Assembly was launched by Mebyon Kernow and received support from those of all parties and none; expresses disappointment that the then Government did not act upon the subject of the petition; believes that the failure to establish a Cornish Assembly has created a democratic deficit; further notes Government proposals for the devolution of power in the UK; and calls for the formation of a democratically elected Cornish Assembly to take decisions for the benefit of the people of Cornwall.

Further information

Early Day Motions (EDMs) are tabled by MPs to publicise a particular event or cause, and to gather support among MPs for that event or cause. MPs demonstrate their support for an EDM by signing the motion. Each EDM is given a unique number, starting at 1 at the beginning of each parliamentary session.

Today is the 10th anniversary of the 50,000 Declarations at Downing Street

2011-12-12T08:13:00.010Z

Today marks the tenth anniversary of the presentation of 50,000 Declarations for a Cornish Assembly to 10 Downing Street.

Getting over 50,000 people to show their support for a Cornish Assembly in less than twenty months was a truly amazing achievement, and the Declarations continue to represent a great statement of intent from the ordinary people of Cornwall.

At this point, it is right that we look at what has happened since 2001 and how the aspirations of the 50,000 signatories have been devalued by the actions of the London-centred parties and their leaders.

It remains a disgrace that Tony Blair’s Labour Government (which supported devolution to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) dismissed the declarations and refused to consider demands for greater powers for Cornwall.

The Liberal Democrats walked away from the campaign for an Assembly and, with the backing of the Labour Government, they pushed through the creation of a single unitary authority in the face of massive opposition. They even had the brass neck to attempt to promote this centralisation of local government by using the language of devolution.

And now, we even have the Conservative-led Coalition Government further undermining democracy and the territoriality of Cornwall by pushing through plans for a cross-Tamar parliamentary constituency.

The previous Labour Government spoke a lot about devolution, local control and democratic change. The present Coalition Government also speaks a lot about devolution, as well as localism.

But these were, and are, “hollow words” as far as Cornwall is concerned. Blair and Brown ignored calls for a Cornish Assembly, a situation that is being replicated by the present Coalition Government.

The reality is that, because of the failings and neglect of the London-centred political parties, the fight has got harder – and the responsibility that Mebyon Kernow members have is even greater.

The quest to win an Assembly for Cornwall remains our big battle and we will never retreat from it! As the leader of MK, I pledge our continued commitment to greater self-government for Cornwall and we will never shirk from this fight.

Ten years on from taking the Declarations to Downing Street, I have also written to David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband. I have challenged them to respect the views of the 50,000 and to work with local communities to deliver devolution to the historic Celtic nation of Cornwall.

I will report back on the replies when I receive them.

50,000 for a Cornish Assembly - ten years on!

2011-12-10T20:00:00.005Z

Ten years ago this coming Monday (12th December 2001), I was part of a delegation to 10 Downing Street.

We presented a CD to the Government which contained the names and addresses of 50,000 individuals who had signed Declarations demanding a Cornish Assembly.

The Declaration had been launched by Mebyon Kernow on St Piran’s Day in the previous year. It set out a strong message:

“Cornwall is a nation with its own identity, culture, traditions and history – it also suffers severe and unique economic problems.

“Important decisions about our future are increasingly taken outside of Cornwall and such decisions are often inappropriate or even contrary to the needs of our local communities.

“Scotland now has its own Parliament and Wales its own Assembly – but Cornwall has been ignored. We have had the artificial ‘south west’ region foisted upon us.

“Cornwall has had to accept second best for too long.

“We, the People of Cornwall, must have a greater say in how we are governed. We need a Cornish Assembly that can set the right democratic priorities for Cornwall and provide a stronger voice for our communities in Britain, in Europe and throughout the wider World.

“I support the campaign for a Cornish Assembly.”

In a period of less than twenty months during 2000 and 2001, teams of volunteers under the inspirational leadership of Paddy McDonough visited town after town, setting up street stalls and getting the individual declarations signed.

The Cornish Constitutional Convention was also founded in 2000 to campaign for more powers for Cornwall. This helped to build cross-party support for the Declaration and it was subsequently backed by leading figures from all political parties including district and county councillors, and 80% of Cornish MPs.

It was a truly amazing achievement for 50,000 people (over 10% of the adult population of Cornwall) to sign the Declaration in such a short period.

Sadly, since 2001 the aspirations of these 50,000 signatories have been undermined and persistently devalued by the actions of the London-centred political parties and their leaders.

I have written to David Cameron and Nick Clegg, as well as the leader of the Labour Party Ed Miliband, demanding greater self-government for Cornwall. I will blog about the 50,000 in more detail on Monday.

MK challenges Cornish MPs on Devonwall seat

2011-12-05T10:43:00.003Z

Mebyon Kernow Deputy Leader Cllr Andrew Long has challenged Cornwall’s MPs to take a lead and pledge to vote against any proposals for a Devonwall parliamentary constituency.

Cllr Long makes clear our view that the recommendation of a Devonwall seat has only happened because of the refusal of Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs / Lords to protect the territorial integrity of Cornwall when the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill was debated.

In his letter, he addresses the fact that MPs will have a vote in 2013 as to whether proposed changes are accepted.

“It has been well reported that there is a growing anxiety amongst MPs about the final outcome of the boundary review. It has also been suggested that many, who face losing their seats and livelihoods, might oppose the legislation. Tory Minister Ian Duncan Smith has even appealed to the Prime Minister to ditch the change.

“There is still hope that we can prevent a Devonwall seat becoming a reality. Will you take a lead in publicly opposing the boundary changes and pledge now that you will use your vote in the House of Commons to oppose any recommendation for a Devonwall seat?”

We will let one and all know the responses when we receive them.

Findings of High Pay Commission are "obscene"

2011-12-05T10:29:00.003Z

My column in last week's Cornish Guardian addressed the finding of a report from the the High Pay Commission. It was as follows:

At this time of cuts, tax increases, wage restraint, and with the living standards of people under threat, a report from the High Pay Commission makes truly shocking reading.

The Commission undertook a year-long inquiry into the pay of top executives. It found that, over the last thirty years, the disparity between what top executives and average workers earn has been growing and growing.

It records that, in this period, the income of top earners had risen by more than 4,000%

Examples within the report included that of John Varley, the former Chief Executive of Barclays Bank.

It notes that in 1980, the top wage earner at Barclays received £87,323 – 13 times the UK average wage. But last year, Mr Varley pocketed a total of £4,365,636 in salary, benefits and bonuses – 169 times the wage of the average worker in Britain.

The report also records that the salary for the Chief Executive at Lloyds Bank has increased to more than £2.5m.

Launching the report, Chairperson of the High Pay Commission Deborah Hargreaves described the excessive salaries of executives as "corrosive" and damaging to the economy.

She rightly added: “The British people believe in fairness and, at a time of unparalleled austerity, one tiny section of society - the top 0.1% - continues to enjoy huge annual increases in pay awards.”

Another report has just recorded that pay for the directors of the UK's top businesses rose by a massive 50% over the past year.

I agree with those commentators who have branded the increases in executive pay as "obscene" and have condemned the City and big business, who appear to have learnt nothing following the financial troubles of the last four years.

They are still putting the best interests of the wealthy few ahead of the majority, and the increases are a disgrace and cannot be justified.

Millions of public sector workers recently went on strike, because of proposed changes to their pension schemes and working conditions.

Is it any wonder that these workers, as well as those in the private sector, are so angry when they are see such inequality growing across British Society, with many people on low incomes knowing they will have to live off a paltry pension in their retirement.

In my view, it is time that Cameron put fairness at the heart of his programme of government, took on the vested interests of ultra-wealthy and stood up for ordinary men and women in these difficult times.

And then there were five

2011-11-30T22:18:00.005Z

Plenty of people were talking about the "Fantastic Five" on Tuesday as Loveday Jenkin joined fellow MK Councillors Stuart Cullimore, Andrew Long, Neil Plummer and yours truly, for her first Full Council meeting.

For the record, the MK councillors voted against the proposed 2012-2013 budget which was pushed through by the Conservative-led administration, even though it did not need to be agreed until February. We considered the budget premature and were critical of the lack of scrutiny of its content, the limited information in certain areas and the uncertainty surrounding the funding of various services.

The MK Group also backed the motion to support a public holiday for St Piran.s Day and it was in this debate that Loveday made a very assured debut as Cornwall Councillor for Wendron Division.

Loveday Jenkin wins Wendron for Mebyon Kernow

2011-11-24T23:46:00.003Z

Great news! Loveday Jenkin has been elected as the new Cornwall Councillor for Wendron Division. It was also a resounding win, and was as follows:

Loveday Jenkin (MK) – 427 (36.4% - up 16.5%)
John Martin (Lib Dem) – 262 (22.3% - up 12.3%)
Linda Taylor (Con) – 227 (19.4% - up 3.9%)
Phil Martin (Ind) – 177 (15.1% - down 16.6%)
Robert Webber (Lab) – 80 (6.8% - up 3.8%)

For information, in the previous election in 2009, there was a second Independent who polled 6.9% and a UKIP candidate who polled 13.0%.

Well done to everyone who supported and played their part in the campaign. A massive well done to Loveday. More comment and party to follow!

Public funding for political parties - MK not included

2011-11-22T23:50:00.004Z

The Committee for Standards in Public Life has today published a report titled “Ending the big donor culture.” Recommendations include an annual cap of £10,000 on individual donations from 2015 and increased state funding for political parties.

MK is not in favour of state funding, but I find it unacceptable that Sir Christopher Kelly’s proposal only applies to political parties with at least two MPs or two representatives at the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly or Northern Ireland Assembly.

The state funding would be based on the number of votes from the previous General Election as well as elections to the devolved assemblies.

The BBC has estimated that if the proposals were implemented, based on the 2010 General Election, the Conservatives would benefit to the tune of £32.2 million, Labour would get £25.8 million and the Lib Dems £20.5 million.

By contrast, Mebyon Kernow and other political parties such as UKIP would not get a single penny.

The main London parties are speaking out against the proposals, having spent the last few months jockeying for position in order to protect their own self-interests in the discussions.

I just find the whole thing a sham!

MK Conference - caption competition

2011-11-21T20:21:00.003Z

My good friend Chris Bowden took a number of photographs at Saturday's Mebyon Kernow Conference. Not sure about the one shown below!

So it's caption competition time.

Jonathan Edward's speech

2011-11-21T20:11:00.004Z

Jonathan Edwards has posted his speech from Saturday’s MK Conference on his website. It was a truly fantastic speech. You can enjoy it at:

http://www.jonathanedwards.org.uk/araith-mebyon-kernew-%E2%80%93-unionism-in-crisis?lang=en

Thanks to everyone who supported the MK Conference

2011-11-20T20:20:00.003Z

Thank you to everyone who attended MK’s Annual Conference at Bodmin this weekend and made it such a success.

I would particularly like to thank Jonathan Edwards, Plaid Cymru MP for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, and Kenneth Gibson, the Scottish National Party MSP for Cunninghame North, for travelling to Cornwall, delivering truly inspirational speeches. and giving us their support.

I would also like to give special thanks to Cllr Stephen Richardson for all his hard work in co-ordinating the organisation of the event.

The picture above shows some of the speakers at the event (left to right): Jonathan Edwards MP, Cllr Andrew Long, Cllr Loveday Jenkin, your truly and Kenneth Gibson MSP.

Can do Cornwall ????????

2011-11-20T20:03:00.000Z

Speaking at this weekend’s MK Annual Conference, I drew everyone’s attention to the “Can do Cornwall” document that has just been published by Cornwall Council.

It is a bid to central government for Cornwall to become a pilot to pool public sector budgets across Cornwall.

And do not get me wrong, there may be some merit exploring greater co-operation between all parts of the public sector, but this document includes proposals that have not even been discussed by Cornwall Council, never mind agreed by the authority.

As the MK group leader, I was asked add my support to it, once it had been finished. I declined the opportunity.

It starts by asking: “What is special about Cornwall?” It provides the answer – “We have solid partnerships and political cohesion.”

It is jam-packed with hyperbole, including “Our natural environment is flowing with potential to underpin sustainable growth.”

It talks of “innovative governance arrangements” for the project, but in reality it is the same old suspects in the form of a Leader’s Forum and will include some “senior councillors.”

I have yet to receive a definition of senior councillor, although someone has suggested this is someone who doesn’t disagree with the Chief Executive.

You may remember that a few weeks ago, the administration decided to set a target of 48,000 new properties for Cornwall over the next 20 years.

And yet in this document, they have told central government that Cornwall will build 30,000 new properties in the next ten years.

I pointed out that the 30,000 figure was not Council policy before it was published, but they declined to correct it. (I may write further on this in the near future.)

Mebyon Kernow Conference 2011

2011-11-14T23:07:00.002Z

Mebyon Kernow’s 2011 Conference takes place on the 19th and 20th November at the Shire House Suite in Bodmin. It will mark MK’s sixtieth anniversary as an organisation.

On Saturday 19th November, the Conference will feature leading members of Mebyon Kernow and showcase a range of guest speakers. These speakers will include Kenneth Gibson MSP from the Scottish National Party and Jonathan Edwards MP from Plaid Cymru.

The event is open to non-members and I would like to extend an invitation to one and all to come along and meet MK members and find out more about our Party and what it stands for.

The doors open at 10.00 on Saturday, with presentations and speeches commencing at 10.30. In the evening, there will be a buffet, bar and entertainment. The cost of tickets for the evening will be £10 per person and can be purchased on the door from 6.00 onwards.

Mebyon Kernow’s formal AGM will take place on the Sunday, when there will also be sessions on campaign strategy and plans for the 2013 elections to Cornwall Council.

Cut Trident - not public services

2011-11-02T19:50:00.003Z

This week, my column in the Cornish Guardian focuses on Trident. It is as below:

I have been a member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) for over twenty years. To me it is a matter of principle. I strongly believe that we should be working to rid the globe of all nuclear weapons, so that we can make the World a safer and more secure place.

I find it indefensible that while central government is forcing through devastating cuts to vital public services, it is continuing to spend billions of pounds on nuclear weapons.

How can a government justify spending £3.1 billion of taxpayers’ money on the Trident nuclear missile system each year?

Just think how much good £3,100,000,000 would do if it was instead spent on social housing, job creation, education, health, policing, community groups, etc?

The Government has also authorised the expenditure of billions of pounds on its scheme to replace the Trident nuclear submarines / weapons system, even though the decision on whether to press ahead with the replacement will not even be taken until 2016.

The original estimate for the new submarines was a massive £11-14 billion, but recently the government published a progress report which shows that the actual costs are likely to be in the region of £25-26 billion. It has also been acknowledged that the total cost of the whole programme, including lifetime costs, will probably exceed £100 billion.

Kate Hudson, the General Secretary of CND has rightly described the weapons as a “ruinously expensive white elephant.”

I agree with her, and her view that it is a disgrace “the government seems willing to pay whatever it takes for these weapons, with the estimated bill almost doubling since they were first proposed.”

It is also the case that, in recent years, runaway increases in costs have blighted almost every major defence project. And yet the Government is still unwilling to rethink its position on nuclear weapons and even consider whether the United Kingdom should develop a non-nuclear defence policy

It is my view that expenditure on Trident equals an appalling waste of tax payers' money and it is little wonder that polls show a majority of the British population agree and are now opposed to Trident.

Another waste update

2011-11-01T14:26:00.001Z

Yesterday, members of Cornwall Council’s Cabinet appointed Cory Environmental Municipal Services Limited to deliver waste and recycling collections and beach and street cleaning services throughout Cornwall. The contract will last for eight years from April 2012.

Options to increase recycling by collecting mixed plastic, tetra packs and food waste were also costed, but the Cabinet has yet to debate whether to take these forward as well.

At today’s Waste Panel, a number of members, myself included, argued strongly for the Council to do all it could to maximise recycling and composting. This is especially important given the uncertainty around the incinerator proposal and how Cornwall will deal with its residual waste into the future.

Members also backed a proposal from me calling on the Cabinet to allow the Council to undertake works to produce a Plan B (alternative to a single 240,000 tonne incinerator). I think I am correct in saying that the vote was seven-to-five.

Keep Cornwall Whole launch petition

2011-10-31T12:56:00.002Z

The Keep Cornwall Whole campaign group has today launched a petition against the proposal to create a cross-Tamar Devonwall constituency.

The petition calls on MPs to (i) seek changes to the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act to ensure that parliamentary constituencies respect Cornwall’s historic border and (ii) oppose all proposals for a Devonwall seat.

The campaign fully understands that the Boundary Commission cannot recommend seats with a variance of greater than 5% from the average constituency size. But has been widely reported that there is a growing anxiety amongst MPs about the final outcome of the boundary review and it has been suggested that many, who face losing their seats and livelihoods, might oppose the legislation.

Now is the time for us to put pressure on the Coalition and their MPs to oppose the changes which will need to be agreed by Parliament. Now is the time to fight back and to do all in our power to undermine the legislation.

Copies of the petition will soon be able to be downloaded from the website http://keepcornwallwhole.org.

Cllr Derek Collins joins Mebyon Kernow

2011-10-29T16:07:00.002+01:00

I am very pleased to be able to announce that Derek Collins, who serves on St Austell Town Council, has resigned from the Liberal Democrats and joined MK.

Derek says that he can no longer remain a member of a political party that he believes has lost its way. His statement issued today stated:

“I can no longer, in all conscience, remain a member of the Liberal Democrats.

“I campaigned long and hard to help elect a Lib Dem MP in St Austell and Newquay, telling voters that the only way to stop the Conservatives was to support Stephen Gilbert.

“The decision taken by MPs to back a Conservative Government and implement Tory policies was a bitter pill which I could not swallow. I, like many people, felt very let down. I did not campaign for a Tory Government and I am angry to see the Lib Dem MPs go back on their election pledges on everything from public spending to policing, the NHS, tuition fees and so much more.

“I have made numerous representations to the MP and senior Lib Dems in the local area. Promises were repeatedly made about fighting for the policies that were actually presented at the General Election – but nothing has changed.

“I have therefore tendered my resignation from the Lib Dems and I have joined Mebyon Kernow, which I believe is standing up for Cornwall and rightly opposing the excesses of the Coalition Government.”

I am delighted to be able to welcome Derek into MK. I have known him for a number of years and he is a passionate advocate of winning a better deal for Cornwall and his local area. I am absolutely delighted that he is now part of the MK team and I look forward to working closely with Derek for many years to come.

Loveday Jenkin is standing in the Wendron by-election

2011-10-28T22:03:00.002+01:00

Loveday Jenkin is MK's candidate in the by-election to fill the vacancy on Cornwall Council (Wendron Division) caused by the sad death of hard-working Independent councillor Mike Clayton.

Loveday is an experienced councillor. She served on Kerrier District Council from 1995 until 2009, when it was abolished. She has also served on Crowan Parish Council for over 16 years.

I believe that Loveday has the experience to be a strong Cornwall Councillor for her local area, which includes Crowan, Praze-an-Beeble, Sithney and Wendron parishes, and I hope that we can all get behind her campaign and get her elected to County Hall.

Public toilets ... what now?

2011-10-24T11:19:00.003+01:00

In my column in this week's Cornish Guardian, I look at Cornwall Council and its approach to providing public toilets and the outcome of a recent Scrutiny meeting at County Hall. It is as below:

In February 2010, the Conservative-led administration of Cornwall Council agreed its Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS), which set out its overall budgets until 2013-2014. In December 2010, the Council set its detailed budget for 2011-2012.

On both occasions, I found the whole process extremely frustrating and was angered at how much information was not made available to councillors.

Taking the environment part of the budget as an example, I repeatedly sought more detailed financial breakdowns but was told these were not yet available.

Indeed, backbench councillors were told that Full Council should set the strategic direction of the authority and the headline budget figures, but leave the ruling Cabinet and senior officers to worry about the details and to “achieve the savings and decide upon the operational changes required to deliver them.”Many of those councillors who voted to agree the budget without understanding its likely implications now find themselves having to implement cuts that they do not support.

Last week at a Scrutiny Committee, councillors were in the invidious position of having to consider how they were going to deal with a massive reduction in funding for public toilets. Apparently, the MTFS reduces funding for the loos from £2.85 million in 2010-2011 to £1.49 million in 2012-2013 – something that all the councillors I spoke to had no recollection of ever voting for.

Cornwall Council is presently responsible for a total of 247 public conveniences, but a working group of the Committee had to come up with a recommendation to cease funding for 114 toilets in order to meet the reduced budget provision. The Council hopes local Parish Councils will be willing to take on these toilets and keep them open at a reduced cost. It will certainly be interesting to see what their responses are!

Personally, I think Cornwall Council have got it wrong. I believe it needs to revisit how it agreed the savings expected from the budget for public conveniences, as well as a range of other areas, which are simply unachievable without significant impacts on local communities.

One officer at the recent meeting even admitted that they did not fully understand the costs of operating toilets until after the budget envelope for the service had been set! How’s that for planning ahead!

Councillors at the meeting did however support my call for the Medium Term Financial Strategy to be reviewed in terms of the monies available for public toilets. Watch this space to see if it actually happens.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)

2011-10-17T17:08:00.002+01:00

Today, I responded to the consultation on the Government’s draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). To give a flavour of the representation, I have listed a few extracts below:

The “presumption in favour of development”

The document contains a “presumption in favour of development.” It also states that “decision-takers at every level should assume that the default answer to development proposals is yes” and that councils should grant consent where local planning documents are “silent, indeterminate or dated.”

We share the concerns of the National Trust who believe that the new planning rules could mean “unchecked and damaging development … on a scale not seen since the 1930s” and the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England who believe the reforms “will place the countryside under increasing threat and leave local communities and planning authorities largely powerless in the face of developer pressure.”

We oppose the “presumption in favour of development” and would welcome a more balanced approach to the assessment of planning applications, that appropriately weighs up both the merits and disadvantages of individual schemes.

A plan-led system?

Mebyon Kernow – the Party for Cornwall is a strong supporter of a plan-led system in planning. But here in Cornwall, the undemocratic imposition of a single unitary authority (in place of seven former councils) has meant that the development of a Local Development Framework for Cornwall has suffered considerable delay.

If the “default answer to development proposals is yes … where local planning documents are silent, indeterminate or dated” that therefore puts Cornwall and its communities at a great disadvantage and many more sub-standard developments may be allowed as a consequence.

Significantly increasing the supply of housing

The document seeks to “significantly increase” the present level of house building. It does not however seek to understand the different needs of the different parts of the United Kingdom in coming forward with this and its associated policies.

In Cornwall we have experienced faster population growth than almost all other parts of the United Kingdom, accompanied by uncontrolled house building. Cornwall’s population was less than 350,000 in the early 1960s before large-scale in-migration commenced. By 1991 the population had ballooned to 468,500. It is now 535,000 people.

In 1991, there were approximately 190,000 occupied dwellings in Cornwall. Over 45,000 more properties have been built in the last 20 years – the vast majority of which was unrestricted market housing – many of which became buy-to-let investment properties or second homes. Such level of development is unsustainable and cannot be continued blindly into the future.

We therefore oppose “significantly increasing the supply of housing” in a Cornish context and call on the Government to allow areas like Cornwall more freedom to slow the level of house construction to give our communities a breathing space, and to allow local councils to focus on the delivery of proper local needs housing.

Local-needs housing

At the same time, local people are finding it increasingly difficult to find housing that is affordable. This Framework appears to do nothing to address this imbalance. Indeed, we believe it is the case that the Government is doing too little to deliver affordable housing for local-need. The introduction of an “affordable rent” model (at 80% of inflated private sector rents) in place of social rent, cuts in investment, etc, is making the delivery of local-needs affordable housing ever more difficult.

Neighbourhood Plans

The document also promotes the concept of “Neighbourhood Plans” which the Government claims will give “communities direct power to plan the areas in which they live.” But the reality is that the NPPF states that these plans must be aligned with national and key principal council documents, taking away any significant local discretion on strategic issues.

Protection of the countryside

Mebyon Kernow is particularly concerned that the proposed NPPF waters down the commitment to “protect the countryside for its own sake” and its own intrinsic value. This relates to both protected landscapes and those areas which have no statutory protection as such.
Greater protection must be afforded to land which is worthy of protection. This includes agricultural land, which will form the basis of our ability to produce food in the future, when food scarcity may become an issue.

Second homes

The NPPF is silent on the issue of second homes, which is a key problem in Cornwall, and a factor that excludes local people from the housing market and leaves many coastal villages little more than havens for holiday makers. It is time that legislation was introduced that allowed Councils to stop and then reduce the spread of second homes.

A lack of clarity - a lawyers’ charter?

Throughout the NPPF there is great uncertainty. It refers to Local Plans, but the document does not define what it means by this. Does this include Local Development Frameworks, such as the one being produced in Cornwall? Or is it a Local Plan like the old detailed district plans? Must work on LDFs be ceased and work on a new document commenced? Or is the Government simply using a term that is different from the one used by the previous Government?

Similarly, what is meant by the terms such as “sustainable development,” “rural,” “need” and “demand”, for example? And how can the terms “need” and “demand”, be used so interchangedly?

It is our view that this lack of clarity which makes the NPPF more a lawyers’ charter and a basis for litigation than a document that promotes a planning system that would be truly sustainable.

Cornwall Council comments on High Court ruling are shameful

2011-10-15T20:30:00.005+01:00

My column in next week's Cornish Guardian will, unsurprisingly, focus on the result of the High Court challenge to the incinerator planning consent. For a sneak preview, see below:

The phone call to campaigners in St Dennis came at just after midday on Thursday. It was good news for the village – the High Court had just quashed the planning consent for a massive incinerator.

Mr Justice Collins had ordered Eric Pickles to reconsider the planning decision because the Secretary of State and his planning inspector had failed to properly consider environmental issues and the impact of emissions on nearby Special Areas of Conservation.

Cornwall Council were quick to describe the ruling as “extremely disappointing.” Their press release went into overdrive claiming that this could “mean a delay of up to six months” for the project and “cost the Council at least £6 million.”

One journalist even condemned Cornwall Council for being in “full emotional manipulation mode” as it made the claim that the “delay” was the “equivalent of providing 400,000 hours of care for vulnerable people living at home.”

I feel extremely angry that the Council keeps making such ridiculous and unsubstantiated claims, which can and are being challenged.

It is time that the Council acknowledged a few home truths. It needs to recognise that the former County Council mishandled the issue of the incinerator and that Cornwall Council is continuing to make a hash of it.

In 2006 the Liberal Democrat administration on Cornwall County Council voted to sign a waste contract with SITA which specified the construction of an incinerator. The site at St Dennis was even named in the contract, but the members who voted in favour did not bother to visit the area to consider whether it would be appropriate for such a development.

In 2009 the Planning Committee (including many who voted for the contract) voted by twenty votes to one to refuse the incinerator proposal.

Soon after, the leader of the new Conservative-led unitary authority Alec Robertson (who himself opposed the incinerator) pledged that the Council would robustly defend SITA’s appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. He sanctioned the expenditure of over £1 million to do just that.

I was privileged to help present local views to that Inquiry and I know that the Council’s planning officers and the legal team defended the appeal extremely well. But they had to cope with senior officers and the leadership of the two-faced Council doing all they could to undermine them.

The extent of this interference became publicly apparent when Alec Robertson wrote to the Secretary of State asking him to rule against his own Council and to allow the incinerator to be built.

I therefore find the Council’s ongoing criticism of the good folk of St Dennis for their bravery in bringing a High Court challenge to be shameful. How dare they scaremonger about costs. And how dare they try to blame others for their failure to develop a sustainable way to manage waste?

It is also important for people to realise that the issues raised in the legal challenge brought by objectors were exactly the same as those raised by Cornwall Council itself at the earlier Planning Inquiry!

Statement from High Court on incinerator ruling

2011-10-13T13:55:00.001+01:00

I have just been forwarded the official press statement from UK Law News from the High Court on the incinerator ruling. It was as follows:

Objectors opposed to plans for a waste incinerator in the picturesque Cornish countryside today triumphed in their High Court challenge to the Government's grant of planning permission for the scheme.

The Cornwall Waste Forum St Dennis Branch persuaded High Court judge Mr Justice Collins to quash the Government's decision to grant planning permission for the "energy from waste plant" on land at St Dennis, which they say threatens two nearby "Special Areas of Conservation" (SACs) designated by the EU. The judge ordered the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles, to reconsider the decision.

However, this may not be the end of the battle. He did grant the Secretary of State permission to challenge his decision at the Court of Appeal.

The judge ruled that the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles, and his planning inspector had failed to meet a "legitimate expectation" on the part of the objectors that they would consider whether an "Appropriate Assessment" was necessary under the Habitats Regulations and EU Habitats Directive to consider the potential impacts of noise, dust and other emissions from the incinerator on the surrounding area.

He backed the group's claim that the inspector, whose decision was followed by the Secretary of State, was wrong to leave the question of an Appropriate Assessment to the Environment Agency, which had already announced its stance that the incinerator would have no significant environmental effects.

He found that the inspector failed to deal with the objectors' challenge to the EA's stance, which they claim is "legally flawed" and insufficient to meet the requirements of the Directive.

Quashing the planning permission in a lengthy judgment today, the judge said that the "sensible way forward" now might be for the Secretary of State to carry out an Appropriate Assessment "as speedily as possible".

He said that this might lead to him agreeing with the EA, and planning permission being properly granted. However, he said that if any significant effects on the environment are identified, that will in effect mean that the development cannot take place.

He said: "Clearly what was envisaged was that the inspector would consider and give his views on not only whether an Appropriate Assessment was needed but, if possible, what the Appropriate Assessment should decide.

"That the objectors were led to believe that the inspector would deal with the issue, there can be no doubt. That was on the basis that the Secretary of State was the Competent Authority and the appropriate authority to deal with the issue.

"The objectors were never disabused of that belief by anything said by the inspector in the course of the inquiry process.

"It seems to me that the real point is that the expectation was that the inspector would consider and reach a view on the need for an Appropriate Assessment."

He added that the inspector and the Secretary of State had made "no decision" on the challenge to the EA's conclusions put forward by the objectors.

He continued: "There was evidence put before the inspector that the EA had got it wrong. But he did not deal with or reach any decisions on the evidence which had been produced to challenge the EA's view.

"He was wrong not to have dealt with the evidence because the parties had been led to believe that he would and he had not at any stage disabused them of that expectation."

Speaking afterwards, Charmian Larke, a representative of the group, said: "We are very pleased and happy. We all feel exhausted but ready for the next phase of the battle, whatever it might be.

"Today we have made big progress towards more sustainable waste management in Cornwall."

The judge ordered the Secretary of State to pay the Forum's legal costs, to be assessed later.

HIgh Court upholds challenge on incinerator decision

2011-10-13T13:18:00.001+01:00

Campaigners from St Dennis and the Mid Cornwall area have won their legal challenge against the construction of a massive incinerator in the China Clay Area. I do not know the details of the ruling as yet but I understand that the Secretary of State has also been granted leave to appeal.

Cornwall Council has expressed its disappointment at the news and started to wax lyrical on the financial implications.

I will post again when I know more.

Update on housing numbers

2011-10-13T11:56:00.001+01:00

At yesterday’s meeting of Cornwall Council’s Cabinet, portfolio-holders voted to agree a housing target of 48,000 new properties for 2010-2030.

An amendment to follow the advice of the Planning Policy Panel to set a target of 40,000 was defeated by five votes to three (see previous blog posts from 5th August and 8th October).

This figure will go out to consultation in a few weeks. The 48,000 target has been divided up as follows between the 19 Network Areas and allocation for the eco-town proposal that is being pushed by “all and sundry” – both inside and outside of the Council.

The Network Area targets are as follows:

Bodmin - 1,250
Bude - 1,250
Camborne/Pool/Redruth - 7,000
Camelford - 800
Caradon - 800
China Clay Area - 800
Cornwall Gateway - 1,450
Falmouth & Penryn - 4,000
Hayle & St Ives - 2,900
Helston & Lizard Helston - 2,000
Launceston - 1,900
Liskeard & Looe - 1,950
Newquay & St Columb - 3,300
St Agnes & Perranporth - 1,100
St Austell - 1750
St Blazey, Fowey & Lostwithiel - 800
Truro & Roseland - 5,200
Wadebridge & Padstow - 1,500
West Penwith - 3,250
Eco-town developments in St Austell, St Blazey and China Clay Area - 5,000

The consultation will also ask whether the Bodmin and Saltash areas would wish to take more housing that that noted above.

The consultation will however be about more than just the housing targets and it will present a broad “policy intent” for the planning policies that the Council will adopt next year.

Cornish people plant "Other" flags to mark their national identity

2011-10-13T10:16:00.002+01:00

As part of its “Disunited Kingdom” series of features, The Guardian yesterday posted results of an on-line survey into how people view their national identities.

Individuals were invited to "plant a flag" where they lived, with their choice of nationality being British, Scottish, English, Welsh Northern Irish, Irish or Other.

More than 16,500 people took part and overwhelmingly chose to identify themselves with their home nation, rather than their Britishness. Figures from yesterday show that 6,594 said they were British, 2,874 said they were Scottish, 2,386 chose English, 1,355 Welsh, 895 Irish, with 129 choosing Northern Irish.

The report also added: “Another 1,309 people chose other, particularly in Cornwall, where there is a home rule and Cornish language movement principally led by the pro-devolution group Mebyon Kernow, which has 22 local councillors across the county (sic). The eastern edge of the "other" dots in the south-west of England (sic) closely follows the line of the Tamar river, the historic boundary between Cornwall and the rest of England (sic).”

It is great to see Cornish people expressing their identity and the above image shows that beautifully. The blue flags represent Other – or in the majority of cases in Cornwall – Cornish!

How can an MP support “Cornish Heritage” but vote for Devonwall?

2011-10-11T14:35:00.001+01:00

George Eustice, the Conservative MP for Camborne, Redruth and Hayle, has called on the Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt to set up a new "Cornish Heritage" body to take over the functions of English Heritage (EH) in Cornwall.

The Conservative MP has criticised EH for "letting Cornwall down for years" by not promoting its industrial history to boost tourism. He has also been involved in a spat with the organisation over its opposition to developments on Hayle's harbour, because of its World Heritage Status.

In a soundbite that could have been created for an MK member, he said:

"Towns like Camborne, Redruth and Hayle, which make up the heart of the Cornwall's mining heritage, are not even mentioned on the English Heritage website. Instead, all you get are pretty pictures of castles in the home counties."

I welcome Mr Eustice’s call for Cornish Heritage. But he is the same Mr George Eustice MP who voted for a Devonwall parliamentary constituency earlier this year.

Mr Eustice – you cannot have it both ways. You either support Cornwall, its heritage and its territoriality – or you don’t! Will you now pledge to oppose Government plans for a cross-Tamar constituency?

David (St Dennis) takes on Goliath (SITA / Cornwall Council) in the High Court

2011-10-11T14:16:00.001+01:00

Campaigners from St Dennis and the wider Mid Cornwall area are in London today for the start of a two-day High Court hearing (Section 288 challenge) to overturn the Secretary of State’s decision to grant planning permission for an incinerator with an unsustainable, annual throughput of 240,000 tonnes of waste at St Dennis.

It has been branded a "David versus Goliath" struggle and local people should be commended for the determined way in which they have raised funds to make the challenge.

I think that my good friend Pat Blanchard, the chairman of the St Dennis Incinerator Group, has summed it up well. She said: "The support of the community and work by so many individuals just illustrates how strongly people feel. We are not rich, with up-country barristers or second home owners, just ordinary people trying to do what we can to prevent a travesty."

I would like to wish the campaigners all the best. Through them, there may yet be time for Cornwall Council to develop a sustainable approach to waste management.

For information, the Western Morning News today reported that the incinerator would “burn 240,000 tons of non-recyclable household waste each year.” This is so, so untrue! The vast majority of the waste that would go to the plant could be recycled or composted.

Cabinet set to over-rule Planning Policy Advisory Panel on housing numbers

2011-10-08T09:24:00.001+01:00

Yesterday, I chaired the latest meeting of the Planning Policy Advisory Panel at County Hall which considered the content of the consultation draft on Cornwall Council’s Core Strategy.

It was a wide-ranging meeting and our comments will be reported to a meeting of the Council’s ruling Cabinet nest week, which is expected to agree the document for consultation. It is fair to say we are seeking a large number of changes.

But one area where the views of the Panel have already not been accepted by the Cabinet member is the target for housing numbers.

The report to our meeting stated the following:

“Notably, members [of the Panel] agreed by 6 : 5 vote to recommend to the Portfolio Holder a 40,000 target for dwellings over the next 20 year as a basis for consultation on the Preferred Approach. Following discussion, the Portfolio Holder has asked officers to develop an initial target of 48,000 for consultation. This reflects the medium level of growth consulted on at the options stage and that had most support at the public consultation events and is felt to be
better able to deliver strategic priorities of affordable housing and economic regeneration. On this basis the report to Cabinet will reflect this recommendation. It will, of course also refer the recommendations of PPAP for a lower figure of 40,000.”

I will nonetheless make the case for the Panel’s recommendation at next week’s meeting.

For the record, the previous public consultation on housing numbers were as follows:

Exhibition responses
Low (38,000) - 29%
Medium (48,000) - 42.5%
High (57,000) - 28.5%

Written responses
Low (38,000) - 47%
Medium (48,000) - 17%
High (57,000) - 36%

News on Cornwall Council budget for 2012-2013

2011-10-08T08:53:00.002+01:00

The Conservative and Independent administration at Cornwall Council has just published its draft budget for 2012-2013, which will be presented to a meeting of the Cabinet on Wednesday 12th October.

Key recommendations in the provisional budget, according to a press release, include.

An additional £14.4 million for Adult Care and Support.
£700,000 to fund an Educational Maintenance Allowance scheme for students in Cornwall to “support those most affected by the withdrawal of the Government’s national scheme earlier this year …”
Capital funding to support projects such as the detrunking of roads controlled by the Highways Agency, the dualling of the A30 at Temple and improvements to A38 accident blackspots; the development of new renewable energy facilities; the Port of Falmouth Masterplan; a new Archive and Records Office; and a housing strategy to address local housing shortages.
£365,000 to help secure the future of key voluntary sector organisations such as the Cornwall Rural Community Council and the Cornwall Centre for Volunteers.
Pooling the budgets of members of the Cornwall Safety Partnership to support a range of services including domestic violence and sexual abuse services.

At this point, I have no comment to make on the budget. I have yet to receive the paperwork and study it in depth. Like most members, my initial understanding of what is in the budget has come from a press statement and reports on local radio.

Indeed, it is indicative of the failings of the Cabinet system that the official press release contained messages of support for various budget proposals from individuals from outside the Council – such as the Principal of Cornwall College Dave Linnell, Mark Osterfield of Tate St Ives, and even Grand Bard Mick Paynter – and this was all before the majority of the councillors had even seen the budget!

Elected members will be able to scrutinise the provisional budget during two special Budget Scrutiny Days on Thursday 3th November and Friday 4th November, before it is brought before the full Council for a decision on 29th November.

Dennis Harris - thanks for 40 years as a parish councillor

2011-10-06T21:44:00.003+01:00

The members of St Enoder Parish Council have presented a crystal decanter to Dennis Harris, who recently retired from the Council.

A wonderfully kind man, he has given more than 40 years of service to his local community as a parish councillor over two periods.

Dennis was also a founding member of Restormel Borough Council in 1973, served on the authority for 26 years, and remembers that his proudest proudest moment was his year as the mayor of Restormel in the 1988-89 year. When the Council was abolished, he was also made an Alderman of the Borough.

He was a Cornwall County Councillor for sixteen years and has been involved with numerous local groups.

I fully agree with Parish Council Chairman Cllr Andrew Waters who presented him with the award at a recent meeting. Andrew said: "I can't speak too highly enough of him. The members all thought we should buy him a gift to say thank you for all his hard work. He has done a tremendous amount for this parish over the last four decades."

Coalition need to rethink approach to economy

2011-09-28T00:12:00.001+01:00

My latest article in the Cornish Guardian looks at the growing problems in the UK economy. It was as follows:

Headline after headline in recent weeks has painted a gloomy picture of the economic problems facing the United Kingdom, casting significant doubt on the wisdom of the British Government’s austerity drive.

I believe it was the economist John Maynard Keynes who said that “When the facts change, I change my mind".

Isn’t it time that David Cameron and George Osborne took his advice, admitted that circumstances are changing, looked again at the scope and depth of the cuts they are implementing, and found a new and different way forward?

The Coalition continues to make the argument that severe cuts to public spending will not damage the economy, and that job losses in the public sector will be more than compensated for by growth in the private sector.

But figures show that this assertion is false. The latest figures, for the three months leading up to June, show that 111,000 jobs were lost in the public sector during this period but that the private sector created only 41,000 new jobs across the UK.

Over a similar three-month period, unemployment figures show that 80,000 people joined the dole queue – taking the number of people out of work to above 2.5 million. This is a two-year high.

I consider that the Government’s approach is both wrong and counter-productive. It’s drastic spending cuts have reduced growth, as tax receipts from working people have fallen and welfare costs have increased. This makes no sense at all!

What is more, the International Monetary Fund has acknowledged that the UK’s economic performance is much weaker than anticipated, and has cut its growth forecasts for the UK economy.

It has advised the Coalition to consider slowing the pace of deficit reduction and, along with a number of economists, has stated that there is a strong possibility that the UK could fall back into recession – signalling the much feared double-dip recession.

As the cuts start to bite and people worry about the provision of public services in their local areas, it is not surprising that there is also increasing public dissatisfaction with the actions of the Government.

Recent polls are clearly showing that people think that the Government is cutting public expenditure unfairly, and that the cuts are both too fast and too deep.

Taking into account all the economic indicators being reported at the present, surely now is the time for the Government to think again and to reduce its programme of cuts, thereby safeguarding jobs and boosting economic activity?

I must admit the idea for using the Keynes quote came from an old Guardian article by Polly Toynbee. Thanks Polly.

A sad loss for Cornwall Council

2011-09-27T09:13:00.002+01:00

It is sad to hear the news that Cllr Mike Clayton died on Monday. Mike was an extremely hardworking and committed councillor, who was respected across the council chamber.

He was an Independent and served Wendron Division. As well as being Deputy Leader of the Independent group, he was Chairman of the Electoral Review Panel, though his personal focus was planning matters.

Mike was the Council’s Planning Champion and he assisted me with the work of the Planning Policy Panel, for which he was Vice-Chairman. It was a real pleasure to work with Mike on a range of issues and, in particular, he lead initiatives to provide affordable housing for local people in rural areas.

Mike was a good friend to so many of us, he had real heart, and will be greatly missed.

Anti-incinerator group says Council's alternative costs are "a fallacy"

2011-09-26T18:28:00.005+01:00

Anti-incinerator group StackAttack has today claimed that the Council’s estimate for an alternative option to the incinerator planned for St Dennis is “wildly misleading.”

StackAttack claim that Freedom of Information requests reveal a huge discrepancy between claimed and likely costs.

Spokesperson Oliver Baines has said: “It’s hard to conceive how they have got this so wrong. The Council claimed, in public, that not going ahead with the incinerator would cost Cornwall £322m. Information provided by the Council under the Freedom of Information Act has revealed a catalogue of errors in their calculations. Our realistic assessment is that their figure should be not £322m, but £132m.

“That’s a staggering discrepancy of £190m. The difference is so huge that we wonder how the Council managed to achieve it or whether it actively sought to mislead the public, or whether Councillors themselves have been misled. It obviously had in mind the cost of building the incinerator – £165m – as a target figure to exceed, to prove that not having the incinerator is more expensive than having it. What we didn’t expect was such a wild over-estimate. I wonder what Councillors will think about having the wool pulled over their eyes.”

Diana Padwick, one of StackAttack’s founders, has added: “The information reveals that the reality is the opposite of what the Council claims and that the cost of the incinerator, at £165m, will be £33m more than the alternative.

“It is scarcely credible that Cornwall Council can claim the alternative would be so massively more expensive when in fact it will be £33m cheaper.

“The only explanation we can see for this incinerator still being pursued is that Cornwall Council, having made a decision somewhere between 6 and 12 years ago to do so, entered a contract with SITA and has failed to see that the world has changed in the meantime. If it is to keep up with rapidly changing technologies, year on year reductions in waste and dramatic increases in recycling, it needs to look again at its calculations, urgently.”

Update on waste incinerator

2011-09-26T08:43:00.000+01:00

I have been informed that Cornwall Council will today commence works on the access road to the proposed site for the waste incinerator near St Dennis.

This follows the decision of the Council’s Cabinet in July to push ahead with works “at risk” on the incinerator project – before the necessary revised project plan (and costs) have been agreed and before the outcome of the Section 288 challenge brought by local people is known.

I remain nonplussed by this decision. How can the Council start works on a project before it has taken the decision as to whether the increased costs, that will be outlined in the revised project plan, are acceptable?

You may recall that in an entry on this blog some two months ago, I reported on a meeting of the Council’s Waste Panel, when officers refused to tell councillors what the costs of the project would be, even though a likely contract price had been agreed between SITA and their preferred provider.

We were told that we would be told the cost when it was presented to the Cabinet for agreement in the Autumn!

I have since found out that in a letter written by the Council to the High Court in order to facilitate a speedy hearing of the Section 288 challenge included certain information about aspects of the costs, options on land, etc, that was not shared with the members of the Waste Panel.

The letter was written only three days after the Waste Panel and I have complained why such information was not made available to the elected members of the Council.

To say that I am jaded by what is happening would be a massive understatement. I do not like being kept in the dark and I will continue to challenge this process at every opportunity.

Back from my holidays

2011-09-26T08:38:00.001+01:00

There have been few blog entries in recent days, as I have been away for one week of “hard-earned” holiday in Snowdonia.

To anyone who is interested, the break was wonderful. Ann and I even stomped to the very top of Snowdon (see above). We chose what we thought would be the best day and yet we had to trek up through dense fog, arriving at the summit in torrential rain. Thank goodness, there was a café there with steaming cups of tea to enjoy.

The weather did eventually clear – it was great to be able to view North Wales for miles – and I have come to the conclusion that I am not half as fit as I used to be. Too much time spent seated in council meetings, no doubt.

Anyway, back to blogging!

Total Politics 2011 Blog Awards – some more thanks

2011-09-21T00:55:00.003+01:00

The latest rankings in the Blog Awards have been announced and my blog has been listed in two more categories. Thanks again to everyone who took the time to vote for this blog – much appreciated!

The blog has been listed at no 13 in ‘top 35 councillor blogs,’ alongside six other Cornish councillors.

While in ‘top blogs overall’ it have been listed twice – at no 143 as Mebyon Kernow and at no 232 as Cllr Dick Cole. Not sure what is going on there, but I understand others have pointed out inconstistencies. Some editing of the lists is clearly needed!

UPDATE: The double-entry has been sorted. The final placing for this blog in 'top blog overall' has edged into the top 100 - at no 92.

The sale of the Restormel Offices - no answers at Cabinet!

2011-09-14T14:21:00.004+01:00

The members of Cornwall Council’s Cabinet today voted to develop a business case for the sale of Council offices in St Austell, and to appoint Terrace Hill Properties Limited as their preferred bidder for the site.

The report presented to the Cabinet claimed that they could sell off part of the site to a supermarket and use the capital receipt to build new offices at a cost of about £12 million.

I spoke at the meeting and opposed the proposal, raising a number of issues for the Cabinet to address.

Local member consultation
Six months ago, I found out about the possible sell-off via the front pages of local newspapers. I complained that local members from the wider area (eg. the China Clay Area, St Blazey, Par, etc) had not been informed.

Councillors from these areas were promised that they would be kept informed, but this did not happen. We finally got a short briefing last week after we heard rumours from junior members of staff and took the initiative ourselves to approach the Head of Property.

It does not stack up!
I pointed out the potential receipt from the sale (which was included within confidential papers) suggested to me that the whole thing did not make financial sense.

An important centre
I also outlined my view that St Austell should be a key centre for the authority and I had little faith in promises that there would continue to be a strong Cornwall Council presence in the town.
I pointed out that numerous members of staff were being moved out of the St Austell offices. Another member added that it was obvious that the offices were deliberately being run down.

Examples I gave included the fact that legal staff are about to be moved to Camborne; Electoral Services is now based in South East and candidates for next months town council by-election in St Austell will have to travel to Liskeard to drop off their nomination papers; staff dealing with the proposed St Austell eco-town are based in Truro; and most planning staff thought they were being moved to Truro until a few days ago. I could go on!

Maintenance backlog?
Other arguments presented by the Cabinet Member and Head of Property included the assertion the building’s layout was “inefficient” and there was a significant maintenance backlog. Yet it was only 12 months ago that we were told that the Penwinnick offices were amongst the best that Cornwall Council had. What is more, there will be a growing maintenance backlog if this Council continues to neglect the St Austell offices (presumably in the expectation of a sale!)

Surplus land
For my last point, I pointed that if we as a Council did find surplus land at any time, we should not sell it to supermarkets but, where appropriate, should go into partnership with local developers to provide proper affordable housing for local people.

The Cabinet response
The leader addressed the lack of consultation and promised there would be consultation with all local members in the future (just like they did six months ago).

All the other issues that I raised were ignored, they were not discussed and no comments were forthcoming.

The Devonwall seat - consultation news

2011-09-13T18:37:00.005+01:00

The “Boundary Commission for England” is consulting on their proposed new parliamentary constituencies for Cornwall and England. It will be for a 12-week period, from 13 September 2011 to 5 December 2011.

In their supporting document, they state that they “cannot recommend constituencies that have electorates that are more or less than 5% from the electoral quota (apart from the two covering the Isle of Wight).”

I, on the other hand, believe we have a responsibility to make the case for Cornwall-only constituencies and to continue to show the strength of feeling against the ridiculous proposal for a Devonwall constituency.

Indeed, let’s send them an absolute avalanche of representations which will make central government think again or to encourage MPs to develop backbones and vote against the changes.

Written representations can be via a consultation website, at www.consultation.boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Or emailed to southwest@bcommengland.x.gsi.gov.uk or sent in writing to: Boundary Commission for England, 35 Great Smith Street, London, SW1P 3BQ.

The Commission will also be holding a public hearing in Cornwall which will take place at the Alverton Manor Hotel in Truro on 10th and 11th November. I will blog again when I have more details.

But, in the meantime, lets get writing …

Top left wing blogs - number 41

2011-09-13T13:30:00.001+01:00

The Total Politics magazine has started publishing the results for its Blog Awards 2011.

There are a number of different categories and I am pleased that this blog has been placed in the top 75 left wing blogs. I have come in at position 41.

May I say a big thank you to everyone who took the time to vote for this site. It is much appreciated.

Cornwall is well-represented in this section of the awards. A number of other Cornish bloggers, some with MK links, were also placed. These include the Cornish Zetetic’s site http://cornishzetetics.blogspot.com/ (position 47), Cllr Stephen Richardson's http://illoganblogger.blogspot.com/ (position 53), Rob Simmon’s http://robscornishblog.blogspot.com/ (position 64) and Simon Reed’s http://theinsaneramblingsofavillageidiot.com/ has sneaked in at position 75.

Well done to one and all.

BAD NEWS: Coalition plans for Devonwall seat announced

2011-09-12T19:10:00.005+01:00

The “Boundary Commission for England” has today published its recommendations for constituency boundaries for the next General Election.

And, following the refusal of Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs / Lords to protect the territorial integrity of Cornwall, a cross-Tamar Devonwall has been recommended.

They wish it to be called Bideford & Bude and it would include the following Cornwall Council divisions: Altarnun, Bude North and Stratton, Bude South, Camelford, Flexbury and Poughill, Launceston Central, Launceston North, Launceston South, Poundstock, St Teath, Tintagel.

It has been well reported that there is a growing anxiety amongst MPs about the final outcome of the boundary review and it has been suggested that many, who face losing their seats and livelihoods, might oppose the legislation.

Now is the time for us to use this announcement to put pressure on the Coalition and their MPs to oppose the changes which will need to be agreed by Parliament.

Now is the time to fight back and to do all in our power to undermine the legislation.

Tory Ministers guilty of "breathtaking hypocrisy"

2011-09-12T18:12:00.002+01:00

Government Ministers including Eric Pickles (Planning), the Chancellor George Osborne and Grant Shapps (Housing) have this week been accused of “breathtaking hypocrisy” by the Guardian newspaper.

Collectively, these men are spearheading moves to relax planning guidelines, making it more difficult for local people to oppose planning applications. But the newspaper reports that they have also been prominent in campaigns against developments in their own areas.

George Osborne has campaigned against two incinerator proposals and was even honorary president of one campaign group.

Eric Pickles meanwhile opposed a composting facility in his Essex constituency, arguing that waste should not carried over long distances.

And yet, this is the man who as Secretary of State, and in spite of widespread local opposition, sanctioned the construction of a massive incinerator at St Dennis.

In an interview with the Western Morning News (2nd July), he has even admitted that he did not read the Inspector’s report, stating that he did “not know the details of St Dennis, as decisions can be taken in his name.”

I believe that Government Ministers are guilty of “breathtaking hypocrisy,” while Eric Pickles is also guilty of negligence and an indifference to areas other than his own.

Statement of the week: “We are where we are …”

2011-09-12T18:10:00.001+01:00

Last week, councillor after councillor began speeches with the awful phrase: “We are where we are …”

Whether it was in the Waste Panel, or in the Scrutiny Committee discussing cuts to the budget for discretionary bus fares, they somehow felt that this statement passed blame onto some past group of councillors, or some past action, and insulated them from having to properly explore a different way forward.

I would suggest this phrase represents a failure to challenge.

A dysfunctional housing market!

2011-09-07T00:02:00.001+01:00

My latest column in the Cornish Guardian looks at planning matters again. It is as follows:

The Government is continuing to attract significant criticism for its proposed National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which one Tory MP has announced will allow developers to build “what they like, where they like and when they like.”

The Framework has been denounced as “cavalier,” while opponents have accused the Coalition of “downgrading the rules which protect the natural environment” and distorting the meaning of sustainability to “mean its mirror opposite.”

At the same time, Government housing minister Grant Shapps has acknowledged that house prices in Britain have become "too unaffordable" while the National Housing Foundation has branded Britain’s housing market to be "totally dysfunctional.”

But their simplistic solution, in line with their planning framework, is to “build, build and build.” This is simply wrong, especially for Cornwall and its communities.

Let’s look back at the last few years and a few facts and figures.

In 1991, Cornwall had about 190,000 occupied dwellings. Over the last twenty years, over 45,000 new properties were built – an increase of 25% in housing stock. And yet, in spite of all this building, house prices went up and up!

Indeed, in the ten years from 1997, house prices almost tripled while private sector rents have also spiralled out of control. But wages, in areas like ours, have climbed by only 35% over the last decade.

The Housing Minister may talk about the high cost of housing, but his Government is doing little to reduce the cost of renting or purchasing a house, especially in low wage areas like Cornwall.

In terms of “affordable housing,” the Government is actually doing the exact opposite and now wants housing associations to charge more for their rental properties.

If Grant Shapps and his colleagues are serious about dealing with the dysfunctional housing market in this country, there is much they can do.

They could and should investigate legislation to control prices in the private rented sector – so that people are not paying out a disproportionate amount of their income to simply keep a roof over their heads.

They need to increase government investment in the delivery of truly affordable homes for local people, and to rebuild a public rented sector with rents kept as low as possible.

And they need to take on the banks who are denying many young families fair mortgages by demanding huge deposits and, in many cases, refusing mortgages to people seeking affordable properties.

Statement of the day: I'm proud to be Cornish, but ...

2011-09-06T21:28:00.003+01:00

In the debate on a public holiday on St Piran's Day, and in the Members' Library after the meeting, it was amazing how many councillors uttered sentences along the lines of:

"I'm proud to be Cornish, but ..."

"No-one is a prouder Cornishman than me, but ..."

"I'm Cornish, but ..."

It is all very disappointing and it shows why Cornwall needs more Mebyon Kernow councillors.

Other debates at County Hall

2011-09-06T21:23:00.002+01:00

There were two further debates at Cornwall Council today.

The first was a Liberal Democrat motion which sought to monitor the number of staff and salaries, etc, in the three operational areas of the unitary council – known romantically in New County Hall as east, central and west.

The aim was to make information available to encourage a fairer deployment of resources across Cornwall and it was supported by a majority of councillors. It was ironic (understatement of the year) though to see Lib Dem councillors blaming others for the centralisation they caused by pushing through the unitary authority in the first place!

A large number of the concerns came from councillors in the north and east of Cornwall. My contribution was to point out that the impact of the centralising influences stretched further than that. I raised concerns that the Council’s presence in St Austell faced being downgraded due to the influence of Truro and likewise Penzance is losing out to Camborne and elsewhere.

The final motion dealt with by the Council was to acknowledge serious under-funding of the NHS in Cornwall and to challenge the Secretary of State to uplift Cornwall’s health funding by £20.6 million in this financial year in order to combat the underspend.

Unsurprisingly, this was carried unanimously.

Councillors not standing up for Cornwall

2011-09-06T16:32:00.002+01:00

At the full meeting of Cornwall Council this afternoon, councillors had the opportunity to support a motion which simply instructed the Chief Executive to respond to a consultation stating that any change to existing bank holidays should lead to the creation of a public holiday for St Piran’s Day.

Sadly, councillors voted to defer making a decision – including many who, in the previous debate, spoke out so strongly against Devonwall and in favour of greater powers for Cornwall.

As I said at the meeting – if the Council does not make this simple representation it will show how its lacks ambition and sees Cornwall as merely a nameless, rural hinterland somewhere to the west of Plymouth.

If a St Andrew’s Day holiday is ok for the nation of Scotland; if a St David’s Day holiday is a possibility for the nation of Wales – then we must argue for parity and a St Piran’s Day holiday for the historic Celtic nation of Cornwall.

I was one of a number of councillors who recorded their names as voting against the amendment to defer this item.

For information - with the exception of the MK Group, all other groups on the Council were split when it came to the vote.

Councillors standing up for Cornwall

2011-09-06T16:30:00.002+01:00

At the full meeting of Cornwall Council this morning, councillors voted to strongly assert their anger at the shift towards an elected Police Commissioner for “Devon and Cornwall,” and to not support the Chief Executive becoming the PARO (Police Area Returning Officer) for the Commissioner Elections if they happen next May.

The heart of the motion was to “send a strong cross-party delegation to the Home Secretary to assert stronger Cornish representation in governance, opposition to Devonwall, assessment of the case for a Cornish Commissioner and Police Force, principle of democratic governance and accountability.”

It was also good to see some councillors at the meeting standing tall and demanding action for “our country” or “nation” – and it wasn’t the usual suspects!

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

2011-08-31T16:55:00.002+01:00

My latest column in the Cornish Guardian focuses on the publication of the draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). It is as follows:

The Coalition Government has launched a draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). It is a mere 52 pages long and will replace more than 1,300 pages of planning rules and regulations. Senior politicians such as Eric Pickles MP and Greg Clark MP are claiming that the planning system is too complex and forbidding – the preserve of specialists – and that they are making it simpler for “people in communities” to understand and use.

They are making grand statements about the new Framework and how it will free local communities from central government intervention. But the reality does not match the spin.

The document contains a “presumption in favour of development.” It states that “decision-takers at every level should assume that the default answer to development proposals is yes” and that councils should grant consent where local planning documents are silent, indeterminate or dated.

The document also promotes the concept of “Neighbourhood Plans” which they claim will give “communities direct power to plan the areas in which they live.” But it also states that these plans must be aligned with national and key council documents, taking away any significant local discretion on strategic issues.

The National Trust has condemned the new planning rules, stating that it could mean “unchecked and damaging development … on a scale not seen since the 1930s.” It has also called on central government “to ensure that the economic, environmental and social benefits of development go hand in hand” and damaging developments are not pushed through on narrow economic grounds.

The Campaign for the Protection of Rural England has meanwhile claimed the reforms “will place the countryside under increasing threat and leave local communities and planning authorities largely powerless in the face of developer pressure.”

One local MP has also denounced the proposals of his own Government, claiming that they put “greed” before “need” and “would turn places like Cornwall into a ‘developer’s paradise’ and stop stone dead any chance of us ever meeting our desperate local housing need.”

All these concerns are valid. And it is my hope that individuals and groups will challenge the Government to rethink much of the Framework through its consultation which will last until 17th October.

It is certainly disappointing to see that the Framework bears little relation to the campaign speeches made by local Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs in their election campaigns only last year.

Be brave … Cornwall is a nation

2011-08-25T12:52:00.002+01:00

This morning I attended a meeting of Cornwall Council’s Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee, and took part in the debate on a Culture White Paper.

I asked a provocative question about how the Council perceived Cornwall in terms of its culture and territorial status. I even challenged the members to “be brave” and to refer to Cornwall as a nation.

In terms of the document, on page 5, it referred to both the Cornish and international communities, but prefixed Cornish with “local.” On the same page, the vision referred to Cornwall as an “international rural region.” A bit confused here … if we are truly “international” that reflects Cornwall’s nationhood, not some concept of regionality or indeed localness.

On page 15, I was delighted to see reference to a “National Archive for Cornwall” – not a local or regional archive, but a National Archive! Fantastic stuff.

However, lower down the same page, another project was described. This was the “International Theatre of Cornwall” based on the “successful National Theatres of Scotland and Wales – although this time people were, for some unfathomable reason, scared to describe ours as a National Theatre!

Leading council officers have asked to discuss this issue further with me, but in the meantime they will continue to describe Cornwall as (please delete as appropriate) (i) a locality / (ii) a region / (iii) a nation / (iv) all three descriptions, sometimes (v) something else!

Justice system - double standards

2011-08-25T09:32:00.003+01:00

My column in this week's Cornish Guardian builds on my previous comments on the rioting. It focuses on some of the sentencing that followed and the double-standards. Thanks to Cornish Zetetics, who I have quoted. The piece was as follows:

Civilized countries need a justice system that treats everyone fairly, is consistent and proportionate, and seeks to rehabilitate those who have committed crimes.

You may recall that in last week’s Cornish Guardian, I wrote about the rioting that had taken place in a number of English cities. And I welcomed the fact that those individuals who rioted, and took part in violent disorder, were being dealt with severely by the courts.

I stand by that view, but I did not envisage that I would be so perplexed at the extent of some of the sentences being handed out.

For example, I could not comprehend why one single parent with no previous convictions, who did not take part in the riots but accepted a single piece of stolen clothing, could be sentenced to five months in jail.

One local on-line commentator has compared the experience of this woman to those of another, more fortunate, class of individual – an MP. He wrote:

Ursula Nevin – “Stretford woman (two children, one and five years old) in prison for five months after pleading guilty to receiving stolen goods (a pair of shorts) from a rioter.”

Hazel Blears MP – “Salford woman (no children) accused of defrauding taxpayers of £13,320 in unpaid capital gains tax. When discovered admitted guilt by writing out cheque for Inland Revenue. Remains uncharged. Not in prison and keeps her £65,000 a year salary.”

I consider this to be a telling comparison. It shows that there is massive inequity at the heart of our justice system. How could one person receive such a disproportionate sentence? And would she have been “got off” if she had offered to give the shorts back – of course she wouldn’t have!

I am particularly appalled at the comments of right-wing MPs, who have been lining up to demand ever more severe sanctions on offenders including the eviction of families from their homes.

One of the most outspoken Tories has been work and pensions spokesman James Clappison, who has even called for a reduction in benefit payments.

But this is man who already owns two “homes” outright – as well as 22 other properties – and yet has somehow managed to claim over £100,000 in second home expenses (or benefits) since 2001. Money which was spent on such things as utility bills, property improvements including the refurbishment of brass fittings on his front door, a television licence and cable television bill, as well as gardening costs – including petunias, geraniums and busy lizzies.

It’s another wonderful case of double standards if you ask me.

For information, Ursula Nevin has rightly had her sentence reduced to 75 hours community service. James Clappison MP has paid back the £38.50 he should not have claimed for bedding plants. No action has been taken and he has not been jailed for five months.

Plaid Cymru MP to speak at MK Conference in November

2011-08-18T23:24:00.005+01:00

I am pleased to announce that Jonathan Edwards (see left), the Plaid Cymru MP for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, has agreed to speak at MK’s Conference in November.

He will join Kenneth Gibson, an SNP member of the Scottish Parliament, and a host of other speakers at the event, which is intended to mark our 60th year in style.

It will take place over the weekend of the 19th and 20th November at the Shire House Suite in Bodmin.

The Saturday will showcase MK, its policies and include “A Rally for a Cornish Assembly.” Mebyon Kernow members and non-members are invited to attend and entry is free.

In the evening, there will be a buffet and entertainment for one and all to enjoy. Tickets for the concert / buffet will be £10 per person.

Mebyon Kernow’s formal AGM will take place on the Sunday, when there will be debates about party policy and sessions on campaign strategy.

Tickets for the concert / buffet can be ordered from the Conference co-ordinator Cllr Stephen Richardson at 39 Chariot Road, Illogan Highway, Redruth or via stephen.richardson@mebyonkernow.org.

Mebyon Kernow comment on recent spate of riots

2011-08-17T08:59:00.003+01:00

In my column in today's Cornish Guardian, I comment on the disorder that recently broke out in a number of cities. The article was written four-five days ago and is as below:

We have all seen, on television and in the printed press, the truly shocking images of the recent rioting in English cities such as London, Birmingham and Manchester.

I find it extremely difficult to comprehend why so many young people can resort to such mindless violence.

The destruction of property, the loss of so many businesses and homes, and the resultant death of a number of men, is a national tragedy. And it is unbelievable that many of the rioters simply saw the disorder as a materialistic opportunity to loot shops – to steal everything from TV sets to clothing – something that the Prime Minister rightly condemned as “criminality, pure and simple.”

The leaders of both the Coalition and the Opposition are also correct that the immediate priority for the UK Government must be to restore order to the streets, and to prevent further violence and rioting from erupting in the near-future.

The behaviour of the rioters cannot be excused in any way, and it is to be welcomed that those individuals arrested and convicted are being dealt with severely by the justice system.

This is an important part of the short-term response, but I find it disconcerting that high-ranking politicians in the Coalition have attempted to blame the Police for the way that they handled the unrest.

Now is also not the time for knee-jerk reactions, such as those of Wandsworth Council which has already started proceedings to evict one mother and her young daughter from a council house because her teenage son has been charged – but not yet convicted – of taking part in the riots.

It is my view that the Coalition Government needs to promote a wideranging and thoughtful debate about what is clearly a complicated situation, properly investigating what caused the riots, why the violence broke out and what should be done now.

I believe that the Government needs to be asking why so many, mostly young, people feel so disaffected and alienated from society that they can engage in such destructive behaviour without giving thought to the consequences.

Much of the violence was in areas with widespread poverty, and Cameron and others need to be asking to what degree inequality and a lack of opportunity have allowed such disaffection to fester.

And they need to be asking whether government cuts in funding to local councils, the Police and numerous voluntary and other groups - which is predicted to lead to the widespread closure of community and youth facilities - will make British Society even less equal and more fractured.

Free “Cornish Nation”

2011-08-16T14:38:00.000+01:00

Mebyon Kernow has just published its latest edition of “Cornish Nation” magazine, which is sent to all MK members four times a year.

This edition covers a range of topics such as alternatives to the cuts of the Coalition, the SNP taking control of the Scottish Parliament, a tribute to former MK councillor Verity Gondal who died in July, and much, much more.

A free copy of “The Nation” is available on request from dick.cole.mk@gmail.com. If you would like a copy, please specify whether you would like the magazine in either hard copy or as a pdf.

Bolitho sings

2011-08-13T18:31:00.001+01:00

Some months ago, a new CD was released, which features twenty tracks in both Cornish and English, from the late great John Bolitho.

The CD, titled Bolitho Sings, is a compilation put together by Merv Davey and An Daras. It includes John's trademark Maggie May, Bro Goth Agan Tasow and An Rosen Wyn (The White Rose), as well as The Lower Lights, Calm is the Sea and Danny Boy.

I had been meaning to buy the CD for quite awhile. I finally picked it up last week and it is a real treat. I would recommend it to everyone – especially those people who knew John and heard him perform in the past.

Reviewing the CD in the Western Morning News, Simon Parker described John’s commitment to Cornwall as “beyond compare,” adding “mention John Bolitho to anyone who met him and they will invariably beam with pleasure at the memory of a friendly, generous and much-loved Bude man.” Quite right.

A brilliant singer, John performed the length and breadth of Cornwall, as well as further afield. He was also a leading member of Mebyon Kernow – the Party for Cornwall for many years, representing his home area on North Cornwall District Council and contesting the North Cornwall seat in the 1997 General Election. He was also the Grand Bard of the Cornish Gorseth between 2000 and 2003, and involved with a wide range of cultural groups across Cornwall.

Bolitho Sings costs £11 (including postage and packing) and is available from Heather Bolitho at 4 Grenville Gate, Poughill, Bude. Cheques should be made payable to Heather Bolitho.

Why not treat yourself and buy the CD!

The views of planning consultants Tetlow King

2011-08-13T18:28:00.002+01:00

The “Planning” magazine – the journal of the Royal Town Planning Institute – has reported on the Planning Policy Advisory Panel’s rejection of “proposals from officers to provide 54,000 new homes in the county (sic) over the next twenty years.”

It wrote: “Instead, it voted to propose a figure of 40,000 over the period – down from the 68,200 over 20 years proposed for the county (sic) in the draft regional spatial strategy for the South West."

As Chairman of the Panel I am quoted in the report, as is Jamie Sullivan who is described as “principal planner” for the consultancy Tetlow King.

He said: “Whatever target the Council sets will have to be justified by robust evidence and it seems peculiar that their target is at such variance with the former regional target.”

Peculiar? I think not!

Planning Policy Panel says no to 54,000 figure

2011-08-05T15:18:00.002+01:00

At yesterday’s meeting of the Planning Policy Advisory Panel, councillors did not support the recommendation to set a housing target of 54,000 new properties between 2010 and 2030.

The figure that will be recommended to the Council’s ruling Cabinet for the next stage of consultation was 40,000.

As expected, a range of different views were expressed and the meeting lasted from 10.00 in the morning to 4.30 in the afternoon.

I argued that we had consulted the public and we should listen to the views of town and parish councils, voluntary and community and other groups. Most had shown support for lower or medium levels of growth (see previous blog).

I also argued that Cornwall had had growth rates as high as, or higher than, other parts of the United Kingdom and that this could not go on indefinitely.

I also challenged projections on the extent of new households being generated from within Cornwall by the trend towards smaller household sizes (people living longer, more single person households, etc).

At a previous briefing we were told that in 1991, the average household size was 2.46 persons and had gone down to 2.32 persons in 2001 and was 2.27 persons now.

It was suggested that the projected figure for 2030 would be 2.1 persons per household and that we would therefore need to provide 30,000 new homes to stand still (ie. zero net in-migration). I did my own calculations which came to a vastly different conclusion and latterly the Council revised the projection to 2.2 persons per household.

In terms of the main debate, some members said that they were “content” with the 54,000 figure, others argued for a lower figure.

A proposal to support 52,000 was moved and I then moved an amendment for 40,000, arguing that the priority was far-reaching policies to maximmise the delivery of proper local-needs housing - not high growth dominated by open market housing. A further amendment for 48,000 was moved and the original proposal withdrawn.

The vote was extremely close and the votes were split across parties. Six members supported the 40,000 figure (1 MK, 1 Conservative, 1 Lib Dem and 3 Independents) while five supported the 48,000 figure (3 Conservatives, 1 Lib Dem and 1 Independent).

Much work still has to be done on the Core Strategy document, the policies within it and how much housing is appropriate for the different areas of Cornwall. I will feedback more information in the near-future, in particular, whether Cabinet supports our recommendation.

How many new properties for Cornwall by 2030? Report to follow.

2011-08-03T15:24:00.001+01:00

Tomorrow, I will chair a meeting of the Planning Policy Advisory Panel which will consider how many new properties should be built in Cornwall over the next twenty years.

Months ago, the Council consulted on a range of options – 38,000 (described as low), 48,000 (medium) and 57,000 (high). It also invited individuals and groups to offer their own alternatives.

Most written responses from Parish Councils and groups plumped for the low to medium options. COSERG suggested a much lower figure. Developers meanwhile mostly went for the high option and a number of them suggested even higher growth figures.

In the public consultation events, 29% of people went for the low option, 42.5% went for medium and 28.5% for high.

The recommendation from officers is 54,000.

I had thought to write a comprehensive piece in advance of the meeting but have decided to instead produce a detailed report after the meeting. At the moment I am working on statistics for household formation and, in particular, growth in smaller household sizes, which I intend to challenge tomorrow.

I have heard the councillors on the Panel express a range of views about housing numbers and I am honestly unsure of how the meeting will go tomorrow and what recommendation it will come to.

But I do know one thing and that is I will have a lot to say.

Retew – once a village, now only a name

2011-08-01T08:12:00.006+01:00

On Saturday, I had the privilege of opening an impressive new exhibition at the Wheal Martyn China Clay Country Park near St Austell.

The exhibition is titled “Retew – once a village, now only a name.” It explores the history of the former settlement of Retew near Fraddon, which was lost to the china clay industry in the 1960s when Remfry Pit was expanded.

The displays are a result of the collaborative work undertaken by the painter Chris Miller, the photographer Kirsten Cooke and the China Clay History Society. They combine historic images and documents, as well as more recent photographs of the surrounding area.

This all came about when Chris Miller returned to Cornwall after living in France for a number of years. She decided to revisit areas with family connections. This included Retew.

In recalling her thoughts, Chris has said: “Nothing had prepared me for the poignant moment of following a quiet tree-lined lane to Retew to find around the corner, a turf bank obscuring the gaping hole where Retew had sunk without trace.”

She became fascinated by the background history of this lost village and, with the help of her friend Kirsten and the China Clay History Society, started to piece together the story of Retew.

One fascinating part of the exhibition is the recorded memories of people who lived in the village up to the 1960s.

I do not remember Retew as such, but growing up in St Enoder Parish in the 1970s I do recall much of the area around where Retew once stood.

I remember going to the area on a regular basis with my parents to collect firewood, transporting it home in the back of our Ford Anglia estate.

I also remember exploring around derelict farm buildings, playing “Cowboys and Indians” in an area of pine trees, and loitering around the area of a badger sett, in the hope that we would get to see one of the animals.

Even these areas have now been lost to clay extraction, but my later childhood reminiscences are nothing compared to the memories of those people who lost their homes and community.

The story of Retew is one that needs to be told, and this exhibition does that admirably.

The exhibition runs from 31 July to 31 August. It is open daily from 10.00am to 5.00pm and it is free to enter. I would encourage everyone to visit Wheal Martyn and learn more about Retew.

The Asylum

2011-07-31T19:10:00.001+01:00

There has been a lot happening in the last few days. Indian Queens Band Week has just finished with the carnival taking place yesterday. I was at Thursday’s Fete at the Blue Anchor, but missed the carnival as I was opening an exhibition at the Wheal Martyn China Clay Country Park (more about that in a future blog).

But later yesterday, I attended Kneehigh’s performance of “Midnight’s Pumpkin” at The Asylum, near Blackwater. It was a fantastic evening.

The play is a distinctive retelling of Cinderella and the players even invite the audience to take part in parts of the Ball. Most joined in - cue lots of enjoyable but dodgy boogieing and, at the end, playing with balloons.

If you get the chance to go – do take the opportunity and enjoy. You won’t regret it!

Councillors challenge need for bus service cuts

2011-07-28T10:53:00.000+01:00

The proposal to slash funding of concessionary bus fares in Cornwall was discussed at yesterday’s Environment and Economy Scrutiny Committee.

The Cabinet Member for Transportation, Graeme Hicks, told members that cuts of over £2 million needed to be made. We also had representations from bus companies that the cut would lead to the loss of numerous services and less regular buses.

I was amazed that council officers were telling us that they were still “information gathering” but were clearly in talks with the bus companies about the percentage of concessionary fares that would be paid by the Council. It was clear that there seemed to be a lack of understanding of the implications of such cuts.

Members spoke out about the importance of Cornwall’s bus network, some called for the “shortfall” to be met from reserves, while others rightly railed against the lack of detail put in front of them.

I suggested that a proper “Inquiry Day” be held, with the bus operators, passengers and interested parties invited to attend to look at the detail more closely. This was agreed by members present.

Yet more double standards

2011-07-28T10:38:00.001+01:00

Yesterday the Cabinet voted unanimously to push ahead with works “at risk” on the incinerator project – before the necessary revised project was agreed and before the outcome of the Section 288 challenge is known.

But, as promised, I would like to make one more comment on the Waste Panel meeting last week, when I challenged why the leadership of Cornwall Council had refused to work up a Plan B.

I quoted a recent response to members from the previous Full Council meeting which stated that the Council’s “existing waste policy was contained within the Waste Local Plan 2002. This Plan required the development of a single central energy from waste facility. Any movement away from this policy and the formation of a ‘Plan B’ could only take place once the planning appeal had been determined. It was only with the benefit of the specific reasons as to why a single central Energy from Waste facility would not be awarded planning permission that an appropriate Plan B could have been formed.”

At the Waste Panel, the Corporate Director broadly repeated this assertion, in effect stating that it would not have been appropriate to work up what might be termed a “departure” from adopted policy.

This did not go down well with frustrated members, who actually understood that one of the main reasons for the Waste Panel was to work up an alternative proposal. It was also a new excuse for months of stalling.

I also challenged the Director on his statement and pointed out that the leadership of the Council and the Corporate Directors were actively promoting a number of departure schemes for things such as large-scale housing and park and ride schemes around Truro. I asked when the Council would withdraw from such proposals.

I am also getting increasingly angry that the leadership of the Council believes that policy documents such as the 2002 Waste Local Plan stop us from working up alternative schemes. But other documents such as the 2002 Restormel Borough Local Plan and 2004 Cornwall Structure Plan are somehow out-dated and allow the Council to push alternative schemes.

What double standards.

A lack of transparency at Cornwall Council

2011-07-25T09:27:00.002+01:00

Last week, I was present at a meeting of Cornwall Council’s Waste Panel. It was certainly not a good advert for local government, or openness and transparency. The meeting was convened to update councillors on the “revised project plan” being worked up for the construction of an incinerator at St Dennis.

Some background first. Cornwall Council signed an “Intregrated Waste Management Contract” with SITA in 2006. The decision of the former County Council to refuse permission for the incinerator meant that works could not be commenced by March 2010. This triggered clauses in the Contract which meant that the Council could terminate it, if they wished, or ask for a revised project plan.

Cornwall Council’s Cabinet declined to investigate the option of termination and invited SITA to present a revised project plan. The Secretary of State also granted consent for the plant in June, while a group of people from the St Dennis area recently launched a 288 challenge against the decision. This will go to the High Court.

At the Waste Panel meeting, we were told that the Council had obtained a legal opinion from a QC that stated the challenge was unlikely to be successful. The recommendation was that work be started, “at risk,” on the purchase of land and the construction of roads. It would be “at risk” because it would be before the new plan is agreed or the outcome of the challenge known. The cost of these works was estimated at £3-4 million.

I asked scores of questions and sought to challenge much of what we were being told. First, I asked about the QC’s opinion and, as an elected member, requested to see the full document. I was told that it was confidential and I could not see it. So much for transparency.

When the progress towards the revised project plan was discussed, it was noted that the incinerator proposal was the same as the one agreed by the Secretary of State, but had been recosted and would now be considerably more expensive.

As much of the discussion was about cost, I asked the obvious question: how much would it cost to build the incinerator? I was told that the figures were not yet known.

So I pointed out that the report stated that SITA had identified a new preferred bidder (out of nine original interested companies) to build the plant and that they had been judged on a range of criteria including “value for money” and the “contract price.”

At this point, it was acknowledged that a likely contract price was therefore known but they were not going to tell us what it was anyway. So much for openness and democracy.

In spite of the lack of information, the majority of councillors at the Panel meeting voted to support works being commenced “at risk.” I was one of two councillors who took the opposite view.

The final decision will be taken by the Cabinet this week (Wednesday).

I have some further comments about aspects of the meeting, which I will blog about later. A range of briefing and discussions have also been held in recent weeks about housing numbers for Cornwall over the next 20 years. I have been meaning to blog about it for some time, but promise it will happen this week.

Truro City Council by-election

2011-07-22T11:45:00.002+01:00

MK candidate Lance Dyer polled 144 votes in yesterday’s by-election for a seat on Truro City Council (Boscawen). Compared to the last contest in this seat – a by-election in September 2009 – MK held its vote share almost exactly.

The seat was won by the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrat vote almost halved and Labour gained a large number of votes. The full result was as follows:

Conservative 469 (39.7% – up 8.9% from 2009)
Lib Dem 322 (27.3% – down 21.3% from 2009)
Labour 246 (20.8% – up 12.3% from 2009)
MK 144 (12.2% – up 0.2% from 2009)

Obviously we would have like to picked up more votes, but do feel we may have lost a number of votes because of a Conservative leaflet distributed in the last week.

The leaflet (see below) listed the candidates and had a comment about each. It noted that Lorrie Eathorne-Gibbons (Conservative) “lives in the ward and wants the best for Truro,” while Hanna Toms (Labour) “doesn’t live in the ward” and Kate Tregunna (Liberal Democrat) also “doesn’t live in the ward.”

But for Lance Dyer, the Conservative leaflet stated: “A Mebyon Kernow Councillor just joined Conservatives.” Obviously this refers to former MK councillor Loic Rich but it was written in such a way that many people interpreted it to mean that Lance had joined the Tories. All the other comments were personal to individual candidates and therefore people read the comment about Lance in the same way.

We first found out about the confusion when were even contacted by voters asking if Lance had joined the Tories.

I contacted the Conservatives about this issue yesterday and spoke to their election agent Bob Davidson and got nowhere. He said the leaflet was not misleading and not inaccurate.

For the record; the leaflet was shoddy and it was misleading because voters were mislead by it. And it was also inaccurate because Loic Rich was a former MK councillor when he joined the Conservatives.

We will certainly be looking to take this further and asking for an apology. I am not that hopeful however as we did not receive an apology when MK was misrepresented on a different Conservative leaflet in a Camborne by-election last year (see blog entry for 18 November 2010).

What about parity for the China Clay Area?

2011-07-14T23:47:00.003+01:00

It has been another grim day at County Hall and I “threw my toys out of the pram” a couple of times. In truth, sometimes the frustration of being a member of Cornwall Council is just too much.

I was at the meeting of the Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the first item that got me going was an update on the rationalisation of “face-to-face” services. That is basically libraries and one-stop shops, which provide council services.

Much of the review could be applauded. Linking one-stop shops to libraries in a number of areas will help safeguard what can be provided, while new services from libraries in places such as Perranporth, St Agnes and St Just is to be welcomed.

But there was one glaring oversight which I felt I had to point out – as I have been doing for two years. And that is how Cornwall Council is failing to properly provide such services in the China Clay Area Network.

We have no permanent one-stop shop. Library provision is restricted to six hours a week in St Dennis School. There have been some attempts to have drop-in sessions in local halls, but these have been infrequent and under-resourced.

I accept that the China Clay Area Network does not have an obvious centre, such as a single town, from which to provide services. But there was a promise to convert a minibus into a mobile one-stop shop – which would have been cheaper than what is spent in other areas - but senior management pulled the plug on the project.

So, unlike other Network Areas, the China Clay Area has not had its fair share of spend on “face-to-face” services, staff and buildings, and has lost out – massively.

After a “rant” at the meeting, I moved that there be an investigation into why the Clay Area does not have the same levels of services as other areas in Cornwall. It was seconded by my good friend and fellow China Clay member, Des Curnow, and supported by the Committee.

Corporate Director Gill Steward has agreed to look specifically at what can be done in our area. Watch this space. And let us hope that we will see more progress in the next two years than has been managed over the last two.

Action on second homes

2011-07-13T07:44:00.001+01:00

My article in today's Cornish Guardian focuse on the topic of second homes. It is as below:

Last week, the members of Cornwall Council unanimously backed a motion to seek the removal of the 10% council tax discount presently enjoyed by second home-owners.

Prior to 2004, the discount was a massive 50% but the last Government legislated to allow councils to reduce that discount to 10% if they wished.

From that time, Cornwall County Council and the six former district councils cut the discount to the minimum and used the additional revenue to fund affordable housing schemes across Cornwall. Sadly, this was an arrangement that did not survive the abolition of the districts and the creation of the unitary authority.

Last week’s motion rightly noted that with the “continuing recession and the demand on the public purse to provide frontline services … it would be unjust to allow second home concessions to continue.” It was resolved that Cornwall Council make representations to central government to both abolish the discount and endorse the use of the £1.6 million, that would be raised in Cornwall, for new affordable homes for local people.

There are over 14,000 second homes in Cornwall and their impact has been very damaging, leaving certain hamlets and coastal areas virtually uninhabited in winter months.

It is important that we put pressure on MPs on this issue, but it is about more than just levels of local taxation.

It is my view that it is simply wrong that wealthy individuals should have two or more homes, while many hardworking families cannot afford a first home in their local communities.

The rise in house prices to ridiculous levels, and by association the heightened cost of renting, has been caused by a host of factors. But that includes the growth of second homes and making a commodity out of that most basic human need to put a roof over one’s head.

We need far-reaching reforms to the planning system and the introduction of controls to reverse both the spread and number of second homes. Planning permission should be needed before homes can be turned into part-time residences, so that councillors have the ability to say no.

Mebyon Kernow believes that if more than 5% of the housing stock in a particular settlement and/or parish are second homes, there should also be an automatic ban on any new ones. And in such areas, properties used as second homes coming onto the market should only be allowed to be sold for use as permanent dwellings.

The big question is: will the multiple-house-owning politicians at the top of the main parties do what is right for the majority?

Unfair elections?

2011-07-06T17:27:00.001+01:00

Further to my earlier blog about the likely 2012 election for a Police Commissioner for “Devon and Cornwall,” I have today discovered that the deposit to stand will be £5,000. No doubt, the arrangements will mirror those of the European elections.

As MK supporters will be aware, in 2009, Mebyon Kernow stood a slate of candidates for the South West seat in the European Parliament. We polled 11,534 votes in Cornwall (7% of those cast).

Parties needed to achieve 2.5% of the vote to save their deposit of £5,000. However the powers-that-be refused to return our deposit even though we, as a Cornish Party, only campaigned in Cornwall achieved that percentage by a factor of three. Other parties such as the BNP standing and campaigning throughout the whole South West but achieving a lower percentage of the overall vote than ours in Cornwall, had theirs returned.

I do not know what share of the vote will be needed to save a candidate’s deposit this time around, but predict that there will be an arrangement that disadvantages MK and potential Cornish candidates.

Police Commissioner nonsense

2011-07-06T13:22:00.002+01:00

I have just attended a meeting of the Electoral Review Panel, where we debated a number of issues including the likely forthcoming election for a Police Commissioner for "Devon and Cornwall" in May 2012.

It was an issue that I also covered in my column in this week's Cornish Guardian. It was as follows:

At the present time, the work of Devon and Cornwall Constabulary is overseen by a Police Authority made up of ten appointed councillors and nine independent members.

But this will all change if the Government gets its way. And it will be bad news for Cornwall.

The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill is slowly winding its way through Parliament and includes a proposal for a single, elected Police Commissioner to run each police area.

It also proposes that each commissioner would be scrutinised by a Police Board, once again comprising appointed councillors, but weaker than the current authority.

Many people, including representatives of police officers, have spoken out against the politicisation of policing.

I share this view and question how making police matters into an electoral football once every four years will benefit local communities.

I also consider it wrong that so much influence could be vested into the hands of one individual.
It seems to me that the legislation put forward by the Conservative-led Government has clearly not been thought through.

It specifies that the election of commissioners should be via a form of preferential voting. And yet, only weeks ago, the Conservative Party led opposition to the introduction of a similar voting system for elections to the Westminster Parliament. What double standards.

Cornish communities would also be at an electoral disadvantage, as the population of Devon is approximately twice that of Cornwall and our local interests could easily fall below those of our neighbours.

Most ludicrously of all, it is proposed that every principal authority in Cornwall and Devon should nominate one councillor to serve on the board.

This would leave Cornwall massively under-represented. Our 530,000 residents would be expected to make do with just one board member. The Council of the Isles of Scilly would also have one representative, for its 2,000 residents.

Devon (population 1,140,000) would meanwhile have 11 people on the board – one representative for each of Devon County Council, the two unitary authorities (Plymouth and Torbay), as well as the eight district councils (East Devon, Exeter, Mid Devon, North Devon, South Hams, Teignbridge, Torridge and West Devon).

It has to be asked – how did the Government manage to come up with such a ridiculous proposal that can so distort the membership of the panel? Politicians from all parties are continuing to make representations on this issue and last week Cornwall Council formally wrote to the Home Secretary.

It remains to be seen whether central Government is listening and will act.

How not to consider an issue

2011-07-04T13:17:00.001+01:00

I know I cannot stop writing about waste issues, but …

This morning, I attended the latest meeting of the Council’s Waste Panel. The Revised Project Plan (which would need to be agreed between the Council and SITA before the incinerator could be built) was on the agenda.

The written report did not materialise. And at 10.00, we were told that there would be a verbal report. We were also told that the report could not be finalised because of legal implications arising from the challenge to the Secretary of State’s decision from the people of St Dennis.

As councillors, we were pretty unimpressed that a topic of such complexity could be presented in this way.

And then, the officer concerned actually took out a draft of the report – that we were not allowed to see – and promptly began to read out certain sections of it verbatim.

We objected to being kept in the dark and treated like children and the meeting was adjourned. We now await sight of the written report.

Eric Pickles, confusion and the farce that is planning

2011-07-04T09:18:00.002+01:00

The Western Morning News on Saturday featured an article on Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State for Communities.

Written by Graeme Demianyk, it was titled: "Straight-talking Eric is Tory champion of responsible localism." But nothing could have been further from the truth and comments about 'localism' and 'his' decision to sanction an incinerator at St Dennis beggar belief. The relevant extract is as follows:

Some people have questioned his decision to approve an incinerator to be built in St Dennis in the heart of Cornwall, overruling widespread local opposition to the £117 million mass burner. He is clear he does not know the details of St Dennis, as decisions can be taken in his name. But he argues that there is no contradiction with his localism agenda.

“There’s no contradiction in something that has national importance. Localism is not about people being able to say ‘no’ to a piece of national infrastructure, or regional infrastructure, that has value to people outside their neighbourhood. Localism is about local people making decisions and accepting the consequences.”

So there we have it. The incinerator was given the go-ahead by civil servants acting on behalf of Mr Pickles, who clearly knows nothing about the plant. What a farce!

Latest on the incinerator

2011-07-01T19:43:00.001+01:00

Campaigners against the incinerator proposed for St Dennis have, this week, launched a legal challenge against the decision of Eric Pickles to approve the project.

I have not been involved in the preparation of the case, which is in the names of The Power of Cornwall, the Transition Cornwall Network and the Cornwall Sustainable Waste Network – all Rule 6 Parties at the recent Inquiry.

I understand that the challenge focuses on procedural issues relating to the Inquiry, the impact of emissions on Special Areas of Conservation within the vicinity of St Dennis and that these impacts have not been properly assessed.

But it is also the case that Cornwall Council still has to agree a Revised Project Plan with SITA, before construction of the facility can commence. There is plenty of speculation about the potential increased cost of the incinerator being in excess of £50 million.

At this point, I intend to use my position as a councillor to carefully question and challenge all aspects of the Revised Project Plan (RPP), including the cost.

I will be present at the next meeting of the Council’s Waste Panel on Monday, and the Revised Project Plan (RPP) is on the agenda.

However, the initial paperwork for the meeting was sent out over a week ago, with the RPP report listed as "to follow." As of 5.00 today, the report had not materialised and councillors are still waiting to find out details of the ongoing negotiations between the Council and SITA.

I am certainly not happy about this situation.

Rally on Lemon Quay

2011-07-01T00:04:00.005+01:00

I attended the demonstration at Lemon Quay in Truro, which was organised in opposition to cuts to the public sector.

It was very well-attended and it was pleasing to see so many friends and MK members showing their support for workers in the public sector.

It remains important that we continue to fight the draconian cuts of the Con – Dem Government.

And it is important that we fight the Government’s determination to create a more unfair society, punishing public sector workers and less-well-off, while protecting their millionaire and banker friends.

Announcement on Cornish language funding

2011-06-28T00:28:00.003+01:00

It is good that the uncertainty is over.

Last week, Government Minister Andrew Stunell MP announced that the Department of Communities and Local Government will continue to fund the Cornish Language Partnership. The final settlement will be a total of £360,000 over the next three years.

It represents £140,000 for 2011-12, a reduction to £120,000 in 2012-13 and a further reduction to £100,000 in 2013-14. But this is below the budget for the last two years, which was £150,000 per annum. The new settlement therefore represents a significant cut which is disappointing and places great pressure on its important work.

Further to this, a statement has been released by MAGA commenting that: “The Minister’s statement that in the longer term support for the language will need to come from Cornwall itself will need to be challenged in the future, especially in the light of the fact that the Council of Europe Charter, to which the Government is a signatory, is clear that support for indigenous languages should be a state responsibility.”

Quite right! If the central government expects Cornwall to meet such costs in the future, it needs to first back our calls for meaningful devolution and the creation of a legislative Cornish Assembly.

Fun at Indian Queens Pit

2011-06-25T18:03:00.003+01:00

I have just got back from the annual fete at Indian Queens Pit, which was supported by a wide range of local organisations. These included the local branch of the Womens Institute, two playgroups, a pantomime group and a number of charities.

A number of people even allowed themselves to be placed in the stocks including the Chairman of the Pit Association (see right), while our marvellous local Brass Band also performed (see below).

For those of you who do not know the Pit, it is an open amphitheatre that was created out of an old mine working in the early 1850s and has been used by the community ever since. It is well worth a visit.

It is exciting times for us, as we are busy raising funds for a new community building, which will be located within the parking area alongside the Pit.

It will replace the extremely a run-down modular building, a storage building (constructed in asbestos sheeting) and a small, outdated toilet unit.

It is our hope that the new building will be a hub around which we can encourage more individuals and groups to visit and appreciate the monument, whilst also increasing the number of community, music and cultural events taking place at the venue.

Our Association also intends to:

· Produce a commemorative publication about the Pit, containing a large number of historic maps and photographs. We will be approaching local businesses to sponsor the booklet, which will be sold to raise funds for the project.

· Work with the local community to produce a series of display boards about the Pit, its history and the surrounding area, which will be on permanent show within the building.

· Commission a playwright to produce a play about the ‘History of Indian Queens.’ The first performance of the play, involving local people, will be in the Pit and will hopefully mark the opening of the new community building in 2012.

Anyone who wishes to help with the project is welcome to contact me for more information.

MK to stand in Truro City Council by-election

2011-06-24T18:45:00.004+01:00

Nominations closed today for the byelection to fill a seat on Truro City Council (Boscawen Ward). The MK candidate will be Lance Dyer.

Lance is retired, but was previously the box office manager at the Hall for Cornwall. Born at Goonhavern, he served in the Civil Service and Department of Energy in London before returning home to Cornwall to work in Job Centres in Truro and Helston.

Lance is also a parent and has two children, who attended local schools before going on to university.

There are also candidates from the Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Labour parties.

If you want to help MK in this election, why not get in touch.

Central government and affordable housing

2011-06-23T15:50:00.002+01:00

My column in this week's Cornish Guardian covers the topic of affordable housing. It went as follows:

The Thatcher Government of the 1980s did great damage to the fabric of British society when it sanctioned the sell-off of thousands and thousands of council houses.

Many individual families may have benefited from the sales, but the greatly reduced public rented sector failed to mitigate against the massive increase in house prices and rents experienced over the last decade or so.

It is now a reality that many hardworking families, making do on low local wages, are finding it difficult to buy their own homes. And more and more families are struggling to meet their rent payments in the private sector, while paying a higher percentage of their income than ever before to simply keep a roof over their heads.

The possibility of a “council house,” with a secure tenancy and an affordable rent, remains the main hope of a fair future for many.

All political parties routinely express their full support for the delivery of affordable housing. But what has happened since the General Election, just one year ago?

The Coalition Government has slashed investment in new affordable homes citing the present economic problems, but it is also making changes of great significance.

Most existing properties owned by Cornwall Council or Registered Social Landlords (RSLs), such as Ocean Housing, are rented out at “social” rents considerably below those of open-market properties.

But the Government has introduced a new concept of “affordable rent” – which it considers to be 20% below the extremely high levels of open-market rents.

They have also announced that rents for newly-built properties, as well as re-lets of existing properties, should be at this higher level.

This price hike means that new tenants will end up paying more, while the increased costs will almost certainly lead to a higher cost in housing benefit payments for the Government. How counter-productive!

At the same time, the Government is planning to reduce the long-term security of tenure for residents in Council and RSL properties, undermining communities in the process.

Councils and a range of organisations are continuing to bring forward new affordable homes for local people. Many of these are homes sold at a discount or homes which are part-buy and part-rent.

And yet, this work is being undermined because many banks and building societies, including some owned by the Government, are refusing to give mortgages for affordable homes on numerous schemes.

It is my view that the Government has got it wrong. It needs to rethink its approach to affordable housing, but it must also take action with the banks to ensure mortgages for hardworking local families.

Loic Rich joins the Conservatives

2011-06-22T22:19:00.002+01:00

This week’s papers have carried the news that Loic Rich, who was MK’s candidate in the Truro and Falmouth seat at the last General Election, has joined the Conservatives.

He left MK in April and was reported in the West Briton stating that he was “leaving for personal reasons” and was “less interested in party politics.”

And yet, this week, he described MK as a “deficit-denying party,” but praised the Conservatives for acting in “an extraordinarily pragmatic and sincere way.” He added that: “I found it very frustrating being in a party that, along with the opposition parties, seemed to be in deliberate denial of the UK's economic and social needs.”

He even told the BBC’s Graham Smith: “I do, really, genuinely believe in what the Conservative Party is doing. I know many people think the Tories are the party for the Home Counties but that's just not true. The Conservatives really care about Cornwall."

A lot of us are very surprised. Loic’s recent comments bear no relation to the views he expressed when was an MK member, both publicly and privately.

I will acknowledge that Loic worked extremely hard for MK when he was the parliamentary candidate.

But many MK members also worked hard to support his campaign and to support him as an individual, and feel very let down at his sudden shift in political allegiance.

Back in circulation ...

2011-06-22T22:15:00.002+01:00

I have not blogged for a few days, because I have been away upcountry. Spent a couple of lovely days in Wales, and Ann and I certainly enjoyed walking to the top of Cader Idris.

But what a week to miss politically. Cornwall Councillor Jan Powell leaves Tories for the Lib Dems, continuing bad press for the Tory administration at “County Hall,” a Camborne Town Council by-election and then the defection of a prominent former MK member to the Conservatives! More on that later.

SNP parliamentarian to speak at MK Conference in November

2011-06-13T09:24:00.003+01:00

This year’s MK conference will take place over the weekend of the 19th and 20th November at the Shire House Suite in Bodmin. It is intended to be our best-ever annual get-together and to mark our 60th year in style.

The Saturday will include a Rally which will showcase MK members and a range of guest speakers, and in the evening there will entertainment for one and all to enjoy.
I can confirm that the first invited speaker to confirm his participation is Kenneth Gibson, a SNP member of the Scottish Parliament, who was formerly the leader of the opposition on Glasgow City Council.

He was first elected to the Scottish Parliament in 1999 as a list member for the Glasgow electoral region. In 2007, he contested the constituency of Cunninghame North, winning the seat from Labour by the small of 48 votes. In the 2011 SNP landslide election, when the SNP won 69 seats and an overall majority, Ken managed a comfortable majority of 6,117 over Allan Wilson, the former Scottish Minister he defeated in 2007.

Arrangement for the conference are being co-ordinated by MK councillor Stephen Richardson (Illogan) and we will make further information as soon as possible.

Council Leader in St Dennis

2011-06-11T00:39:00.003+01:00

The Working Men’s Club at St Dennis was packed out, this Friday, for the latest meeting in the incinerator saga.

Council Leader Alec Robertson came to the meeting, along with other Cabinet Members Julian German, Graeme Hicks and Mark Kaczmarek, as well as a host of officers – including the Head of Legal and part of the press team.

My good friend Fred Greenslade chaired the meeting and I made a statement on behalf of local councillors from the China Clay Area and local campaigners. I took the opportunity to argue that the Council should carefully review the Secretary of State’s decision with a view to challenging his ruling.

When he spoke, Alec Robertson had a very rocky ride and the packed hall was extremely disappointed by the content and tenor of many of his responses.

A retired Methodist Minister asked him to confirm that, after writing the infamous letter to Eric Pickles, he was indeed both a “turncoat” and a “hypocrite.”

Alec Robertson did confirm that he had no plans to sanction a review of the planning decision or to challenge it in any way.

We are awaiting a formal written response to this effect and will continue to argue our corner at that point.

A letter to Tom Flanagan

2011-06-10T11:04:00.003+01:00

I have just sent a joint letter to Tom Flanagan, Corporate Director for Environment, Planning and Economy, on behalf of myself and Cllrs Fred Greenslade, John Wood and Des Curnow. The letter relates to the recent Public Inquiry into the incinerator proposal. The letter was as follows:

We obviously appreciate the hard work undertaken by many officers in the planning and legal sections in defending the Council’s position at the Public Inquiry.

We have also carefully read the Inspector’s report, which recommended to the Secretary of State that the Incinerator appeal be allowed, and the associated comments of Mr Pickles.

As local members, we are very disappointed at the Inspector’s recommendation and his reasoning, as well as Mr Pickles decision. What is more, we consider that the Inspector ignored certain aspects of the evidence and treated other aspects of the case in a manner that could leave it open to challenge.

As the Council robustly defended the appeal, we would request that officers now carry out a rapid, but detailed, review of that decision to explore whether Cornwall Council should make further representations or challenge the decision itself.

Issues of concern to us include the following, though this list is by no means an exhaustive one:

· The Inspector gave “very substantial weight … to the financial repercussions of the CERC proposal not proceeding.” And yet the Council has a Counsel’s opinion that this is not a material planning consideration. We therefore consider this not to be appropriate.

· At the Inquiry, Cornwall Council argued persuasively that an Appropriate Assessment needed to be carried out, to assess the impact of the proposal on nearby Special Areas of Conservation. The Council presented a “Shadow Appropriate Assessment Scientific Report,” produced by Bureau Veritas. It concluded that “it cannot be ascertained that the CERC would not have an adverse effect upon the integrity” of the SACs. The Inspector did not accept these arguments, and we consider there was considerable confusion about process and who was / is the “competent authority.”

· The inspector also accepted the appellant’s arguments that the incinerator, with an annual capacity of 240,000 tonnes, was not over-sized. He wrote that: “It is accepted that the WLP proposed a plant with a smaller capacity, 200,000 tpa. However, subsequent work undertaken for the RSS and WDF point to higher waste arisings than were envisaged when the WLP was being prepared.” However, at the Inquiry it was shown that the WDF projections over-estimated the amount of waste that would need to be dealt with (in 2010) by between 45,000 and 57,000 tonnes. This ignored by the Inspector.

· Evidence about the flawed and inadequate site selection process was also ignored. The Inspector noted that “the site search exercise [was] conducted by the WPA and published in July 2006. On the basis of this document, the WDA acquired an option on the appeal site.” But it was demonstrated at the Inquiry that the Council had pre-determined the site and started design and other works in mid 2005!

· In a number of places, the inspector referenced the spurious claim that the ‘eco-town’ would take heat from plant if it was built. This uncritical approach to arguments presented by SITA runs through the entire Inspector’s report.

· The local community and a range of Rule 6 Parties presented extremely detailed arguments to the Inquiry. We consider that the Inspector did not give adequate consideration to these arguments.

I would be grateful if you could confirm whether you, as Corporate Director, will be willing to sanction a review of the Secretary of State’s decision with a view to challenging his ruling.

Including the Cornish - The Second Cornish National Minority Report

2011-06-08T23:52:00.003+01:00

The Second Cornish National Minority Report entitled: “Including the Cornish – a unique case for recognition” has been officially launched. Written by Ian Saltern with the assistance of a broad-based steering group, it builds on the first report produced in 1999.

I was a member of the steering group and pleased to have been able to assist with the initiative, which came about thanks to the efforts of Bert Biscoe.

The report seeks to extend the case for the Cornish to be recognised as a cultural minority, through the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.

It has the backing of the political group leaders at Cornwall Council, myself include, who co-signed the foreword to the report, proclaiming in unison that the status would “enable the Cornish to play a full and active part in British society, contributing to the diversity of the United Kingdom.”

The conclusions of the document are clear.

Within the spirit of the Framework Convention, implicit through its Articles, the Cornish constitute a national minority.

The Cornish, like the Scottish and the Welsh, possess an historic national identity and national origins.

There are barriers to the Cornish being able to maintain and celebrate their distinct identity.

In attempting to overcome these barriers the Cornish have encountered a legal conundrum whereby they can only bring a case under the Equalities Act if they are a recognised “racial group,” but case law will only identify Cornish people as a “racial group” once the Cornish successfully prosecute a case of racial discrimination.

The UK Government has relied on the “racial group” criterion to define national minorities. The “racial group” criterion is viewed by various organisations as too narrow and unreflective of the purposes of the Framework Convention.

National minority status will legitimise the Cornish in the eyes of statutory bodies and decision-makers. It will ensure that the Cornish are not impeded from maintaining and celebrating their distinct identity.

National minority status will confer upon the Cornish the dignity of visibility. It will deliver tangible social, cultural and economic benefits for the Cornish and the United Kingdom.

National minority status will enable the Cornish to play a full and active part in British society, contributing to the diversity of the United Kingdom.

National minority status for the Cornish will bring coherence to UK Government policy. It will address the current anomaly whereby Cornish national and ethnic identity is officially recognised for the purposes of the Census, but the Cornish people have yet to be recognised as a national minority.

The findings of the report have already been presented to central government. Copies of the report will soon be available from Bert Biscoe at 3 Lower Rosewin Row, Truro TR1 1EN. Please include a cheque for £1.20 to cover postage and packing.