Cornwall Council refuses to rethink approach to waste

Earlier today, the Cabinet at Cornwall Council voted to proceed with the purchase of land from Imerys for the construction of a land for an access road to their preferred site for an unsustainable 240,000 tonne waste incinerator. 

It should be noted that the ‘option’ to buy the land was due to run out on 28th June, but it would not been known until July whether the latest challenge from local campaigners would be upheld. At the meeting it was noted that Imerys had allowed the option to be extended by one month.

I once again challenged the Cabinet to step back from their support for the incinerator and to commit to a more sustainable form of waste management.

I also raised a number of concerns on behalf of local people that included the mismanagement of the road issue, concerns about the accuracy of information within the report, a lack of information about a necessary traffic regulation order and impact on public rights of way, outstanding planning and legal matters, the lack of consultation with the local community, etc.

I also challenged members of the Cabinet to instead attend the next meeting of the Waste Panel on11th July, when campaigners would be presenting an alternative (Plan B) to incineration.

But it was to no avail. There were limited and inadequate responses to some of my queries, while others were dodged or ignored. And then the Cabinet voted unanimously to push ahead with their support for incineration.

UDB win seat in French Parliament

Great news! Paul Molac of the Union Democratique Bretonne (UDB) has been elected to the French Parliament. He is the first Breton autonomist to be elected to the Parliament and will represent the Ploermael / Kistreberzh / Ar Roc’h Bernez constituency in Morbihan.

Mr Molac stood on a joint UDB-Greens-Left ticket and is a well-known campaigner for the Breton language. He is the chair of the Breton bilingual schools organisation Div Yezh and former Chair of the Breton Cultural Council.

Well done Paul. A fantastic first for the UDB.

The UDB, MK, Plaid Cymru and SNP are all constituent parties of the European Free Alliance.

Waste: More revelations from Cornwall Council

The issue of waste continues to make the headlines in Cornwall, with new revelations about Cornwall Council’s plan for a massive and unsustainable waste incinerator at St Dennis.

Last month, the Council admitted it is responsible for 90 per cent of SITA’s legal costs in dealing with the legal challenges brought by local campaigners (£130,000). This is set out in the “Integrated Waste Management Contract” agreed between the former County Council and SITA in 2006.

The Supreme Court will announce in July whether the latest challenge will be allowed to proceed to court.

But at a meeting on 20th June, Cornwall Council’s ruling Cabinet will be deciding whether to exercise its option to purchase land (from clay company Imerys) for the access road to the proposed incinerator site.

This was discussed at last week’s Waste Panel, when it was announced that the option must be exercised by 28th June or it will expire. The cost of the land would be a massive £3,550,000.

As someone who opposed the incinerator at the 2010 Public Inquiry, I know that the former County Council was determined to dump the incinerator in the China Clay Area at St Dennis. They were not interested in other locations, and studies to “identify” the best sites for the plant were carried out after the Council had already decided on their preferred location.

Evidence presented at the Inquiry demonstrated that Cornwall Council had “chosen” the St Dennis site at an early stage and throughout 2005 were looking in detail at the site.

The contract was agreed in October 2006 and specifically included the construction of an incinerator at St Dennis.

But at last week’s meeting, one of the officers (who had been involved with the project for many years) admitted that it wasn’t until after the Council has signed the contract that they realised the road access was unacceptable. It was only then that they decided to find a new way to access the site with land purchase costs alone of over three and a half million pounds.

This is yet another example of the issue of waste management has been mishandled at County Hall. Shocking!

Ed Miliband wants to talk about England … but continues to ignore Cornwall

In the same week as the Jubilee barge Gloriana (below) proudly flew the Cornish flag alongside the national flags of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, Labour’s Ed Miliband delivered a speech on identity.

He spoke out against Scottish independence and stated that Labour “should not be afraid to talk about England’s national identity.” But unlike Gloriana, he continued Labour’s tradition of ignoring Cornwall.

Some his statements were as follows:

“Now more than ever, as we make the case for the United Kingdom throughout the United Kingdom, we must talk about England."

“In Scotland, the narrow nationalists of the SNP pose a false choice. They ask: are you Scottish or British? I say you can be both. And here in England there are people like Jeremy Clarkson who shrug their shoulders at the prospect of the break-up of the Union.” [Clarkson apparently said the break-up the Union “would be as sad as waving goodbye to a much loved, if slightly violent, family pet.”]

“It’s a mistake wherever you find it. Having to say: Scottish or British, Welsh or British, English or British. I don't accept any of that. It’s always a false choice.”

He also spoke out against the possibility of a English Parliament, stating: “I don't detect the demand that there was in Scotland, for a Scottish Parliament, in England. I don't feel that. I feel like people want an appreciation and a recognition of English identity.”

I would remind Ed Miliband that it was a Labour Government that failed to engender a truly mature, respectful and wide-ranging debate about the future of the United Kingdom after the creation of the Welsh Assembly and the Scottish Parliament.

It was Labour that disgracefully ignored the demand from 50,000 declarations calling for a Cornish Assembly and then destroyed local government in Cornwall by imposing a unitary authority on us.

Mr Miliband, there is a need for the London-based parties 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.

But that is not just about England and Scotland. It is also about Cornwall. Mr Miliband, will you join with me to make the case for the meaningful devolution of political powers to Cornwall?

Refreshed, back in circulation and my latest Cornish Guardian column

It has been a considerable time since I last blogged. The reason for this is quite simple – I have been away for ten days, on holiday in Ireland. It was a great break and I feel somewhat refreshed for fray …

My latest column for the Cornish Guardian – published on Fridays from now on – is on the “Pasty Tax” and the Coalition u-turn. It is as follows:

Congratulations to everyone who played a part in the campaign against the introduction of the “Pasty Tax.” It is fantastic news that the Government has changed its mind and decided not to impose this new tax, which has been described as “half-baked” and “unenforceable.”

Local MPs and activists from the Coalition parties are clearly relieved and are merrily trotting out the line that we are lucky to have a Government which “listens to what people have to say” and doesn’t always “plough on regardless.”

I am delighted with the u-turn, but I see it somewhat differently to supporters of the Coalition. It is my view that the Government has badly mishandled this issue.

Let us not forget that the “Pasty Tax” appeared as a fully-fledged proposal in a Government budget, even thought it had not been properly thought through. There was no prior consultation and it would be accurate to state that bakers, pasty-makers and local communities were taken by surprise.

Senior Coalition politicians then lined up to defend and justify the unfair tax-hike.

Prime Minister David Cameron claimed he loved a hot pasty, but then got into considerable difficulty remembering when he last ate one.

The Chancellor George Osborne was ridiculed by the Sun newspaper for “heartlessly” telling “hard-pressed Brits” to “avoid his VAT hike on hot food by buying cold pasties.” They branded him a “modern-day Marie Antoinette.”

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg also gave Liberal Democrat support to his Conservative colleagues, making it clear that all proposals in the budget, including the “Pasty Tax,” had the full support of his party.

Worst of all, when Coalition MPs had an opportunity to vote down the tax in April, following a debate in the House of Commons, only 15 Coalition MPs took the opportunity to oppose the “Pasty Tax.” It was backed by 295 Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs.

I therefore consider the climb-down to be especially humiliating for the Government, given that over 95% of their MPs gave their full support to the “Pasty Tax.”

It is important that Cornwall celebrates this u-turn, but we must look forward and continue to campaign for more u-turns in the future. And I believe there are plenty of areas where u-turns are necessary.

Isn’t it time that central government (i) rethinks the nature of its austerity programme which has plunged the UK into a double-dip recession, (ii) reduces the depth and speed of its cuts to the public sector which is causing great hardship, (iii) scraps the tax break for millionaires contained within the budget, (iv) reverses its unpopular plans for the NHS … the list goes on and on.