Coalition plans for regional pay will damage the Cornish economy

According to the newspaper headlines, the Chancellor George Osborne is expected to remove the 50p tax rate for high-earners on over £150,000.

And I am appalled to read that he also intends to scrap “national” pay rates for workers in the public sector such as nurses and teachers.

I am in full agreement with Brendan Barber, the General Secretary of the TUC, that “this budget is shaping up to be a giveaway for the super-rich and a takeaway for Britain's hardest hit regions.”

This week, Cornwall found out it is likely to qualify for the next round of EU structural funds because of its low, and falling, economic performance, and because Cornwall’s GDP is only 72% of the EU average.

And now we have the madness of central government planning to drive down regional pay, irrespective of the fact that the cost of living and the cost of housing are extremely high in areas such as Cornwall.

Do they have no idea what damage their over-centralising policies are going to do to Cornwall?

The Government should actually be working to reduce regional disparities in pay and opportunity. If they do not rethink this proposal, they should be truly ashamed.

St Piran's Day and the Cornish Movement featured on Russian TV

A Russian television crew recently visited Cornwall to produce a feature on the Cornish movement and our distinct culture and heritage.

They were in Truro on St Piran’s Day and recorded the traditional march. They also spoke to a number of individuals including myself, Nigel Hicks from the Cornish Stannary Parliament and the Mayor of Truro.

Their report can now be viewed online at http://www.vesti.ru/doc.html?id=736789

Well done to Leanne Wood

I would like to extend my congratulations to Leanne Wood following her election as the new leader of Plaid Cymru.

Leanne is a powerful politician of principle, her leadership campaign was truly inspiring and I am excited about how she will lead Plaid in the coming months and years.

I am confident that Plaid will deliver significant gains in the forthcoming local elections under her stewardship, and Plaid will then go from strength to strength.

Speaking for myself, I am proud that I have been a member of Plaid Cymru for over twenty years, although it seems such a long time since I was a student in Lampeter and serving as the secretary of the university branch.

Plaid have been great friends to Mebyon Kernow and many leading members have spoken at MK events in recent years including Cllr Gareth Butler, Cynog Dafis MP, Janet Davies AM, Jonathan Edwards MP, Dafydd Iwan, Steffan Lewis, Cllr John Taylor, Simon Thomas MP, Dafydd Williams and the late Dr Phil Williams AM.

Such support is much appreciated and I am sure this will continue with Leanne as leader.

A fall in economic performance in Cornwall

It has been confirmed that Cornwall’s GDP continues to be below 75% of the EU average and we could still qualify for further structural funds over the next seven years.

In 1999, Cornwall’s GDP was 66% figure of the EU average. By 2006, this has risen to 78%, but has slipped back to 72% for 2009 (latest available figures).

Local newspapers have already pointed out that Cornwall has a lower economic performance than Slovakia and Slovenia, as well as some regions in Romania, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria.

It remains a disgrace that there are such disparities in the GDP of the various nations and regions of the over-centralised United Kingdom, with Cornwall and West Wales at the bottom of the pile.

Radical reform of the political and economic structures of the UK is long overdue.

A Core Strategy for Cornwall?

The closing date for Cornwall Council’s consultation on its Core Strategy was just over a week ago. Mebyon Kernow responded in considerable detail and branded the document unsustainable.

To give you a sense of what MK said, shown below is a short extract.

Cornwall Council claims that the Core Strategy would put “cultural distinctiveness at the heart of place shaping.” The document is also littered with claims, for example, about taking a “lead on the green agenda,” “tackling issues such as climate change,” and delivering “affordable homes, jobs and infrastructure while safeguarding the environment.”

But the claims to be “green” or “sustainable” are false and undermined by Cornwall Council’s commitment to unsustainable levels of housing growth and the development of, at least, 48,000 new properties over the next twenty years.

Mebyon Kernow seeks a breathing space from the large-scale development of open market properties and calls for the prioritisation of affordable local-needs housing.

MK’s detailed response to the consultation is available on request from dick.cole.mk@gmail.com.