Election reflections

It is always interesting how election results are reported and Plaid Cymru’s win in Ynys Mon, with 58% of the vote, is another example of skewed perspectives.

The BBC describes the win of Rhun ap Iorwerth as “emphatic.”

The Western Mail meanwhile stated: “Plaid candidate Rhun ap Iorwerth wins by a landslide in Anglesey by-election … Plaid Cymru have seen off closest rivals with more than three times as many votes as Welsh Labour … Mr ap Iorwerth’s victory was widely expected, but the scale of it is truly astonishing.”

But ... in The Guardian newspaper, the main headline was: “ Anglesey byelection sees Ukip threaten Labour and Tories.”

For the record, Plaid Cymru polled 58%, UKIP polled 14%.

Well done to Rhun ap Iorwerth and Plaid Cymru

Rhun ap Iorwerth was last night elected to the Welsh Assembly in Ynys Mon in spectacular fashion. He takes over from former Plaid leader Ieuan Wyn Jones, who recently stood down to lead the new Menai Science Park in the area.

Rhun ap Iorwerth secured 12,601 votes (58.2%), well ahead of Labour on 3,435 (15.8%) and UKIP on 3,099 (14.3%). The Conservatives came fourth with 1,843 (8.5%) – over 20 percentage points down on their performance in 2012. Socialist Labour came fifth with 348 (1.6%) while the Lib Dems finished last with 309 (1.4%).

Well done to everyone involved with the campaign. It is a truly fantastic result.

On a good night for Plaid Cymru, they also retained the Penyrheol seat on Caerphilly Council with over 50% of the vote and gained a seat on the community council in the same area.

Free "Cornish Nation"

Mebyon Kernow has just brought out its latest edition of “Cornish Nation” magazine, which is published three times a year. It is sent to all MK members three times a year, and a number of volunteers are in the process of distributing them to members.

This latest edition covers a range of topics including the recent local elections, a range of news items, Leanne Wood’s call for a “progressive alliance” and a tribute to MK’s former treasurer Graham Symmons, who sadly passed away earlier this year.

A free copy of “Cornish Nation” is available on request from dick.cole.mk@gmail.com, for non-members wishing to find out more about MK. If you would like a copy, please forward your contact details and specify whether you would like the magazine in either hard copy or as a pdf.

Wealth from Waste - the Local Government Association

My column in this week’s Cornish Guardian revisits the issue of waste. It is as follows:

My views on waste management in Cornwall are well-known. For many years, I campaigned against the former County Council’s desire to build a massive incinerator in Clay Country.

And I remain disappointed that the leadership of the unitary authority chose to push ahead with this so-called “energy-from-waste” plant, and retain it at the very centre of its approach to dealing with Cornwall’s domestic waste.

Central government and the courts may have ruled that the incinerator should be built, the unitary authority may have re-signed a multi-million-pound “integrated waste management contract” with SITA, and the new road to the site may be nearing completion.

But I still maintain that the whole approach is unsustainable and I was very interested to read a wide-ranging new report from the influential Local Government Association (LGA) on the subject of waste.

Titled “Wealth from Waste,” it makes the case that a greater focus on recycling makes waste management more sustainable and saves money.

The LGA report shows that dealing with dry recycling generates an income of £36 per tonne, whereas the treatment of organic material through composting would cost £25-£44 per tonne. Incineration meanwhile costs £82 per tonne while landfill costs £93 per tonne.

Cornwall’s recycling rate for municipal waste is only 38% - just think what money could be saved if we could match the higher recycling rates, of 60%-plus, achieved in countries such as Austria and Germany.

The LGA report also demonstrates that recycling creates jobs. It states that: “The number of jobs in recycling can be anything from 59 and 112 per 10,000 tonnes of material processed, compared to 10 or 11 for landfill or energy from waste.”

In fact, the foreword says it all really: “The simple fact is that taxpayers would be better off, the economy will benefit, and more people will have jobs if we grow the domestic market for collecting, sorting and reprocessing recycling. Landfilling waste costs a lot of money; burning it is still expensive; recycling actually brings in cash for the taxpayer and we owe it to today’s hard-pressed taxpayers to get as much of their money back as possible.”

The big question for us in Cornwall must be: will the unitary authority have the courage and foresight to look again at its approach to Cornwall’s domestic waste?

BBC’s Any Questions

A few months ago, I was contacted by the BBC. I was delighted to receive an invitation to be a panellist on their Any Questions radio show – the first time that a Mebyon Kernow representative would appear on the show.

I was pencilled in for the recent debate (Friday 28th July) which took place at St Endellion.

Sadly for me, the BBC took a decision to adjust the guests on that particular show and I was told that I could not be fitted in. But I have been promised that I will be on the panel when the show is next in Cornwall, which could be in six-nine months.

I did listen to the debate – between Roy Hattersley, Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, Philip Collins (who writes for the Times and previously wrote speeches for Tony Blair) and novelist Jessica Mann – and it was frustrating to be unable to comment on a range of topics close to my heart, such as housing, economic development, and ethical investment.

However, I will be doing the Friday evening politics slot on Radio Cornwall. I will be on about 5.40.