New eco-community plans submitted to Cornwall Council

Here we go again … updated plans for the so-called eco-comunity have been submitted to Cornwall Council.

The St Austell Voice even placed the “sustainable new eco-community at West Carclaze” [their words not mine] on its front cover, allowing the developers to claim their “pioneering” development is “not just another housing estate.”

Cornwall Council portfolio holder for Economy and Culture is even quoted, reminding everyone how Cornwall Councillors “voted to keep the eco-community in the Cornwall Local Plan submission.”

Even though only eight councillors – the four MK members and four independents – backed my motion opposing the eco-community in December, I will be continuing to oppose this unsustainable housing estate on a hill.

Today’s vote on the budget at Cornwall Council

Cornwall Council today set its budget for 2016/17, with the majority of councillors supporting a 3.97% increase in council tax.

Previously, central government dictated that councils could not increase council tax by more than 2% without a referendum, but recently announced that councils could raise council tax by a further 2% to specifically secure additional monies for adult social care.

The four MK members supported the increase put forward by the Independent and Liberal Democrat administration. Put simply, we felt there was no alternative, due to the ongoing reduction in funding due to the Conservative’s austerity measures and the increasing cost of providing local services.

Recent announcements from central government included an additional £6 million cut as it redistributed funding from rural to urban areas. This was in addition to the expected and already draconian cuts from the Tories, though pressure led to the Government providing a one-off payment of £2.9 million to partially offset its extra cuts!

Speaking on behalf of Mebyon Kernow, I made it clear that our support for the council tax increase did not mean that we supported everything that was contained with the associated Corporate Business Plan.

I made it clear that we would continue to oppose those proposals with which we did not agree, but today we had to focus on the “big picture” and support the attempt of the administration to safeguard the council’s finances at this very, very difficult time.

I also appealed to the administration to be as strong as possible in opposing the Government’s cuts agenda, and pushing for fair funding for Cornwall.

The increase was supported by almost all Independent and Liberal Democrat councillors, as well as the sole Green councillor and one of the three UKIP councillors. The Labour Group said they were in favour of the council tax increase but voted against the overall package. Most of the Tories abstained.

No to Devonwall Constituency: my Cornish Guardian article

My article in this coming week’s Cornish Guardian covers the upcoming review of parliamentary boundaries. It includes some of the information that I covered in another blog entry earlier today. But it is here for the sake of completeness. It will be as follows:

A few days ago, I attended a meeting at which some friends of mine remarked how all MPs representing local constituencies are keen to publicly display elements of Cornish identity.

I tend to agree. Some of them took their parliamentary oaths in Cornish, certain male MPs seem to wear Cornish tartan ties most weeks, and it often appears that every leaflet has a St Piran’s cross in the corner.

But the question for Cornish MPs is a simple one: are these displays cosmetic or will they really stand up for Cornwall?

Such a challenge is relevant to all manner of cultural, economic and social issues, but one particularly symbolic question on the horizon relates to the very integrity of Cornwall.

The Government has just confirmed it intends to push through a boundary review of parliamentary seats, following the guidelines set out in the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act, which became law in 2011.

Leading Conservatives have also confirmed that they intend to ignore the recommendations of the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee that have raised serious concerns about the process.

The legislation states that seats must have an electorate within 5% of the average, and this means that a cross-Tamar “Devonwall” constituency would inevitably be created.

In 2015, I wrote to Cornwall’s six MPs expressing my view that the territorial integrity of Cornwall – a historic Celtic nation – must be protected and that all future MPs should serve constituencies that lie entirely within the boundaries of Cornwall (and the Isles of Scilly).

I even pointed out that, as the Cornish people had been recognised as a “national minority” in 2014, it would be inconsistent to treat the historic border of Cornwall differently from those of Scotland and Wales, which the Government intends to respect when it comes to the delineation of new constituencies.

I received four responses, which I found extremely disappointing. One stated that she supported the changes irrespective of the impact on Cornish parliamentary representation, while another said it was too late to change things.

I would question whether that they have bothered to lobby their party bosses on this issue, but that is something that Cornwall’s six MPs can put right straight away.

They are in a position to put pressure on their colleagues in the Conservative Party to ensure the legislation is revisited and to prevent the creation of a cross-Tamar seat.

No to Devonwall Constituency

As the leader of Mebyon Kernow, I have today challenged Cornwall’s six Conservative MPs to use their influence to derail any attempts to create a cross-Tamar “Devonwall” seat.

This follows the announcement from senior Conservatives that they intend to push through a boundary review of parliamentary seats, following rules set out in the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act.

The Conservatives have also confirmed that they intend to ignore the recommendations of the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee that raised serious concerns about the process.

In my statement, I stated:

”The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act, if enacted, would inevitably lead to the creation of a cross-Tamar ‘Devonwall’ seat, but Cornwall’s MPs are in a position to challenge the leadership of their own party on this matter. They can push for the legislation to be revisited and the creation of a cross-Tamar constituency to be prevented.

”It remains my view that the territorial integrity of Cornwall – a historic Celtic nation – must be protected and that our future MPs must serve constituencies that lie entirely within the boundaries of Cornwall (and the Isles of Scilly).

”The Cornish people have been recognised as a “national minority” and it would inconsistent to treat the historic border of Cornwall differently from those of Scotland and Wales, which the Government intends to respect when it comes to the delineation of new constituencies.”

I also challenged the six MPs to “stand up for Cornwall and do what is right for the integrity of our historic nation – not what is helpful to the short-term political advantage of the Tory party.”

Further information

In 2011, the Coalition Government voted through the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act. It sought to reduce the number of parliamentary constituencies across the UK from 650 to 600 and sought to ensure that all seats (unless specifically named) had a population of within 5% of the average constituency size.

A consequence of the legislation is that, if it is not modified, it will lead to a cross-Tamar Devonwall seat.

The Boundary Commission currently plans to formally begin working on the next review in the spring of 2016, with the intention of submitting its final recommendations to central government by the early autumn of 2018.

Positive MK meeting in St Austell and Newquay constituency

Thanks to everyone who attended last night’s constituency meeting. It was wonderful to sign up three new members for Mebyon Kernow at the meeting.

Our detailed discussions around planning and housing matters were also extremely helpful and will form the basis of considerable party activity in the coming weeks. Watch this space …

Thanks also to Joanie Willett for setting up a new Facebook page for the constituency – Mebyon Kernow, St Austell & Newquay. If you haven’t already – why not join the group.

And if you are not already a member of MK, why not join up now and support our work for Cornwall. You can do it online at https://www.mebyonkernow.org/support/membership/