A fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work

My column in this week’s Cornish Guardian looks at the Government’s record and, in particular, their plans for regional pay. It is as follows:

April was a bad month for the Government.

It is still reeling from the ongoing criticism of George Osborne’s unpopular budget – not least, for their planned tax-breaks for millionaires, negative changes to tax allowances for pensioners, as well as the VAT on pasties, VAT on works on Listed Buildings and more.

There was also the “petrol panic” following poor ministerial advice, as well as the ongoing Leveson Inquiry which focussed on links between the Government and Robert Murdoch’s newspaper empire.

In the House of Commons, their difficulties were even branded an “omni-shambles.”

And then, the news broke that economic growth had stalled, dropping the United Kingdom back into recession – the first “double dip” recession in decades.

I believe this clearly shows that the Chancellor’s harsh and unforgiving austerity programme has been a failure. The Government has cut public spending too severely and the promised private sector progress has been much slower than they predicted.

It is the less-well-off and ordinary working people, in places like Cornwall, that have suffered most from Government reforms and the cuts to public services.

Indeed, the Sunday Times “Rich List” shows that the fortunes of the UK’s one thousand wealthiest people have actually increased by nearly 5% during the last year – making them richer than ever before.

To make matters worse, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has also announced that he backs lower pay for NHS staff in poorer areas – with the only exception to be highly-paid managers tasked to deliver the Government’s controversial and unpopular reforms to the National Health Service.

Lansley’s plan for regional pay would mean that nurses, midwives, paramedics, porters and cleaners would earn less in deprived areas like ours, while employees in more affluent areas would get more.

For decades, there have been campaigns to ensure that individuals get a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work and do not lose out because of their gender, race or personal circumstances.

So how can it be right that public sector workers could be paid less because they happen to work in Cornwall?

It is disgraceful that the Government wants to entrench Cornwall as a low wage area, siphoning off money to be spent in London and the South East, increasing inequality across the UK.

This is unacceptable and the Coalition must be made to think again.

The “Pasty Tax” Protest March

Well done to Kernow King, the organisers of the “Pasty Tax” Protest March, and the hundreds who attended in truly appalling weather.

I was disappointed that I could not attend, but I was out of Cornwall due to a prior commitment.

But from looking at the pictures on Facebook, it looked like a truly fantastic Cornish event, with the banners showing great humour while pulling no punches!

Once again, well done all! Cornwall is proud of you.

Free Cornish Nation

Mebyon Kernow has just brought out its latest edition of “Cornish Nation” magazine, which is published three times a year.

If you are an MK member, your copy is in the process of being sent out to you.

This edition covers a range of topics such as MK’s view on Cornwall Council’s Core Strategy, opposition to the “Pasty Tax,” the election of Leanne Wood as the leader of Plaid Cymru, and much, much more.

A free copy of “Cornish Nation” is available on request from dick.cole.mk@gmail.com. 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.

New investment in Indian Queens School

On Thursday, I attended a meeting of the Children’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee, which discussed a matter of great significance to my local Parish.

The report concerned the number of children seeking places in Cornwall’s primary schools and reported that “there is only one area within the county where reception intake pressure for September 2012 cannot be managed without provision of additional accommodation.” This was St Enoder Division with the schools under greatest pressure being Indian Queens CP School and Summercourt CP School.

It was acknowledged that applications for reception places for September 2012 significantly exceeded the capacity of the two schools. Put simply, the two schools have a combined PAN (pupil admission numbers) total of 60, but they are almost 80 applications. The report stated the following:

“In terms of deliverability, given site capacity and potential for expansion at the two schools it is recommended that Indian Queens CP is the Preferred Option to meet demand for additional Reception places in the local area.  High level options have therefore been considered to expand/rationalise existing accommodation in order to ensure that Indian Queens CP School is able to accommodate a minimum of 300 pupils in 10 classes from September 2012.

“A temporary interim solution (Elliott classroom) will need to be provided in order to ensure a sufficient number of places are available to accommodate the September 2012 reception intake. A permanent build solution (potentially to enable the school to accommodate 330 pupils in order to ‘future proof’ provision) will then need to be scoped and implemented if the school is to continue to meet the forecast level of demand for places in the local area in the longer-term.”

I welcome this news but acknowledge there is much to sort and I look forward to supporting the headteacher, her team and council staff in coming up with a proper solution for the area, ensuring that all local children get a school place in their local parish in the coming years.

Pasty Tax Protest March

If you can, join Kernow King at the Pasty Tax Protest March in Falmouth on Sunday.

Let us hope that Cornwall can send a strong message to the Coalition Government.