Budget a “desperate deception” as families in mid-Cornwall face soaring bills
St Austell & Newquay Liberal Democrats label the Chancellor’s budget announcement a “desperate deception”, with income tax bills still set to rise for local people.
The Liberal Democrats believe that local residents will see through this “deception” by the Chancellor and that people don’t want more “empty promises” from this Conservative government whilst “local health services are left on their knees”.
Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate Joanna Kenny says:
“This Budget will barely touch the sides for families and pensioners around here, who are facing soaring mortgage bills while the cost of the weekly shop goes through the roof.
“People in mid-Cornwall know that their tax bills will remain sky high after this budget, and the Chancellor is attempting a desperate deception after years of income tax hikes.
“People don’t want more Conservative empty promises while our local health services are left on their knees. They want proper change through a General Election so we can kick this Conservative government out of office."
#Cornwall #budget2024 #libdems
Let Cornwall's small boat skippers catch pollock!
Joanna Kenny, Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate for the St Austell & Newquay constituency comments on dire situation facing our small boat fishing fleet:
A single sentence in the Harbour Report in the Newquay Voice in February illustrates the dangerous future facing our small boat fishing fleet. “Limited Pollock fishing, no bass fishing until April 1, 3 boats for sale”. It might have added the collapse of the crab market since Brexit. And that’s just in Newquay, they are facing the same major problems in Mevagissey, where at least one long established family are being forced to sell up – as do the boats based in Fowey and throughout our Cornwall harbours.
I had a long talk with one of our local fisherman last week on the problems of the industry. The final nail in the coffin for many of our small boats (under 10 metres) is the ban on pollock fishing, introduced with so little warning or time to plan just before Christmas, a catch that our small boats relied upon outside the bass season. Now I support action to allow the restoration of pollock stocks but that should only apply to the big trawlers. Allowing an exception for our small boats, relatively few in number, to catch say one ton a month would have a minimal detrimental effect on the recovery of stocks – even if just in the downtime to carry them through when they cannot fish bass. As it stands, the ban means pollock that comes into the nets over the minimal quota (the bycatch also limited) has to be thrown back in to die – what good is that doing?
Times have changed since one of my first jobs in Cornwall Council back in 2009 was to tell Cornwall Cornwall to stop being so silly in banning the regular big Continental lorry from using Tregunnel (no way could it get down to the Harbour) to collect our Newquay catches from smaller vehicles. Then there were 6 merchants to buy our lobsters and crabs, now just one takes from independents, despite the unique quality of the catches, so much fresher than catches held for days on the bigger boats. There’s been a huge increase in paperwork, not only at the UK end but for those receiving on the Continent; and those now prefer to deal with the easier Ireland catch. I was so proud of our Newquay Harbour Regeneration project which included, as well as the new building, electrification of North Quay and a davit to handle heavy loads – will these be needed now?
Some questions have been asked in Parliament but the response from the Government was both inadequate and uncomprehending. From the Leader of the House, a very odd comment about our “wonderful fishermen” who apparently are not working hard enough to take advantage of increased quotas? And a written answer from the Minister of State for DEFRA talking about the “value of the fishery” and some vague promises of future action; referring to “Pollack” throughout (technically correct but irritating to us locals).
I was not convinced that there was any appreciation not only of the value of our local small boats to GDP, which compared to the trawlers may be small, but also of their contribution to the tradition, heritage and life of our Cornish working harbours and ultimately to our visitor economy. The small boat fishing fleet is on its knees and needs help now.
Joanna on the proposed desalination plant at Par
I joined a well attended Tywardreath & Par parish council tonight to listen to the South West Water presentation on the proposed desalination plant at Par. Some pretty shrewd questions from the parish councillors, a clear negative response from the room and I can’t say I’ve been reassured that our precious environmental assets both on shore and in the bay have been sufficiently protected.
But the real decision makers now are Cornwall Councillors as planning permission is processed in the coming months.
There been real changes already since the December public meeting, the Natural England reports have dropped back to the end of January, the depth the tunnelling under the sea grass is proposed to be 40 metres– and maybe more as local knowledge has identified at least 30 metres of what sounded like gunk below the seabed (not a coastal engineer here!). At least they are setting up a ‘Sea Grass’ working group.
Perhaps they should have done that before – but it appears they are and were always determined to get it operating by the end of December. Optimistic as the Chair said at the start. Frankly with the delays so far, I don’t think they have a hope of achieving that and do a proper job; a bit more thought at the beginning before making their location decision would have been in order.
The real irony as we were told of the future lack of water - sadly true with Climate Change - after chucking down all day and evening, I had to drive or rather boat through several floods on the way.
Pizza and Politics - first Tuesday of the month at 6 pm at the Arts Centre St Austell
Our speaker for December - the authoritatve Dr Elizabeth Burroughs - presided over a serious and informed discussion about the hisory of #Palestine and #Zionism, over the last hundred years.
Pizza and Politics is all about getting to the bottom of today's issues - both in #Cornwall and beyond.
The next event is on 6th February.
Lib Dem Mark Gray elected to St Austell Town Council
After a hard fought campaign, local Liberal Democrat activist Mark Gray was elected to St Austell Town Council to represent the ward of Central & Gover winning well over 60% of the votes cast.
Mark said:
“It is a privilege to represent my home ward on St Austell Town Council. I understand the issues local residents face because I and my neighbours face them too – cost of living and our pressurised NHS services, the lack of NHS dentists is a real problem; as well as the lack of housing and the pressure on our local policing.
“As I promised in my campaign, I will :
#1 Be a strong Voice for our residents in Central and Gover
You won’t find me a remote councillor, my promise to voters is to always respond quickly to any contact from them. And while I would be part of the strong Lib Dem team already on the Council, I will always put people before politics.
#2 Do what I can to stop the rot of the Town Centre. I am particularly keen to do something about the town centre, mostly the dwindling number of shops. I am already working with the chamber of commerce to draw up plans to bring more traders to the town.”
#3 I will act to protect our Environment Our town can be green as well as prosperous. And I believe in affirmative action not just words. So I was delighted to help organise the October Green Fair with CASA (Climate Action St Austell) in the town centre bringing together local charities, businesses and community groups to address climate concerns and a sustainable way of life.
Joanna Kenny, Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for the St Austell & Newquay constituency added “I am delighted that residents showed their trust in Mark, he is going to be an excellent Councillor who is already deeply involved in community initiatives.”
“This result gives the lie to those so-called experts who without visiting or talking to our local residents pontificate that this seat is destined to be won by Labour in the General Election. Nonsense! In a direct contest between the Liberal Democrats and Labour, and despite a low turnout, Mark doubled the Lib Dem vote in the 2021 Cornwall Council election while the Labour vote though down a little was fairly static. It seems that the predictions of a huge swing to Labour are not true, for St Austell at least. It is the Liberal Democrats who are the challengers to the Conservatives - clearly past their sell-by date.
Garth's column
Both the Conservation manifesto commitment to reduce net Immigration to 200,000 pa and their MP's reaction to the net 745,000 number for last year is populist nonsense.
Also largely irrelevant is the number of illegal immigrants arriving in small boats; 25,000 or merely 3% of net immigration. We need to get a sense of proportion.
We also need to understand two things:
1. The origin of this new influx has fundamentally changed from that of a decade ago.
What has happened as a result of Brexit is that net migration of EU citizens was estimated to be negative, at –87,000 (this year). The new immigration figures relate largely to people coming from Asia and Africa rather than Europe.
2. The vast majority of the Immigration numbers (639,000), relate to foreign students studying in Britain.
They pay £22,000 – £27,000+ tuition fees (Bristol University) and around £12,000 (outside London) for accommodation every year.
UK nationals pay a maximum £9,250 in tuition fees. Without the higher fees paid by foreign students, our own nationals would be charged much higher tuition fees to meet university costs.
So let’s get real. We should welcome immigration in principle, not just for the talent and income it brings to this country but also for those who bring their efforts to support our care industry and seasonal farm work (who largely return home).
We know that British workers either can’t or won’t take such jobs. We also don’t need to force our workers into such work. We need to up-skill our work force instead and help them to improve the national skill level and productivity.
Local resident Mark Gray selected as the Lib Dem candidate in the St Austell Town Council by-election in the Central and Gover ward on 23rd November
Mark Gray has been chosen as the Lib Dem candidate for the St Austell Town Council by-election for the Central & Gover ward to be held on Thursday 23rd November.
Mark lives right in the centre of the ward in Truro Road and is involved in many local community initiatives. As a former social worker and a small business owner, as well as serving as a County Councillor in Oxfordshire before coming to St Austell, Mark is well qualified to hit the ground running on St Austell Town Council.
Mark said:
“It will be a privilege to represent my home ward on St Austell Town Council. I understand the issues local residents face because I and my neighbours face them too – cost of living and our pressurised NHS services, the lack of NHS dentists is a real problem; as well as the lack of housing and the pressure on our local policing. “If elected to the town council my top priorities will be:
#1 Be a strong voice for our residents in Central and Gover: You will find me a hands-on councillor - my promise to voters is to always respond quickly to any contact from them. And while I would be part of the strong Lib Dem team already on the Council, I will always put people before politics.
#2 Stop the rot of the Town Centre: I am particularly keen to do something about the town centre, mostly the dwindling number of shops. I am already working with the chamber of commerce to draw up plans to bring more traders to the town.”
#3 Protect our Environment: Our town can be green as well as prosperous. And I believe in affirmative action not just words. So I was delighted to help organise the October Green Fair with CASA (Climate Action St Austell) in the town centre bringing together local charities, businesses and community groups to address climate concerns and a sustainable way of life.
“Elect me on Thursday 23rd November and I will work hard to achieve all of these things.”
Letter to Councillor Alvey
By Dr Elizabeth Burroughs of Climate Action St Austell
Dear Councillor Alvey
I am writing to you as Cornwall Council's Portfolio Holder for Environment and Climate Change.
As I am sure you know, there are several planning applications in front of Cornwall Council at present for large solar farms. At least one of these is described as being on 'high quality food-producing agricultural land'. But, even if the land to be used is currently growing 'only' daffodils at present, it has the potential to grow potatoes or cereal crops in future years whereas, if it is covered by solar panels, it will be out of commission for a minimum of 25 years.
In recent years, a great deal of agricultural land in Cornwall has been taken over for housing. We can ill afford to lose more land to solar farms.
The CPRE is currently campaigning for solar panels to be placed on roofs, in particular the roofs of industrial units and other large buildings, and in car parks rather than on agricultural land. If all available roofs and car parks were used, more than half the solar energy we need could be produced in this way.
I should be grateful if you would answer the following two questions: -
- How many buildings owned by Cornwall Council (including leisure centres, libraries, etc.) have solar panels fitted to them?
- What plans does Cornwall Council have to increase this number and in what time scale?
Yours sincerely
(Dr) Elizabeth Burroughs
Joanna and crew support Cornwall Pride
Newquay #Cornwallpride was very rainy this year but Joanna and the north-end team braved the elements to represent the #LibDems!
Needless to say, climate change was the top concern registered on our issue-ometer!
Dr Elizabeth Burroughs, retired GP, Cornishwoman, and Methodist preacher wrote this to our MP
I am writing to you as a constituent to raise urgent concerns about the government’s Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill, or ‘anti-boycott bill’, which is scheduled to have its second reading on Monday 3 July. This bill threatens to erode local democracy, restrict freedom of expression, and undermine campaigns for social and climate justice.
The anti-boycott bill will limit the ability of public bodies to make ethical choices about spending and investment. If passed, it will shield companies engaged in human rights abuse or environmental destruction by preventing public bodies from cutting ties with them over abusive or illegal actions committed in a foreign country unless permission to do so is explicitly granted by the government.
Many people in Britain care deeply about human rights and the environment. This bill will take away our democratic right to hold our elected local representatives to account for financial decisions. One clause even forbids all those subject to the proposed new law from simply stating, for instance, at a hustings event during an election, that they would support taking a moral stance if it were permissible to do so. It also would violate the rights of Local Government Pension Scheme members, who should be able to decide for their deferred wages to be invested ethically should they so choose.
Boycott and divestment campaigns are part of the fabric of democracy. The best-known boycott was the campaign to end apartheid in South Africa. Millions in this country, including many local authorities, took part in that movement and their contribution to the creation of a democratic South Africa was celebrated by leaders including Nelson Mandela. Had the anti-boycott law been in place, it could have forced public bodies and British universities to do business with that brutal, racist and criminal regime.
That is why nearly 70 civil society organisations – including trade unions, charities, NGOs, faith, climate justice, human rights, cultural, campaigning, and solidarity organisations – have come together to sign the Right to Boycott statement and collectively call on the government to immediately halt this bill, and on MPs to vote against it.
Cornwall Council cut your services but put your Council Tax up anyway!
Two years ago, the current administration took control of Cornwall Council after an election promise that the Westminster Government wouldn't say no to any funding requests coming from our Truro Cabinet members and our Cornwall MPs.
Well, I suppose they're half right:
- The Government didn't say no to Cllr Monk's request for a ten year programme to insulate our 10,000 council houses… because he didn't ask.
- The Government didn't say no to Cllr Alvey's request to fund a Climate Commission… because he didn't ask.
- The Government didn't say no to Cllr Pears' request for funding to reopen our leisure centres… because he didn't ask.
- The Government didn't say no to Cllr Donnithorne's request to keep the £2 cap on bus fares for the whole of next year, or to restore the routes which were cut last Autumn… because he didn't ask.
- The Government didn't say no to Cllr Ellenbroek's request for extra funding to reverse the cuts to the education of children with long term illnesses… because she didn't ask.
- And the Government didn't say no to Cllr Virr's request for £39 million to enable us to pay care workers £13 an hour… because he didn't ask.
In fact, the Health and Adult Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee specifically instructed the Leader to ask the Government for more funding to increase wages for care workers, But instead of writing to the Government, she wrote back to the Chair of the Committee to say she thinks there's enough money in the Cornish system already!
Now it's true to say that we have an "integrated care system", meaning Cornwall's billion pound NHS budget could be used to support the Council's Adult Social Care budget. And indeed the Government did instruct all Councils to be given some short-term funding from that pot, but the one thing it couldn't be used for was to pay higher wages to care workers.
So have the Leader or the Portfolio Holder asked the Integrated Care Board to help fund higher wages for care workers? I think you know the answer to that.
Now, no doubt you're going to hear Cabinet Councillors stand up and criticise Liberal Democrasts for not proposing an alternative budget. But if said Cabinet has failed to even ask for the extra revenue we need from Westminster, then proposing taking a few quid out of Pot A and moving it into Pot B is like rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic.
Cllr Harris has said that the budget gap has been closed, but really this is achieved by yet another 5% increase in Council Tax, increasing fees and charges, cutting services and taking away free peak time travel for concessionary bus pass holders.
Crucially a large part of what has been described as “£26m of new money” for Adult Social Care is really just the result of breaking the promise that people would no longer have to sell their homes to pay for residential care.
And it's not just the failure to ask for adequate funding which makes it impossible to support this budget. It's the lack of proper scrutiny too.
We used to get a first look at the budget in the Autumn so we could ask officers to work up plans for alternative proposals. But by holding it back from scrutiny committees until January, the government's majority was able to vote down any alternative recommendations to cabinet using the argument that insufficient information was available.
The Government still hasn't announced what our public health budget will be, so scrutiny of how the Council will spend an unknown quantity of cash is clearly meaningless.
One of the most important parts of the Children's budget is the High Needs block for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. The leader says we’ve produced a balanced budget but the High Needs Block is actually forecast to have a shortfall of £5m which is magically dealt with by a “special reserve”. Yet the details of this budget haven’t been brought to any scrutiny committee at all.
And when the combined scrutiny reports were brought to the Scrutiny Committee, there was total confusion as the published papers contained inaccurate information.
Some of you are going to stand up and say “Cllr Martin is being political”. Yes, I am: That’s my job, and it’s your job too. I know that many of you are decent, hard-working local representatives, but when you serve under the banner of a political party, you are also a politician. Westminster has left Cornwall Council without the money it needs. The Truro Cabinet has left Cornwall’s residents without the services upon which they depend. And as long as you continue to wear the label, you have to take personal responsibility for the actions of your political leaders.
It’s time for the Council to be led by someone who will be Cornwall’s voice in Whitehall, not Whitehall’s voice in Cornwall.
- Acting Group Leader Cllr Colin Martin spoke on behalf of the Liberal Democrat Group on Cornwall Council
StAN LD ally David Chalmers campaigns in Bedfordshire...
Another scorching summer’s day out talking to residents in the lovely picture box village of Steepingley.
In an area of large private homes and country cottages, part of the commuter belt to London, there is a general feeling of disappointment and shame at what the party in government has turned into - with cynical MPs who spend more time on TV shows and writing novels than caring about the needs of constituents.
There was lots of support for the Lib Dems - as the only viable alternative here - and a return to decent honest government.
Germany's Greens are now part of their coalition government. Their policy is to defend the expansion of lignite (the worse kind of coal) mining whilst refusing to extend the life of German nuclear power stations. In the past, they caused Germany to abandon nuclear power, closing the existing power stations and seeking power supplies from France (largely nuclear). Since this proved insufficient, they became dependent upon Russian fossil fuels. Now their ill-considered environmental dogma, perpetuates the heavy carbon emissions which keeps the lights on in Germany now Russian gas is no longer available.
England’s Green party share similar aims. They also hold to policies for which Jeremy Corbyn would be proud. Together with their aims for withdrawal from NATO (but not until the Ukraine war ends) and to grant independence to Wales and Scotland, their policies represent a mixed policy bag at best and a misguided muddle at worst.
But there is a better way; have you heard of the Green Liberal Democrats? Here we have consistent liberal policies with a practical and progressive response to the climate emergency.
