There is still time for the Government to stop the unitary bid progressing

Mebyon Kernow – the Party for Cornwall is calling on Cornwall’s five Liberal Democrat MPs to do all in their power to stop a unitary authority being imposed upon Cornwall.

MK has already written to the MPs calling on them to seek an early meeting with the Secretary of State to demand that she does not allow the County Council bid for unitary status to proceed.

Phil Rendle Mebyon Kernow’s Deputy Leader (Campaigns) and Constitutional Affairs spokesman believes that it is not too late to stop progress towards a unitary authority. He said:

“The Secretary of State, Hazel Blears, told Cornwall County Council that she was ‘minded’ to implement their proposal. But she has also said that she would take the final decision as to which unitary proposals would be implemented ‘if and when’ the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill is enacted.

“The Bill had its third reading in the Commons on 22 May. Last Wednesday (24 October) the Common agreed all Lords amendments and passed it back to the Upper House for Royal Assent – scheduled for Tuesday 30 October.

“Now is the time for the MPs to take the initiative, before it is too late, and tell Hazel Blears that she has been wrongly briefed by her advisers and the proposed unitary county council will never command a broad cross-section of support in Cornwall and that it should be stopped in its tracks.”

Mr Rendle says that he has been very disappointed that the Liberal Democrat MPs have previously supported the County Council’s bid for unitary status, though Andrew George last week spoke about opposing the Bill which he said should go back to the drawing board.

Conan Jenkin, MK’s Deputy Leader (Services) and Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Truro and Falmouth has also challenged the MPs to oppose the County Council’s bid and instead speak up for their constituents.

“Cornwall does not want a unitary authority to be imposed on its communities. The message that the MPs should take to Hazel Blears is a simple one – there is no public support for the proposal and it should not proceed.

“The unitary proposal was opposed by all six district councils, a majority of town and parish councils, over 80% of local people and a large number of other groups. Reports in the Western Morning News have shown that 78% of Cornish responses to the Government ‘consultation’ were opposed to a single unitary authority.

“It was only supported by a minority of councillors on Cornwall County Council. When it was last discussed it was supported by 32 votes to 28 – a majority of only four. That equates to the support of just 39% of county councillors while a massive 25% of members were not even present at the meeting to cast a vote.

“This cannot be allowed to stand as the basis of a new unitary authority.”

Mebyon Kernow is calling on all readers to bombard the Secretary of State with demands that this dreadful bid does not proceed and allow the people of Cornwall to consider what is best for Cornwall. The hastily cobbled-together One Cornwall proposal certainly isn’t. Her address is: DCLG 5/E8 Eland House, Bressenden Place, London SW1E 5DU.

Activists meet at Fraddon 

Mebyon Kernow held a successful Conference at Fraddon on the 22nd September which will form a springboard to a revitalised campaign for a Cornish Assembly.

There was a wide-ranging and considered debate on the need for greater Cornish self-government. It was noted that following recent political events in Cornwall, the National Executive of Mebyon Kernow has started work on a new policy document which will set out, in considerable detail, MK’s call for a Cornish Assembly.

The Conference reaffirmed MK’s long-term aim of a Cornish Assembly with powers broadly similar to those of the Scottish Parliament but also agreed that campaigners need to be both realistic and pragmatic and build campaigns which can unite Cornish communities in the short-term and work towards greater Cornish self-government.

It was agreed that the policy document should to set out a clear ‘road-map’ of the first phase of our campaign towards an Assembly, as follows:

(i) MK will continue to focus campaigns on the recognition of Cornwall as a distinct national community for all forms of governance and administration.

(ii) MK will use the publication of the MK policy document to challenge one and all to support the creation of a Cornish Assembly, which shall exercise those strategic powers currently exercised by the South West Regional Assembly, the Regional Development Agency and other unelected quangos.

(iii) MK will call on central government to work with Cornish communities to deliver bespoke legisation for the creation of a Cornish Assembly.

It was also noted at Conference that MK has traditionally campaigned for a range of Cornish institutions to work alongside the Assembly such as a Cornish Development Agency and a Cornish Housing Board. An alternative approach was agreed. It was felt that such ‘arms-length bodies’ are not necessary and their functions should be embedded in an appropriate department of the democratically-elected Assembly.

The document will also cover the need for a Civil Service to support the new democracy in Cornwall and to develop a clear vision of the type of local government we would like to see operating beneath the umbrella of a Cornish Assembly.

When the policy document has been completed, it will be presented to a meeting of MK members for debate and adoption. The date for this meeting is likely to be in early 2008.

The following motions were also passed at the Conference:

Condemnation of unitary council decision

This Conference condemns the announcement by Government that it is “minded to approve” Cornwall County Council’s proposal for a unitary authority “if and when the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill is enacted” and writes to Cornish MPs calling on them to meet with the Secretary of State of the Department of Communities and Local Government and demand that the Government does not allow the unitary proposal to proceed due to its failure to win the support of the people of Cornwall.

Judicial Review

This Conference congratulates Penwith District Council for launching proceedings for a Judicial Review which will highlight the Government’s shameful and undemocratic ‘decision’ to support Cornwall County Council’s proposal for a unitary authority.

Elections in 2008

This Conference responds to the Government Discussion Paper “Councils’ proposals for unitary local government: an approach to implementation” broadly based on the following statements:

• We call for elections to the new transitional council to be held in May 2008 and not delayed to 2009.

• We also note that the originally proposed number of 82 councillors is inadequate to serve the whole of Cornwall and demand that the number of elected councillors be doubled to 164.

Town and Parish Council elections

This Conference responds to the Government Discussion Paper “Councils’ proposals for unitary local government: an approach to implementation” with the following comments:

• We do not agree with the proposal that Town and Parish Council elections should be synchronised with the unitary elections from 2013.

• And that the future cost of town and parish council elections be met by the principal authority.

Cornish Constitutional Convention

This Conference notes that the direction of the Cornish Constitutional Convention is presently at odds with the political direction of Mebyon Kernow and takes the decision not to renew its corporate membership of the organisation.

MK will always put the interests of Cornwall ahead of any narrow party political advantage

It has been announced that the leader of Mebyon Kernow – the Party for Cornwall, Cllr Dick Cole, will be standing in the new constituency of St Austell and Newquay at the next General Election.

Forty-year-old Dick is a local Cornishman, whose family have lived in the Indian Queens / Fraddon area for many generations. Schooled at Indian Queens and in Newquay, he worked in agriculture during the 1980s before going to university in Wales. He now works as an archaeologist and lives in Fraddon with his wife Ann.

Active in local politics for nearly twenty years, Dick is a campaigner on the issues that matter to one and all – fair funding for our public services, affordable housing for local people and an end to the council tax. He has played a prominent role in campaigns for greater local control and wrote the ‘Declaration for a Cornish Assembly’ which was signed by over 50,000 people in 2001.

Dick has served his local community (St Enoder Ward) on Restormel Borough Council for the last eight years. He has a proud track record as a hardworking and effective local councillor and has been heavily involved in housing, planning and economic regeneration issues. Dick is the Chairman of Restormel’s ‘Policy and Scrutiny 4’ Committee which is working to develop new planning policies to help build much-needed affordable homes for local families. He has also been involved with a number of initiatives in the China Clay Area and sits on the multi-agency Clay Area Taskforce set up following the announcement of job losses at Imerys.

Dick has also used his position as a councillor to campaign against a single waste incinerator in Mid Cornwall and he put forward the successful motion at Restormel Borough Council to call for a Public Inquiry on this issue.

He has also opposed Liberal Democrat plans for a single unitary authority, because he believes that centralising local decision-making onto a single site in Truro will seriously hit democracy and weaken Cornwall’s ability to deliver quality local services.

Dick is a member of St Enoder Parish Council and the Chairman of a steering group of volunteers which is producing a Parish Plan for St Enoder Parish. He is also involved with a large number of local groups in his area and has been personally responsible for a number of successful grant applications for community buildings and play equipment.

Speaking after his selection as a candidate for the forthcoming election, Dick Cole said:

“I am pleased to be standing in the coming General Election as an MK candidate because I believe it is important that local people have the opportunity to vote for a political party that is 100% committed to Cornwall. MK will always put the interests of Cornwall and its communities ahead of any narrow party political advantage.

“The best way to demand a better deal for Cornwall is by sending a strong message to central government by voting for Mebyon Kernow – the Party for Cornwall.”