Vote match - vote yellow, get blue

The Vote Match website is designed to help people work out which Party best reflects their individual policy priorities.

Those who, like me, are immersed in campaigning everyday for one Party may feel that the questions don't reflect all of the issues people raise most frequently with candidates. There are some policy gaps in the issues covered by the questions.

Even so, it is a useful ready reckoner. I worked through the questions and was unsurprised by my results.

The closest match for me, of course, is Labour. Nor was I surprised - as someone who feels strongly about the environment and local community empowerment - to find that a long way behind Labour the Green Party was my second closest match.

What the survey confirms is the widening policy gulf between Labour and the Liberal Democrats - who match just 40 per cent of my priorities as a Labour candidate, the same as the Conservatives.

For anyone wanting to keep the Tories out, and undecided between Labour and the Liberal Democrats, this quiz is a wake up call and reality check of just how close Nick Clegg's Liberal Democrats in Cornwall really are to the Blues.  

The grand national

For months the Liberal Democrats have spouted the language of bookies at the grand national, shouting two or three horse odds.

Nationally, as the general election started, Nick Clegg claimed lamely that it's a three horse race.

Reality message to Nick Clegg - here in Falmouth and Truro your vote is roughly divided between those who would rather have a Tory, and those who would rather have a Labour Government.

In this constituency, seven candidates have so far declared. Only one, like Ophelia, prays for remembrance, claiming that this time it's a two horse race - and, occasionally, crys in the wind that this must be a safe seat for the joke Party.

As Labour's candidate I make no apology for being in touch with reality. This is a three way seat. A swing to Labour of similar proportions to that which led to Julia Goldsworthy's election in 2005 will return a Labour MP for Truro and Falmouth.

Another former Liberal Democrat

The former leader of Restormel Borough Council says he will be supporting Mebyon Kernow's leader Dick Cole in the forthcoming general election.

It is difficult to escape the impression that Liberal Democrats in Cornwall have yet to recover fully from internal rifts produced by the decision to bid (successfully) for a single unitary, and the fall out this caused amongst their councillors who are now much reduced in number.

Tim Jones has a reputation for working for people in his local community - the last time I heard him contribute to a meeting was at a Citizens Advice Bureau AGM at Kingsley Village. So perhaps it is not surprising that the reason Tim Jones gave for his decision is that if Cllr Dick Cole is not elected as an MP he will continue to live in and work for his local area.

Even so, it strikes me as odd to support the person you trust to champion your community if they lose, rather than if they are elected.

As a candidate I'm asking for support for what I will do if elected - and most people I'm speaking to will consider candidates on that basis.

I love Cornwall and people here. So there is something I'd like to change. I want to find a way to enable everyone in Cornwall to recognise we have - and can have - equal political access to influence, power, and funding. Despite evidence to the contrary there are some people who behave politically as though Cornwall is destined to lose and they are powerless to do anything about that.

With Labour in Government Cornwall is benefiting from investment. If people here elect MPs whose Party is in Government (and hope to form the next government) maybe people will start to feel they are pushing on an open door. Rather than digging a trench ready for whenever the next local battle lines are drawn.

And whenever the general election is called, I hope there will be a much higher turnout than at last year's Council elections, when just 14 per cent of Cornwall's electorate voted for Tory candidates, and 86 per cent didn't - but most of these stayed at home.

Facing the music - yes. Pantomime politics - no.

This week the BBC's Nick Robinson expressed political surprise that Labour is rising in the opinion polls despite the pre-elections media onslaught and the Chilcott enquiry hearing Gordon Brown's evidence. I am not surprised, because I'm talking to people here everyday. With elections looming, people are thinking seriously about what they do want for the future. And while this may be mainly about Labour's investment and delivery for the many, people also want politicians who are prepared to face the music. If the Tory leader didn't know Lord Ashcroft's tax status after ten years of public questions being raised about it, most people are wondering why David Cameron didn't ask his Party's biggest donor and deputy a few straight questions.

People here are also saying they want politicians of all Parties to work together. Nationally, the Tories walked away from government talks about care of the elderly and the new National Care Service. Most people recognise this is one of the biggest challenges we face, and they want politicians who will get round the table and help work out positive practical solutions. Locally, Cornwall Council is no overall control, but the Liberal Democrats walked away from being part of the Cabinet, allowing the Tories to dominate decision making while the Liberal Democrats whinge, grumble, and protest about local decisions after choosing to be in opposition.

People don't want pantomime politics with politicians shouting each other down. It does seem that some local politicians really haven't got this message. BBC Radio Cornwall this week pre-recorded an 'Any questions?' style event at County Hall with a panel of the four Cornwall Council political group leaders. I was upstairs at county hall at a well-attended public event discussing transport needs, while this recording took place, although I mingled downstairs and spoke to people before and after the recording. The audience invited by political Parties were mainly prospective parliamentary candidates or Cornwall councillors - who heckled loudly, objected and interrupted as political opponent group leaders answered their questions. The public - and the Independent group of councillors - were not invited to be part of the audience.

Last June, people here elected a no overall council. Now they are saying loud and clear that they want politicians who will work together to do what's best for Cornwall. I doubt that those who listened to the pre-recorded BBC broadcast felt that their views are being heard or listened to by most of those taking part in this local political bun fight.

Cornwall's Liberal Democrat MPs

The report on MPs' expenses is published today.

In the clear with 'no issues' leading to requests for repayment are Dan Rogerson MP and Matthew Taylor MP.

The requests for repayment are:
Colin Breed MP                     £3,639.49
Andrew George MP               £4,348.25
Julia Goldsworthy MP               £171.32

All of MPs' expenses information is now published in a searchable database on the parliament.uk website.

Cornwall's Tories: community asset strippers

Following my questions to the Council about the office transformation plan, Council Leader Alec Robertson wrote a letter to local newspapers saying they own over 4,000 properties, and suggesting that disposing of 48 of these is really not that significant. I don't agree, but I do think that if he wants to communicate directly, openly, and transparently with the public he shouldn't just tell us half of it.

So let me refer to two other Council properties which they are currently marketing:

(1) Devoran Old School. On Monday evening I was one of over 100 people who attended a meeting called by Devoran Action Group. This group has been working to develop plans for the community to take over the village centre building and develop it as a community centre with a nursery, after school clubs, village shop, and other employment units. The Council backed this scheme by applying for it to be one of two possible community asset transfer pilots and access government funding. The outcome of this bid is not yet known, but those at the meeting on Monday evening want it to go ahead. However, while the Council is waiting for the outcome of the bid they have put the property on the open market, and say that if Devoran Action Group cannot come up with a competitive bid and available funds by 11 February (next Thursday) they will accept one of the other bids they have so far received. The fact that they are trampling on the wishes of the community seems to make no difference.

(2) Old Richard Lander School site - which is in the ward I represent as a councillor. This site was placed back on the market on 23 January 2010. Now this is one of very few brownfield sites in Truro, and one which local residents accept could sensibly be used for new social and affordable homes. The draft Truro and Threemilestone Action Plan - which has been through public consultation - ear-marked the site for housing development including 50 per cent affordable housing as it is currently public sector land. But the Council has now ignored it's own plan and advertised the land as suitable for development of a district retail centre, with limited housing, of which only 35 per cent will be expected to be affordable. The fact that they are trampling on community aspirations to meet the need for social and affordable housing on a suitable, available site which is in public ownership seems to make no difference.

Neither of these Council property decisions has been communicated well, or fairly, to the communities involved. Indeed, as a councillor, the only communication I previously had about the Council's change of thinking on the Richard Lander School site was an anonymous letter with a Plymouth postmark, which was sent to all Truro councillors.

I am glad the Liberal Democrats lost control of Cornwall Council last year, but the fact that their group of councillors then refused to work as part of a no overall control Council leadership means that - frankly - they have no-one else to blame for their current exclusion from decision-making, no matter how often they throw their toys out the pram at scrutiny and other meetings, as they did today. Choosing to be Liberal Democrat is choosing to support a political Party that will never form a UK government, but they could if they wanted to accept responsibility for stopping the worst excesses of Cornwall's new Council leadership, rather than opt to protest feebly and futilely from the wings. This is not just about Council properties east of Bodmin, important though these are to residents in east and north Cornwall.

I have no illusions about the Tories. I saw what they did at every level of government in the 1980s and it didn't work. What they did impoverished and damaged entire communities including many in Cornwall. People were made homeless while unscrupulous profiteers cashed in by buying repossessed first homes and turning them into holiday lets - not least, in this constituency. If you want to find out what 'broken Britain' - or broken Cornwall - would be like, time travel to the 1980s by asking someone who can remember.

The big issue

Cornwall Council has a few things to decide. It's forward plan, it's office 'vision', it's services and other budgets for next year. But councillors at the full Council meeting today spent three hours - with a break for lunch - discussing whether to award themselves a pay rise of up to 33 per cent.

In a previous post, I speculated that: 'the allowances issue will be politically neutral if the Tory and Liberal Democrat groups both vote against it, and if that is the case I would expect both of these groups to reward their councillors next year for good behaviour.'

After talking for three hours the Council agreed on a one-year freeze. The Liberal Democrats proposed an amendment in favour of a 4 year freeze. They lost. So next year it seems likely the Liberal Democrats will be able to do the same thing, and then laugh all the way to the bank. OK, this is one of a very small number of things I get cynical about.

But now the only issue they seem to think worth debating for three hours is out of the way, maybe the Council decision-makers could talk about some things that matter a great deal more to people in Cornwall.

Voting for what you believe in

There are two things I have never understood about arguments for electoral reform.

One is the claim that votes only 'count' if the Party and candidate you vote for is elected. This is absurd. The purpose of democratic elections is to make a choice between Parties and manifestos. If you do not vote - or if you spoil your ballot paper - you choose not to make your vote or have it counted. If you vote, it is counted, and your vote does 'count' and contribute to the result at every level.

Democratically, the challenge we face is the disengagement with politics which means many people do not vote. Last year, a low turnout gave us the new Cornwall Council elected by a minority of the electorate.

So here is one of my wishes for the general election - I hope people will take part and vote, as they queued up to do in the most recent American presidential election. In this new constituency, if the student population registers and votes, they could determine the outcome of the election.

The second thing I don't understand about arguments for electoral reform is why anyone thinks being asked to vote for more than one Party would make your vote 'count' more, because - like tactical voting - it is a systematic dilution and distortion of choice at an election.

And while we are talking about non-choices - people in Cornwall don't want a playground politics, where Lib/Con Party hacks swap taunts that their campaign chiefs are 'fatty', 'lardy', or dementing because they are standing on the same ground and treading on each others toes. If you don't have anything more worth saying, why bother opening your mouth.

No matter how many times the Lib/Con double act write to me, I will stand, fight, and vote for what I believe in - Labour.

Cornwall Council - we can't go on like this

Yesterday morning I attended Cornwall Council Cabinet. On several occasions during the discussion of office disposal the corporate resources portfolio holder Cllr Jim Currie asserted "we've got to start doing things". A new resolution was tabled to replace the published one, and the Cabinet duly approved "the reduction from 78 principal buildings to 30 by 2015".

Several councillors made heartfelt pleas to see the list of 48 properties to be disposed of - or the list of 30 properties to be retained - and expressed concern that relocating staff to expanded main offices in Camborne, Truro, and Bodmin constituted centralisation at the expense of north, east, and west Cornwall. They were rebuffed with assurances that neither list exists - it seems the precise numbers 48 and 30 just popped up like Wednesday bonus balls, and the 'Property Transformation Plan for the Office Estate' approved in the resolution is a statement of intention for which the 'plan' has yet to be developed.

Paragraph 3.2 of the published report says that the changes may lead to the 'withdrawal of one stop shops' but that this would not be 'widespread'. If it weren't so important to the community, it might have been comical to hear Cabinet members assert that the plans are about back office accommodation and will have no impact on customer facing services, while the officer explained how they would provide better customer access - for example, at Dolcoath Avenue it may no longer be necessary for members of the public to take a lift to the second floor to see planning applications.

In the circumstances, perhaps I should be pleased that - in response to my question - Cllr Jim Currie directly denied that the office transformation plan will have any implications for the one stop shop in central Truro. If I were one of those who had voiced concern about centralisation, I might have wondered whether the Council intends to locate more than 1050 employees at offices in Truro.

The one stop shop in Truro is located on the ground floor of the former Carrick District Council offices. This is identified in the draft Truro and Threemilestone Action Plan (which is not expected to complete it's inspection until December 2011) as a development site. The draft action plan is already underpinned by back office project planning indicating when development is expected to take place, although that timetable drifted during the recession. The planning application for the Penzance new ferry terminal foundered partly because English Heritage is a statutory objector. It is unclear whether the Cabinet's plans to increase the number of staff working at County Hall from 680 to 1050 and move it's reception to a newly constructed 'public link' will get the listed building consents it would need. But it will be surprising if in due course the former Carrick District Council offices in Truro - one stop shop and all - do not come forward for redevelopment.

Perhaps surprisingly, until yesterday's meeting political blogs in Cornwall had been drawing dividing lines for the vote on proposed increases in allowances, at the full council next week, rather than the Cabinet's planned assets sale. For once, the allowances issue will be politically neutral if the Tory and Liberal Democrat groups both vote against it, and if that is the case I would expect both of these groups to reward their councillors next year for good behaviour. Politically, it will be more interesting if the Liberal Democrats behave as they have done previously and ditch their 2009 election pledge by voting for the increase.

If we didn't need genuine democratic renewal in the wake of the MPs' expenses revelations, it might be comical that David Cameron MP used his new year message to call for new politics before returning to his slapstick routines at Prime Minister's questions on Wednesdays. There is an important difference between the way that politicians' behave, and you see it in Cornwall councillors too. Regardless of political Party, I respect polticians who are direct and honest, speak their minds frankly, and show their political values. I do not respect politicians who are disingeuous - it may be one sort of political skill, but to me it only communicates self-interest and I believe politics is about public service, not conning people.

Cornwall's Tories - selling assets, cutting services

Since Wednesday, people all over Cornwall have been battening down the hatches in the snow. Many schools closed, lanes icy and dangerous, and stretches of some main roads inadequately gritted and salted forcing some drivers to abandon their cars. The former Carrick District Council was previously criticised every time there were insufficient sandbags to protect frequently flooded streets. Now Cornwall Council is rightly under the spotlight for its inadequate level of preparedness in freezing weather.

Some Cornwall Council meetings have been cancelled this week, but not the scrutiny meetings looking at the Council's draft budget - provided these meetings were quorate they went ahead. I can't help wondering whether some councillors - snowed in at home or not - have now missed their only chance to comment.

I wrote before about the fact that Liberal Democrats are the only group that decided to work in opposition to the no overall control - but now Tory dominated - executive. This doesn't alter the fact that some of the opposition concerns raised by Liberal Democrat members are naturally very local - actually, these ward-specific concerns might be raised more effectively if they were working as part of the administration. This week, it emerged that Truro Councillor Rob Nolan is the Liberal Democrats' whip. I'll resist the herding cats analogy because I'm more interested in what another minority political group - the Tories - are planning to do with some of Cornwall's assets which are currently in public ownership.

Next Wednesday, Cornwall Council Cabinet will discuss whether to dispose of 48 of its 78 office accommodation buildings. The list - which is unpublished - includes properties rented as well as owned by the Council. These proposals form an integral part of the draft budget for the corporate resources portfolio holder Tory Councillor Jim Currie, who was quoted in a local newspaper saying of the Council's approach to budgeting: "We have already been cutting things and that is why we don't have the resources we need to do things."

There are a number of big questions here. Is it financially sensible to bring forward plans to dispose of six out of ten of the Council's office properties while the commercial property market remains slow enough for the Government to have recently reintroduced empty property rates relief? It would have a negative impact on Cornwall's economy and communities if office buildings discarded by the Council remain unoccupied.

The Council can only sell properties we own - and yield the proceeds for spending - once. If some sales make sense following the unitary reorganisation, the Council has a financial responsibility to consider whether selling, renting out, or reusing in other ways for the community constitutes best value. The Council is looking to provide more social housing - has it made an assessment of whether any of the office sites that it owns might be converted to housing or used for new housing? The former Carrick District Council site, for example, has been identified in draft local plans as suitable for housing.

If some of these Council office buildings are community assets, will local communities be given the opportunity to take them on? Even in situations where buildings require some refurbishment and maintenance, communities may aspire to do this. Despite delays with initial refurbishment followed by burst frozen pipes and flooding, Malabar community and childrens centre is making good use of the old Treyew primary school buildings. Politics aside, Labour in Government has encouraged community ownership and management of assets; and the Tories have trumpeted that they would introduce a 'community right to buy' (which is disingenuous given that buildings in public ownership have already been bought once by the community). If some of Cornwall Council's buildings are transferred to the community, they will come with their maintenance and repairs backlog which the published paper suggests the Council is eager to dispose of.

The paper also makes it clear that it's plans to dispose of office accommodation may mean the relocation of some one stop shops - I guess this may include the former Carrick District Council offices in Truro. The one stop shop there cost £20,000 to refit the Council reception area as a Council reception area (oh yes) last summer, and a section of the building's slate roof has also recently been replaced.

The Council expects to be able to make longterm reductions in it's carbon footprint by reducing it's office accommodation - not that this will make much difference to Cornwall's carbon emissions if offices are disposed of and reoccupied without being retrofitted, and hundreds of relocated staff have further to travel to the smaller number of sites retained as Council offices (Trades Union consultation is underway). It is fair to say however that plans to undertake some redevelopment and refurbishment at Dolcoath Avenue and new County Hall include improved provision for cycling to work.
 

Good governance - more important than the Liberal Democrats

BBC Radio Cornwall today interviewed Liberal Democrat MP Chris Huhne who was visiting Cornwall in his role as their home affairs spokesperson.

Perhaps Chris Huhne MP doesn't know that in Truro and Falmouth constituency, at local elections last year, the Liberal Democrats were in third place and they now hold just one in six (4) of the council seats in this constituency. The voters' verdict was clear - people just don't want more of the same Liberal Democrat incompetence and poor governance: cuts to adult social care, threatened cuts to local fire services, Cornwall's only airport closed for three weeks in the run up to Christmas, planning permission refused (for good reasons) for the waste incinerator planned by the Council, and independent audit reports criticising their financial management. Chris Huhne MP claimed Liberal Democrats 'look after ordinary people' - try telling that to those who had their adult social care cut in Cornwall, or those rightly concerned about their child protection legacy here.

When a BBC Radio Cornwall caller today said that 'good governance' is more important to people than Party politics, Chris Huhne MP said he agreed 'entirely' - focusing swiftly on national politics. But the only Party locally that is refusing to work as part of the 'No Overall Control' Council leadership to deliver better governance for people in Cornwall is the Liberal Democrats.

Last year the Tories' voteshare here also fell compared to 2007, so that they now hold one in three (8) of the Cornwall Council seats in this constituency.

2010 - the year for hope

The new year is about hope.

As I write it is dark outside, blowing a gale, and the temperature is dropping sharply. Nevertheless the days are getting longer, one of the things I love about Cornwall is how quickly ever-changing weather blows across this narrow peninsula - as well as the fact that it is usually a few degrees warmer than the rest of the UK - and the next few days are forecast to be sunny and dry.

Political forecasts which turn out to be right are always lucky guesses. Journalists and politicians spice plausibility with personal predilections and the 'predictions for 2010' article is written.

The new year messages from the Prime Minster, opposition Party leader, and Liberal Democrat Party leader encompass the mood music and issues which it is believed will determine how people make their choice in the 2010 general election.

David Cameron clearly believes the way to maximise the Tory vote is to seek to occupy Labour's ground - 'the same progressive aims: a country that is safer, fairer, greener and where opportunity is more equal. It's how to achieve these aims that we disagree about.' This actually shows the strength of Labour's achievement and election potential as we enter a general election year.

No matter how many times Cameron wails 'politics is broken' like a needle stuck on a scratched vinyl record, his core vote message is: "we can't beat Labour, so let's pretend to be them". Politics is broken when it is reduced to a focus group led PR exercise that results in empty presentational cross-dressing. Politics is broken when a Tory democratic choice is marketed as a 'change' label with the fraudulent strapline 'same progressive aims'. Many Tory, UKIP, and BNP voters are happy to be honest that they don't in the least subscribe to 'progressive aims' - they know it's their democratic right - and fortunately in the UK, their retrograde views are in the minority.

David Cameron's new year message included much headlined cosying up to the Liberal Democrats: 'between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats is a lot less disagreement than there used to be.... And once the battle is over, we will need to rise above our differences and come together because that is the only way.' Whereas Nick Clegg's new year message was devoid of the same message a few weeks after he signalled a willingness to work with a Cameron government.

Clegg's new year message contains a rare moment of clarity, in which all his fluffy claims about the third Party delivering 'fairness' are replaced by a directly simple message urging voters to 'vote for what you believe in'. I had thought that the Liberal Democrat blog 'Moment of clarity' might have the inside track on their intended election platform when he worried out loud of the leaders' planned TV debates that 'Participation will also force us to solidify our narrative and the somewhat schematic approach we have to policy-formulated-to-grab-headlines (which vanishes soon after its served its purpose) may well be exposed.' If 2010 is going to be the year when the Liberal Democrats ditch forked-tongue campaigning and tactical voting before a general election, I will be the first to welcome their honest conversion to sincere politics. It's not what Nick Clegg said in his letter to me.

Of the three Party leaders, only the Prime Minister had a message that sounded sincere to me. I think Gordon Brown does believe that 'what matters is not where you come from but what you have to contribute', and his message outlined a substantial strategy for economic recovery.

I hope that the coming general election will be a real debate about future prosperity, equalising access to opportunities, and political renewal.

I hope that Cornwall will take local action to tackle climate change, while we wait on practical commitments from some world leaders.

I hope that this will be the year when voters decide to ditch tactical voting in favour of sincere politics.

And I hope that 2010 really will be the first internet election.

My letter from Nick Clegg

The post has been getting later every day, and fell through the letter box at about 2pm. I opened the Christmas cards first and put them up. I'm registered with the marketing preference service, so I very rarely receive junk mail. Organisations lobbying on a range of issues write to me as a prospective MP. Some with informative briefings on issues which matter a great deal to some people in this constituency, like that from the Alzheimers Society. Others adopt a more clubbable approach, and the stack of invitations can make Westminster appear like an all year round Party conference of events hosted by interest groups. I thought the envelope that contained my letter from Nick Clegg might be one of these.

The letter headed as from the House of Commons address bore the Liberal Democrat logo and a photo of Nick Clegg. It contained a postal vote application form and freepost envelope addressed to the local Liberal Democrat office in Truro. The Electoral Commission recommend that people return completed postal vote application forms direct to the local Council's electoral registration office, to avoid the risk of interference. A previous similar mailing by Julia Goldsworthy MP made using her parliamentary correspondence allowance led to her actions being investigated by the parliamentary standards watchdog.

Last week Paddy Ashdown made a campaign visit to Cornwall. The local newspaper's 'Ex-party leader shows support for candidates' reported that Mr Ashdown said "In Mr Cameron I think you will get a Home Counties Government with a Home Counties cabinet, which will not be good for the Westcountry." But if the coming general election were to result in a hung Parliament, Nick Clegg said recently Liberal Democrat MPs would lend their support to the Tories to enable Cameron to form a government (pictured above). It is presumably through this route that Mr Clegg feels able to make the imaginary claim in his letter to me that "our growing force of Lib Dem MPs after the next election ... will be able to get even more done for you."

In his letter to me, Mr Clegg says: "hardly anyone really wants a return to the way things were under the Conservatives. Many cannot forget the way they treated Cornwall when they were last in power." This is true, and Cornwall since 1997 has benefited from unprecedented investment in the NHS, a new university, new school buildings, more jobs, the minimum wage, and home improvements for tenants. Now why is that? Because, and only because, Labour has been in government. It has nothing to do with the Liberal Democrats, nor does Mr Clegg claim that it has.

However, Mr Clegg says "Cornwall needs real change. Real change that only the Liberal Democrats will deliver." This is a strange claim for him to make, because Cornwall's current MPs are Liberal Democrat. Mr Clegg doesn't pretend it is they who have delivered any of the positive changes in Cornwall since 1997, nor does he acknowledge that Labour's successful track record needs built on. Many people in Cornwall want Labour's investment to continue.

In contrast, after four years of Liberal Democrat leadership of the county council, only one is six of the Cornwall councillors in this constituency are now Liberal Democrat - their voteshare fell by 13 per cent, and the Independents won most seats here in the local elections this year.

There are no claims in Mr Clegg's letter that Cornwall is better off thanks to Liberal Democrat MPs, rather than Labour in government. The only achievement claimed by Mr Clegg on behalf of his MPs is a recent OFWAT decision which is likely to take about £6 a year off an average local water bill. If more is achieved for water customers it will be because the government decides to take up recommendations in the Walker review which Labour commissioned - the Liberal Democrats responded to the consultation and spoke to the water Minister about it. As a Labour prospective MP, so did I.

The next bit made me laugh out loud: "Your support really will help [us] get a better deal for Cornwall...PS Don't forget the choice is between [a] Cornish local champion ..who has a record of action or the unproven Conservative." Zero promises of what the 'better deal' would comprise, zero examples of any local action by the Liberal Democrat PPC, zero support gained from me (obviously), and zero acknowledgement that the last time this person was candidate here she took the Liberal Democrats from second to third place when Labour won the seat.

Like that election, in this constituency the next one will be a choice between a Labour and Tory government and the future they offer for Cornwall. Bring it on. A vote for either of the other Parties is a vote for Cameron to form a "Home Counties" government, with Clegg's collusion, and to bring Labour's further planned investment in Cornwall's future to an end.

A burning issue

Cornwall's waste management should never have reached this point.

Cornwall Council is in what can only be described as a lose-lose situation in relation to proposals for a centralised incinerator. A public enquiry, and ultimately the Secretary of State, will now adjudicate between it's former planning and waste decisions (which, coincidentally, have been brought together in a single department at the new unitary authority).

Let's start at the beginning. There has already been a public enquiry into a proposed incinerator for Cornwall's waste. It recommended that the previous proposals for an incinerator did not go ahead, and also that Cornwall should develop an integrated municipal waste strategy. Cornwall's seven former Councils failed to do that, instead pursuing six different District approaches to recycling and waste collections, while the County Council continued to rely on landfill for its waste disposal.

French social historians like to write about what they call the 'longue duree' in history - focusing on long-term continuities rather than the dramatic short-term events of politics and wars which they term 'eventual history'.

There are those who would say that the 'longue duree' of Cornwall's waste management are the officers at County Hall. Following the previous public enquiry, proposals for an incinerator resurfaced in the run up to the 2005 local elections. The then NOC Cabinet approved issuing tender documents for a 30 year waste management contract which included incineration. They did so without the support of Labour Councillor Jill Ferrett, who was a member of that Cabinet. During the 2005 local elections, Labour ran a petition calling for genuine, open consultation on Cornwall's waste management plans.

There was a golden opportunity when Liberal Democrats formed the next Council, with a promise of a more consultative style, to reconsider the agreement by the previous NOC Council before issuing the waste management contract. In 2005, the Liberal Democrats five recently elected MPs issued a press statement opposing plans for an incinerator. All Labour county councillors voted against the proposed incinerator. Against vigorous public opposition, the Liberal Democrat led Council ploughed on and awarded SITA the contract. Negotiations on detailed terms included a contractual obligation to a centralised incinerator that had no planning permission; that permission was then refused by Cornwall County Council in the run up to the 2009 local elections.

The golden legacy left by the Liberal Democrats for the new unitary authority's waste management is dead cert landfill tax and legal bills, with the Council liable both through it's contractual obligations to SITA, and for the costs of defending it's planning decisions. It has been reported that to break the contract would cost the Council £30 million.

As a Truro councillor, I'm aware that the community dividend from landfill tax helps to support some very worthwhile local projects, including contributing towards the Hendra skatepark and Trelander community centre. But a relatively small proportion of the total landfill tax bill returns directly to the community.

At both stages of the planning consultation, Truro and Falmouth Labour Party made representations against the single, centralised incinerator in favour or more localised waste facilities. There is no household amenity site in Truro, although planning permission was granted this year for a new site near Falmouth. I also spoke for Transition Truro against the incinerator at a public consultation meeting in St Dennis which formed part of the planning process.

Despite public debate of this issue for over five years, and a new unitary authority, the facts of Cornwall's current waste management aren't easy to assemble. SITA says fairly that it has increased the proportion of household waste that is recycled - but all that this means is that more of the waste taken to its household amenity sites is reclaimed and recycled. All of the black bags collected every week go to landfill, they are not included in the figures showing increased recycling. Meanwhile, the former district Council in this constituency area reported that four out of ten households make no use of kerbside recycling collections - that's a lot of unused bumper boxes and recycling bags, and many more weekly black bags of recyclable items being ploughed into landfill.

Cornwall Council is now NOC with a Tory-dominated executive. The new Council badly needs to bring it's thinking on waste management up to date. There's an opportunity to move to an integrated municipal waste strategy - with unified recycling services - with a single new unitary authority replacing seven former councils. From April 2010, the Council has new legal obligations to reduce carbon emissions in it's activities; is a centralised incinerator generating 120 mile round road trips going to help do that? Landfill also produces greenhouse gas emissions.

Whatever the 'eventual history', Cornwall needs a new, fit for purpose waste management strategy that will make a positive contribution to meeting carbon reduction targets and generating renewable energy in the 21st century.