Cornish MPs determined to win more power for Cornwall
MINISTER CORNFIRMS THAT UNITARY IS THE ONLY OPPORTUNITY
Cornwall’s five Liberal Democrat MPs say Cornwall will not get another chance to make a significant stride towards the creation of a Cornish Assembly and cut bureaucratic expense if the current bid for a unitary authority fails.
At a meeting today with Phil Woolas MP, the Minister for Local Government and Community Cohesion, the MPs received reassurance that a unitary authority would give Cornwall the clearance for real, devolved powers. But it would only be successful if it could be proven to cut costs, such as reducing Council Tax down to the lowest level County-wide.
Mr Woolas said reorganising Cornwall’s Local Government would give local people the chance to engage with democracy by deciding what targets a unitary body should set out to achieve. He also said that, if necessary, the bid could be revised up to take account of local concerns until implementation in 2009.
The meeting also coincided with the release of results from District Councils’ polls across Cornwall which showed an overwhelmingly negative response to the unitary bid. Caradon, Kerrier, Penwith and Carrick Councils have been campaigning against the bid and funded the poll in spite, initially, voting to abolish themselves in their own single unitary bid.
Mr George said: “If we are serious about strengthening Government in Cornwall then this is the only game in town. Even the District Councils agree. They voted this year to abolish themselves and the County Council and submitted a bid to create a single unitary authority.
“The Minister was clear. Elected representatives accountable to a Cornish tier of Government should decide how to manage our hospitals, how many affordable houses we should build and how to spend regional aid, not people appointed by Central Government, as at present.
“Change is challenging and worrying for many but if we genuinely want to be ambitious rather than timidly leave our weakened Councils to limp on a little longer then we need to grasp this opportunity and drive this forward.”
Julia Goldsworthy MP for Falmouth and Camborne added: “We need to get rid of the ridiculous situation like we have in Falmouth where the County Council funds the Town Council keep the sea front clean and who, in turn, sub-contract the job to the District Council. These circular inefficiencies have to stop.
“This is Cornwall’s only opportunity.”
