At Cornwall Council, the motion to impose a 25% increase in payments on disabled people, those working for low pay and those looking for work, was passed by a clear majority of the Conservative and Independent administration.

Jude Robinson, Labour Councillor for Camborne North, said:

“Local councillors should have thought more about people in the wards they represent. Ill health and low wages are higher in this area than anywhere else in Cornwall. People are desperate and the local Food Bank is already stretched. Cuts to housing benefits and working tax credits by the coalition government have hit people hard. Now the council will demand up to £20 a month more from people who have nothing to spare. This will cause even more hardship in Camborne.”

Cornwall Labour Party chair Candy Atherton said “This important conference brings together Labour members from across the wider south west. Speakers include Deputy Leader Harriet Harman, a frequent visitor to Cornwall, as well as regional Labour MPs such as Ben Bradshaw.

“Resolutions to be debated include campaigning for a Living Wage, so vital to us in a low wage economy like Cornwall, to the importance of sustaining and improving our transport links to the county. After the problems we have had in recent weeeks this has never been more important.

“I have no doubt that fellow delegates will be asking about the shambles that is Cornwall Council ranging from the loss of Tory leaders during the joint venture saga through to the more recent lie detection revelations. I am sure that, like me, many will feel this debacle must end.”

Labour Councillor Jude Robinson said:

“The Conservative and Independent administration is over and they are putting services at risk as their top priority is arguing amongst themselves.

“The most shameful aspect of this shambles is that responsibility to the public has been completely lost in a welter of failure and excuses.

“This so-called administration spent all day yesterday at full council avoiding decisions at great expense to the public. They are leaving the next Council with a financial black hole of at least £21 million and more cuts are on the way. It is clear that front line services to people in Cornwall will suffer and the longer this goes on, the worse it will be – with the public again picking up the tab.

“This administration should admit they can’t run the council and stop taking their generous ’special responsibility allowances’ or step up and start taking decisions.”

“This government of millionaires has created a double dip recession, failed to build affordable housing, given tax cuts to the rich and now wants to scapegoat young people trying to make their way in world.

“This does not even make sense. Young people are told to get on their bikes to look for work and take whatever job is offered. This Tory plan means that if they do move away from home and take a low paid job, they can’t get help if their rent is unaffordable.

“Parents are being told to ‘downsize’ their homes and at the same time house their grown up children.

“David Cameron wants to make it harder for young people to take jobs or apprenticeships and then calls them ‘feckless’.”

Candy Atherton, former MP for Falmouth and Camborne and Chair of the Cornwall Labour Party said: “I am proud to have been a member of the Labour Government that introduced the national minimum wage in 1999. At the time, the Tories said it would cost jobs and the Lib Dems wanted a regional minimum wage. Both were proved wrong then and they are just as wrong today.”

Jude Robinson, Councillor for Camborne North said: “Wages are already too low in Cornwall. Paying teachers and nurses less will not help that – it will only give bad private sector employers an excuse to reduce pay as well. Working people in Cornwall already face a double whammy of high costs and low wages. If low pay was good for the economy, ours would be booming but we are still one of the poorest regions in Europe.”

The introduction of regional pay would mean that workers would be paid different rates for doing the same job in different parts of the country and lead to difficulties of staff recruitment in low wage/high cost areas like Cornwall.

Although private sector rates of pay vary across the UK, minimum wage levels are set nationally. The National Minimum Wage was introduced in 1999 at a rate of £3.60 per hour (£3 for 18 – 21 year olds). At the time, it was estimated that 1.9 million people were paid less than that – in some cases significantly less. In Cornwall, jobs were regularly advertised at £1.50 per hour. The current rate is £6.08 per hour, increasing to £6.19 in October.

The introduction of the NMW was one of Labour’s manifesto pledges before the 1997 General Election. The Coalition Agreement – the deal struck by Tories and Lib Dems to share power – does not include regional pay.

“I welcome Nicky to what will be a great campaign for Labour in the 2 counties. Nicky will be a strong candidate in a region with a strong record in innovation in policing. At a time when the Tory led coalition is cutting police numbers while crime rises a strong candidate fighting for local people is what we need.

“While the Lib Dems dither whether to stand at all and the Tories rub their hands to cut ever more Labour will work to protect local communities and I wish Nicky every success in November’s elections.”

“This omnishambles of a government needs to be shaken up” he said “and here in Cornwall local people can really send a strong message that they should go. Whether it is the pasty tax, granny tax, caravan tax or rising unemployment – all their policies hit Cornwall hard. And this is the area the Lib Dems like to call their heartlands – a fine way to treat Cornwall!”

Clutching his own pasty, Ben highlighted the difference between life in Cornwall with a Labour government and life under the Tory-led coalition;

“The Labour government worked hard to bring investment into Cornwall – the University, Objective One, new roads, the medical school – the list goes on and on. Yet under the Toriues and Lib Dems Cornwall has gone backwards. Schools have not been rebuilt as we planned, hospital waiting lists rise and now they are even planning to bring in a regional wage which will leave Cornwall even poorer.”

Ben was speaking at an evening organised by Truro and Falmouth Labour Party where everyone enjoyed local pasties, a quiz and a question and answer session.
Despite the bad weather on Friday (15th June) and clashing with the England Sweden football the well attended evening was enjoyed by all.

Candy Atherton Chair of Truro and Falmouth Labour Party said;

“It was great to welcome Ben back to Cornwall. As a minister he took a keen interest in events in Cornwall and has been both angered and saddened to see our county going backwards. After his own excellent local results this May in Exeter and Labour’s success in Plymouth he predicted that a largte swathe of Labour councillors would be elected in Cornwall next May. Indeed we all agreed that it was just a shame we had to wait until next year for the elections!”

In 2009, Jude asked the Council several questions about the agreements between Sita and te Council, including questions on whether the Council would have to pick up the tab for Sita’s legal action against the Council decision.

Jude said: “The Council avoided a direct question and basically split hairs to avoid giving an honest answer – that it would have to fund both the planning appeal and the fight against.

“As the Leader of the Council is also responsible for communication and the Council’s reputation, I have asked for an apology, an assurance that the FOI responses have improved under his leadership and if not, that he now makes sure this department becomes genuinely open and transparent.

“When people in Cornwall ask for answers, they should get answers – not wriggling and squirming, half truths or evasions.”

The FOI Response:

5. What budget has been set aside for SitaCornwall to fund the appeal?

Sita Cornwall have a £1m budget for an appeal.

6. In the event of SitaCornwall winning the appeal (which seems very likely) will Cornwall Council be liable for all costs on both sides?

There is a circular on costs (Communities and Local Government Circular 03/2009)In planning appeals, the parties involved normally meet their own expenses. Costs are only awarded when the party against whom the award is sought has acted unreasonably and the unreasonable behaviour has caused the party applying for costs to incur unnecessary or wasted expense in the appeal process.

7. In the event of SitaCornwall losing the appeal, would the company then claim its costs back from Cornwall Council as its contractor?

No.

Candy Atherton, Chair of Cornwall Labour Party said: “Around 1 in 3 Lib Dems could lose their seats in next year’s unitary elections here, if this year’s election results are repeated. We believe people want real opposition to the Tory led government, not hollow promises from councillors keeping the Conservatives in power, whether that is the Lib Dems at Westminster or the Independents in Cornwall. Here, as in Devon, Plymouth and Exeter, Labour can make a real difference, giving a strong voice to local communities and defending people from unfair coalition cuts.”

Cornwall Councillor Jude Robinson, currently the only Labour member of the authority said: “The election results were a victory for the hard work of Labour Party members across the South West and we want to make sure that people in Cornwall know the Labour Party is on their side here as well.”

Last night the Tories and the Lib Dems came in for a battering with the Conservatives down to 31% share of the vote and the Lib Dems on 16%. Although the Lib Dem share of the vote was higher than predicted, they lost more than a third of the seats they were defending. If this were repeated in Cornwall’s Unitary Council elections next year, only around 24 Lib Dem Councillors would keep their seats.

Being in government tends to make life difficult for councillors wanting to be re-elected. In Cornwall, Labour had a strong presence in local government that declined during Labour years of government to the point in 2009, when the Unitary was formed and the expenses scandal hit resulting in the party failing to win any seats on the new authority. Since then, Labour has gained a seat from the Tories in the Camborne North by election in January 2011.

In recent years, many Lib Dem councillors – and MPs – have appealed to Labour supporters to vote Lib Dem ‘to keep the Tories out’. This has contributed to their success in Cornwall and many voters have pledged never to support the party again after they entered a coalition with the Conservatives to form a government.

The Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg made it clear yesterday (Sunday 22nd April) that the tax is an official Lib Dem Policy, which he supports. He publically disowned his local candidate and party activists.

In a live television broadcast, Lib Dem Leader Nick Clegg disowned Cornwall Lib Dems, who fought a recent Truro by election (and lost to the Tories) on the claim that only the Liberal Democrat candidate could ‘Stop the Tories Taxing Our Pasties’.

This has now been proven to be wholly untrue and in fact was a Lib Dem policy.

Recent changes contained in the Coalition Budget mean that VAT will be payable on all hot food which is purchased for consumption. Previously only food consumed on the premises of the supplier or certain take away foods were liable for VAT. The new proposals will cover all hot foods. It is argued that this will hit many firms in Cornwall because the “Cornish” pasty is unique to Cornwall and represents a significant part of the local economy. This will affect both jobs and the viability of many small businesses. The new Tax on hot food has been dubbed the “Pasty Tax”.

Hanna Toms, Labour party candidate said today after hearing the statement from Nick Clegg: “It’s time for the Lib Dems in Cornwall to take responsibility for what their party is doing in office, they can no longer hide behind the Tories. The truth is that Lib Dems in Cornwall have tried yet again to pull the wool over voters’ eyes and their Leader has exposed them. I hope that they will apologise to the people of Cornwall for what has proved to be a monstrous lie.

They claim to be standing up for Cornwall but the truth is this is a right wing coalition government and they are pushing through all these detrimental changes, including the:

* Charity Tax
* Granny Tax
* Church Refurbishment Tax
* Caravan Tax

“Labour is the only alternative, they are truly opposing all these measures and people should not be fooled by these dishonest leaflets.

We welcome all the former Lib Dems who want to join us in real campaigns against Coalition policy.”

Labour Cornwall Councillor Jude Robinson said: “How much longer can Lib Dems in Cornwall keep up the dishonest charade of opposition to the Tories?”