Cost of Living Crisis
Preventing folk from starving and freezing is the greatest immediate challenge we face from 13 years of Conservative failure.
Having knocked on thousands of doors across Camborne, Redruth and Hayle, the issue of most concern to voters is how they are going to feed and heat themselves and their families. Over the last decade we have seen a steady erosion of household disposable income. The Conservative government has lost control of inflation, and too many working people are in insecure, low wage jobs.
A new Labour government will have to tackle this issue as a matter of priority, head on. As a Councillor for one of the most deprived wards in the country, in July this year I managed to persuade a Conservative-led council to declare a Food Poverty Emergency, including a number of key commitments that will ensure that no one in the area should go hungry. In opposition, rather than pointless petitions, practical action to deal with the worst excesses of Conservative failure is what is required in areas such as Close Hill, Treleigh, Pengegon and East Pool Park. In government, as your Labour MP, I will fight to ensure that the principle that ‘no one goes hungry’ is at its core.
Housing
Replacing a system that is rigged to favour the rich at the expense of the poor.
The Cornish housing crisis has been fuelled by the Conservatives for decades and now threatens communities throughout Cornwall. I have been supporting the ‘First Homes, not Second Homes’ campaign since it began.
While I thoroughly support the ‘First Homes, not Second Homes’ campaign with colleagues across Cornwall, I would like to see measures go even further and fast, under a new Labour government.
The Labour government in Wales has announced that it will introduce a levy on second home purchases. This is important as it sends out a clear message to would-be second home purchasers that they will be paying through the nose for it. In additional we need funds for truly affordable and social rented accommodation. As well as the ‘First Home, not Second Home’ measures, I would like to see how the Welsh Labour government's measures could be adopted in Cornwall.
Health and Social Care
Decimated by years of Conservative institutional vandalism and neglect.
As the son of a doctor and a nurse, it pains me to see the state of our NHS. Labour created the NHS in 1948 and a Labour government rescued it in 1990s. After a decade of deliberate Conservative neglect, our wonderful NHS is on its knees again. Short of people and investment, our doctors and nurses are fighting against the tide. Ambulances queueing with poorly patients at Treliske while waiting for beds, is a sign of a fractured institution.
Local nurses regularly tell me of the difficulties they face, working in such an environment. And because of our broken social care system, again under-resourced, under-paid and under-valued, the knock on effect on the NHS is catastrophic.
Labour will create a new health and social care system that ensures the right care is delivered, at the right time to the right people. But there’s no hiding from the fact that the NHS needs massive investment in buildings and people. As your Labour MP, I will be campaigning to ensure that both in-season and out-of-season, Cornish folk receive the quality of health and social care we need.
Jobs in the Green Economy
Economic rejuvenation should be based on maximising sustainable energy resources to create secure, well-paid jobs.
I’m passionate about Climate Change and I’m also an optimist. The fight against Climate Change steers not only my politics but also my professional career, as the Director of a sustainable energy infrastructure business. We are unique in Cornwall in that we are surrounded by sea on three sides. We are also sitting on a granite rock. The opportunities for a combination of offshore, onshore, solar, geothermal and tidal energy production in Cornwall are unrivalled. And Camborne, Redruth and Hayle will be at the centre of what I hope to be a Green Industrial Revolution for Cornwall.
The Conservatives have completely failed to attract high skilled, well-paid, secure jobs to Cornwall. And we know that the competition for the £28 billion that Labour has pledged to transform our Green economy will be fierce.
We need strong, experienced, knowledgeable representatives in Westminster to bang the Cornish drum and make it happen. As the Director of a business that creates green jobs that reduce CO2 emissions, I know how to negotiate hard and I know that Camborne, Redruth and Hayle is ideally suited to play a major role in transforming our economy and reducing our reliance on fossil fuels that contribute to greenhouse gases.
Devolution
We need Cornish solutions to Cornish challenges. To achieve this we need a devolution deal that empowers us to manage our own destiny.
In order to achieve a reformed housing market, a rejuvenated health and social care system, a Green Industrial Revolution and to protect our cultural heritage, we need to have a greater say in our own affairs in Cornwall. For too long we have been forced to accept policies from Westminster that simply do not fit our Cornish way of life. Cornwall is one of the poorest areas of Western Europe, but we also have our very own, unique cultural identity based on our Celtic roots, we have massive population fluctuations throughout the year, there’s only one main road and rail link in and out, and because of our natural beauty and desire for many to live in Cornwall, finding truly affordable quality housing for nurses, social care and retail workers in Cornwall is today virtually impossible. These factors mean that Cornwall is like no other part of the UK and requires a particular devolved arrangement.
Whilst I’m wholly opposed to a Mayor of Cornwall, which would be a total waste of money, I would like to see considerably more power devolved to Cornwall. And, as your Labour MP, I will push hard for devolution to play a key part in Labour’s plan at the next election.
I will fight for Cornwall to be high on that devolution agenda and achieve a new arrangement with Westminster that befits our geographic location, our economy and our culture as well as our housing, health and social care requirements.
Education
Excellence, opportunity and accessibility for all, throughout our communities.
One of the most shameful acts of the last 13 years of Conservative government was the scrapping of the Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA). It was a lifeline for many from poorer backgrounds and its removal has once again led to a generation of talented youngsters having opportunities curtailed by a cruel and elitist government.
Investment in education was one of Labour's best achievements in government, from Sure Start Children’s Centres (now closed or diminished), to transforming the facilities available to local children in Camborne, Redruth and Hayle and bringing more apprenticeships and university courses to Cornwall College.
We owe it to our young people to ensure that all our educational institutions offer excellence for all, across a range of courses, including vocational courses. The Conservatives have cut support for children with additional learning needs, so those who need extra support are struggling. This also puts more pressure on teachers and schools.
Beyond this, we also need to ensure that specialist adult services are readily available to those that need extra support with literacy and numeracy.
I’m also a huge advocate of music and sports in schools, and cultural courses including those that are focused on the Cornish language, in order to protect and nurture our Cornish cultural heritage.
Brexit and Europe
For economic, social, cultural and security reasons, I will push for the closest possible relationship with our nearest neighbours, friends and allies.
I make no apology for stating that I am a staunch pro-European. I campaigned door-to-door to remain in the EU and carried the People’s Vote banner through the streets of London.
This is hardly a surprise: I have very close ties to mainland Europe – I have a Swedish sister-in-law, a French sister-in-law, a French brother-in-law and, having lived in France in my early 20s, I speak fluent French.
Three years after leaving the EU, it’s clear that the Conservatives who led the Brexit campaign have failed to keep their promises. The fortress that Vote Leave claimed we could build, had foundations of sand. Ask any of our farmers, fishermen, importers, exporters or desperately overworked social care workers how Brexit has been for them, and you’ll get a pretty frank response. But, as a democrat, as painful as it is, I believe we have to respect the will of the people. We have left the EU, and we have to make the most of where we are today, not replay old arguments. That does not mean, however, that we have to accept the terrible arrangement the government ‘negotiated’ with our nearest neighbours.
As your Labour MP I will support a new debate on the UK’s relationship with the EU based, not on resentment, but on mutual respect, goodwill and collaboration. Where those discussions may lead would be up to us. But what will not change is my ardent belief that the EU is our friend, our neighbour and our largest, nearest economic trading block. For decades our social, cultural and even familial ties have bonded us to our European neighbours. Failed Conservative promises from 2016 cannot be allowed to damage those long-lasting ties.
Mental Health Care
My first hand experience as a parent has taught me that the system is utterly broken. Fixing it will be one of my main priorities as your Labour MP.
This is an issue very close to my heart because, as a parent, I have been through the trauma of the Child and Adult Mental Health Service (CAMHS). Due to a decade of under-investment, even before the COVID pandemic, the system was simply not fit for purpose.
Now, like the rest of the NHS and Social Care, it stands on the brink of collapse. Waiting times for the seriously ill are dangerously long, and this government seems to have no plan whatsoever to tackle the issue. So I’m delighted that Keir Starmer has signalled a complete overhaul and raising of the profile of mental health to the same status as physical health. Further, a Labour government will put mental health and safety on a similar legal footing as physical health and safety. On a purely practical level, this will help reduce the vast numbers of working hours lost to people suffering with deteriorating mental health. But most importantly, this focus will lead to a happier, healthier society and end the devastation to which both parents and sufferers have been subjected under the Conservatives.
Environment
Our job is to care for, protect and nurture our natural environment. The Conservatives have abused and neglected it.
There is so much of the Cornish natural world that makes us very proud. We are surrounded by the wonder of our stunning natural beauty. It is the responsibility of each generation to nurture and protect it. So, when the Conservative government fails to prevent raw sewage being pumped into our rivers and seas, it is understandable that Cornish folk are furious.
I have felt that anger across all of our communities and will campaign against discharges in the strongest possible way as your Labour MP.
As a regular sea swimmer and lover of the natural marine life around Cornwall, the ‘Surfers Against Sewage’ app has become a must-watch, clearly marking the areas of our coastline, from Porthtowan to Portreath and down to Gwithian, where so called ‘storm overflow discharge’ has been pumped out to sea.
This abhorrent practice, which fouls up our coast and rivers, must stop immediately. And when it doesn’t, painful financial penalties must be applied to these water companies. I would also be in favour of having a much broader conversation about how the management of these water companies, as South West water has for too long failed to meet the needs of its customers.
Electoral Reform
It's time to minimise "my vote won't count here" apathy and ensure everybody has their voice heard.
As someone that’s knocked on thousands of doors in Camborne, Redruth & Hayle this year alone, I know that, along with winning over people who’ve previously voted Conservative, the next greatest electoral challenge is to win over those who say: "There’s no point voting here; my vote won’t make a difference." The Conservatives are relying on this voter apathy to win in Camborne, Redruth & Hayle again.
It’s up to politicians to galvanise the electorate to come out and vote, which is why at the Labour Party conference in 2021 I voted in favour of electoral reform and I support a fairer, proportional electoral system. Our current ‘first past the post’ system is not fit for purpose and disenfranchises a significant proportion of the electorate. It’s time for change and, as a Labour MP, I would lobby for a review of our electoral system.
Fox Hunting
Quite simply, zero tolerance to animal cruelty in a modern progressive Britain.
Having spent the vast majority of my life living in rural areas, I have first hand experience of the very worst of hunting with dogs. On a purely practical level, it is a hopelessly inefficient means of culling pests but more broadly this issue goes to the heart of our attitudes to animal welfare.
The way that we treat our wildlife says much about the kind of society we are, and the kind of society we will leave behind to future generations. So for me, quite explicitly, hunting animals with dogs is a disgusting, deeply cruel and inhumane ‘pastime’ and I would like to not only see the laws against it fully enforced, I would like to see those that break those laws feel the full force of justice.
Hunting with dogs has no place whatsoever in 21st century Britain. The issue cannot be tolerated or ignored. We need to cherish and protect our wildlife – not manipulate wildlife populations so some people can ‘enjoy’ seeing them being ripped apart by a pack of dogs. As your Labour MP, I would be very clear and unequivocal in my opposition to this barbaric but seemingly tolerated ‘pastime’.