Some of my work for Penzance or why I'd be an effective Cornwall Councilor

This blog intends to illustrate some of my work for Penzance and to show the kind of issues I have supported and argued against, over the last few years. In this time of great political turmoil and with Brexit looming large on the horizon, it is more important than ever to have representatives that will stand up for issues, knows how to campaign effectively and gets things done. There are 2 sections below; 1 being an effective councillor and 2 standing up for local issues, these are the reasons why I think I am a very credible Cornwall Council candidate and why with a greater platform I could be more effective in making things happen. This is only a glimpse of my work for Penzance East, please read some of  my older posts for more and as always any questions or comments find me on twitter @cernyw or drop me an email robscornishblog@gmail.com.

Being an effective councillor:

I was elected onto Penzance Town Council back in 2013, when I also stood for Cornwall Council for Penzance East. I was elected as Vice Chair of the General Purposes Committee at my first meeting and held that post for 2 years,  I was then elected Chair of the same committee. In this time I managed meetings, held agenda setting meetings with officers and chased up items. A big part of that committee was Christmas Lights and I was pleased to be one of the councillors pushing for the town council to provide lights for Causewayhead, the Causewayhead traders had previously funded their own lights. I also chaired meetings to organise the festival that went with the switch on and working with the Chamber of Commerce, Causewayhead Traders Association, Chapel Street Traders Association and Penzance BID. It was also through this committee that the town council condemned plans to close Penzance Police Station front desk and wrote to the Police and Crime Commissioner asking them to reconsider.

I have supported devolution at every turn on the town council, although I've been reluctant to do so when there was an undue burden on the rate payers of this town, lobbying instead for a better deal from Cornwall Council, some of this is covered in my last blog here. I supported the devolution of Jubilee Pool and welcomed the chance to regenerate the great seafront of Penzance. I joined with town councillors in opposing the closure of the post office in town and the closure of Poltair Hospital. I've been the sole councilor to keep arguing against the use of glyphosates in weed spraying, unfortunately unsuccessfully... so far.

Superfast Broadband, I've always seen the benefits of faster and more reliable internet and welcomed the introduction of fibre- optic broadband. However as Cornwall Council and BT were proclaiming the success of the scheme a number of businesses in the town centre approached me about the lack of progress for properties directly connected to the exchange, months past the scheduled completion date. Superfast had been rolled out outside the town centre but not within it. I quickly took up the challenge of this and spoke to a great number of businesses in this ward and found out that it was a great problem for many of them. BT at the time were trying to figure out how to connect the town center and were looking into frankly compromised solutions such as satellite, which would not deliver the same quality and speed as fibre. Thanks to the pressure of local businesses, the Cornishman and the town council, superfast broadband is now here in the town centre.

One of my proudest achievements on the town council (so far) was to bring the idea to councillors that the authority become a Living Wage employer. With the unanimous support of councillors we did so in 2013 and I hope, set an example to other employers that fair pay is not only just and right but it also helps to get the most out of employees. It was very pleasing to see Cornwall Council follow suit especially as a lot of their workers, particularly in health and social care were paid well below the Living Wage.



Standing up for local issues:

I got into politics as I was frustrated with the state of politics and matters like: the lack of affordable housing, centralisation, Cornwall's under-performing economy and the abject lack of (actually) affordable housing. These problems and the realisation that politics could work better for the people of Cornwall still drives me today. Back then it made me become an activist and I quickly realised that social media and blogging was a very useful way of reaching large audiences and agitating for change and lobbying the people in charge.

It was through blogging that I first appeared in the media. Well before I was elected I was featured on the BBC Inside Out programme, talking about the gaps in the various affordable housing schemes, introduced by the coalition and although the equity schemes were very good eligible properties were so few and far between and there were none in Penzance at all. Affordable housing is a key thing that needs to change and although there have been a few increases in affordable housing availability in Penzance East recently, much much more action is needed.

Wavehub and it's potential was always one of the projects that I always admired, there is obviously great opportunity for more renewable power in Cornwall and looking to the sea to generate power again is obvious. But I felt a great sense of frustration that the coalition government quickly centralised its management but did not want to seem to do anything with it and sat on their hands. So I wrote to the minister then in charge of it Vince Cable enquiring as to what the hold up was with the aim of giving them a kick up the jacksy. The local media picked up on the story and was featured widely, including myself on the tv, this did prompt some action from the government and eventually Wavehub was devolved back to Cornwall and is now up and running trailing renewable devices and we are now back on the front foot with green energy and innovation.

Cornwall Council's privatisation plans, back when the Tories and Independents were in charge, they dreamed up a Shared Services scheme with BT. I argued and argued against this and promoted the petition that was massively successful. However a slimmed down scheme was introduced, the joint Cornwall- BT scheme however was destined for failure after legal action by CC it was stopped and services, rightly brought back in house.

I think I would be a good Cornwall Councillor. I care about this area, I am passionate about change. I know how to be an effective councillor and work with various groups, businesses, residents and other councilors. I know how to get issues that other parties don't want to talk about onto the agenda and I know how to get a big platform through the media and otherwise. Please consider voting for me on May the Fourth and give me a a better chance and a bigger voice to lobby for change, thanks for reading.

Below is a post from the Mebyon Kernow facebook page https://www.facebook.com/MebyonKernow/, check it out for more of the policy pledges that MK is fighting this election on.

Fair funding for Cornwall would be my number one priority if elected in St Ives

“If you are elected what will be your number one priority for your constituency and why?”

My number one priority as MP would be to get a fair deal for Cornwall’s funding, not only because it would be the right to do, but also the public are crying for decent public services.

As I see it, there are 3 major problems that need to be addressed by government and have been ignored by politicians for far too long. 1 this constituency has the lowest wages in all of Cornwall and some of the worst across the UK. 2 Cornwall is one of the poorest parts of the European Union and second poorest in the UK. 3 We are given a raw deal for government on funding and this makes the first 2 problems so much worse.

Here’s some examples, recently John Pollard said that Cornwall Council was short changed by £48 million a year by government. Our school child funding per head is £154 less than the national average. In the years 2006-2013 our NHS got £220 million less than the funds government even declared they needed. We need fair funding and I am proud to represent the only party which has addressing this issue as a manifesto commitment. This would be my priority.

We must end the trend of privatising public services and return services to public ownership

“Is it inevitable that in future more and more public services both locally and nationally will be privatised and/or outsourced or should this policy be reversed and services put back into public ownership?”


I must admit that some weeks answering these questions is tricky in the 200 word limit, but this week

it is deceptively simple. No! it is not inevitable that public services are run for profit.


The manifesto of Mebyon Kernow is very very clear on this, public services should be publicly owned and run, not privatised, and further they need to be under democratic control, not managed by undemocratic and unaccountable boards, trusts and quangos.


There has been a trend under Tory, Labour and Tory Lib Dem governments for more and more involvement in the private sector and it is obvious who has benefited from these policies: share holders. This has often been to the detriment of public services.


This has increased the power of corporations and the natural extension of this policy of giving the private sector more and power is the TTIP. This is despite the fact that polling shows people want public services owned by the state. We need everything from the NHS, libraries to the rail companies run for the public good under democratic control and delivering first class services to the public not first class profits for the private sector.

How Cornwall can benefit from superfast broadband and better connections with the world

“The rollout of superfast broadband has been hailed as a catalyst for creating new high skilled, high paid jobs in Cornwall – what else can be done to help develop and encourage this kind of employment in the county?”


Having world class superfast broadband is a very positive thing for Cornwall and more must be done 

to fully realise the potential it can have. I was recently in a campaign to get this into Penzance town 

centre on time and FTTP installed rather than much slower FTTC. I took part in this campaign after 

businesses in the town asked me what the delay was. 

From them and a survey I did of companies and organisations in the town, it was clear that superfast 

was a very important asset and would enable growth. We live in an increasingly connected world 

and it was a real eye opener to me how many organisations in Penzance trade and communicate 

with partners throughout the UK, Europe and the whole world. 


Although I believe in the need to do more trade locally and reduce food miles and other unnecessary 

transports. The next step for West Cornwall and Scilly in my opinion is taking advantage of how the 

internet and superfast broadband connects us with the world. We need government to help and 

enable companies take advantage of the internet. Look to how to expand existing companies and 


bring more to Cornwall to unleash our potential.

Free schools are not pushing up standards, we need to address the key issues on education

“Are free schools the best way to push up standards in education or should the resources being used for these new schools instead be used to provide for improvements in existing schools?”

It goes withour saying that education is important. We need a school system that delivers first class education. We need pupils to leave education armed with the knowledge and the ability to think for themselves,  in order to get on in life, both in work and life itself.

These are the things politicians should bear in mind when they consider education, how to defend what is good and how to improve what is bad and constantly strive to make education better.

Unfortunately Free Schools, seemed to be based more on ideology than on improvement. They have centralised the funding away from local authorities and to the hands of Whitehall. How this makes schools free is unclear. I fear that if changes or cuts to funding are made (the ideological axe still hangs ominously over public services) how will schools make representations to a distant unaccountable bureaucracy?

Our schools need investment, as we've seen over the last few years in Helston, with the c block fiasco, the government have avoided the main problems from the coal face and focused on top down solutions. I believe that the funds diverted to the Free School experiment would be much better invested in schools.

The government needs to do more to improve transport in Cornwall

“What can be done to improve transport links to and from Cornwall 

as well as transport within the county?”

Transport links in Cornwall are not ideal and I’m glad the question addresses the vital issue of getting 

around Cornwall not just getting up country. Fundamentally one of the key issues for our next MP 

should be getting fair funding for our transport network and to get the crucial decisions devolved to 

Cornwall, as we know best the problems we face and how to solve them and this is true not just for 

roads but also public transport including of course the links with the Isles of Scilly. 

Recently the  government was unwilling to pay for A30 improvements, despite the fact they are responsible 

for it, Cornwall Council is contributing. This is an unwelcome development as we in Cornwall and tourists, 

pay road tax to central government, where is this money going? We need some of Cornish taxpayers 

money back from the Treasury to pay for transport. 

We need to rethink how we deliver it and should  seriously consider renationalising the public transport 

network that we already subsidise and look to improving it by making train and bus times schedules in 

relation to each other. We need well-funded  public transport that is quick, efficient and doesn’t costs 

travellers the earth to travel.

Cornwall needs wages to go up and employment conditions to improve

“New figures suggest that in some parts of Cornwall as many as 40% of jobs are not paying a living wage – what can be done to tackle the problem of low pay levels in Cornwall and should employers be allowed to continue employing staff on zero hour contracts?”

This is a very topical question, the TUC is running a Fair Pay Fortnight campaign at the moment, raising the issue of low pay and this week in the news, low wages across Cornwall has featured

heavily. That said, although it is higher on the political agenda and we should be grateful that politicians are showing an interest, it has been a problem in Cornwall for certainly all of my life time. Combined with high house prices, the low wages in Cornwall are a blight and contribute to the brain drain of young talented people moving from Cornwall. 

Government needs to take action to make pay fair and protect workers rights. There is a wide disparity between the minimum wage and the living wage, this wide gap needs to close. I'm fully supportive of the Living Wage and I'm proud that I put it forward to Penzance Town Council and that we are now a living wage employer. I think we need to live in a society where work pays and it is fair, abuses of 0 hours contracts needs to be clamped down on. The next government should introduce the living wage for all public sector workers. 

What we need to do about foodbanks and the scandal of inequality and food poverty

My answer in the Cornishman on the scandal of food poverty answering the following question:

What are you going to do about the scandal of food banks and how do we tackle the issue of poverty

 which is forcing people in Cornwall to require food banks?

The rise in food banks and food poverty is a scandal and people not being able to afford to feed themselves is a scandal anywhere in the world but especially so in one of the richest economies in the world. The reason that foodbanks are increasingly relied upon is due to coalition policies that exasperate inequality. 

The Cornish economy is not recovering, wages are stagnating and however the coalition like to massage the figures, the reality on the high streets of Helston, St Ives and Penzance is decline. We need jobs and investment not a constant barrage of cuts!

The problem of food poverty is a problem of policy, this government knows all too well about wealth distribution policy and putting money in people's pockets. They have slashed the top rate of income tax, slashed corporation tax and pumped billions into the banks through quantitative easing. 

At the same time as slashing benefits, introducing the bedroom tax and putting up minimum wage by an insulting pittance. Tory and Lib Dem priorities are immoral, if elected as an MP common sense and fairness would be my agenda, I firmly believe we can have a society where everyone can afford to eat.  

The future for green energy in Cornwall, we need more control and benefits from it

My answer printed in the Cornishman to the following question:
“Assuming that we are serious about developing green energy, does that mean increasingly covering

Cornwall's farmland in solar panels and wind turbines is a good idea, or are there alternatives?”

I have a deep feeling of frustration with the development of renewable energy in Cornwall. I remember as a boy growing up in awe of the wind turbines going up here before anywhere else in the UK. I had a great sense of pride that that our land was at the cutting edge. These feelings were rekindled by Wavehub but lamentably under government control progress is not being realised.

There are alternatives to prime valuable agricultural land dedicated to energy production. We need to look to the sea. We have some ideal locations for marine renewables but central government and their policies are holding us back. In Scotland where energy is devolved their marine renewables are world class an example for Cornwall to follow.

There needs to be diversity in energy production. Small scale renewable like pv panels, and small turbines on buildings and car parks are the way forward. They benefit residents and businesses and leave valuable agricultural land for agriculture.

Lamentably the economic benefit of our natural resources from cheap energy and jobs are imported and exported. We need to be at the forefront of renewables again under own control unshackled from the dead hand of central government.

My views on the NHS in Cornwall, it needs to be public and funded

My piece in the Cornishman on the question of the NHS answering the following question.

“What are your views on the future of NHS services in Cornwall 

and how they are funded?”

The NHS is a great institution, I’m sure myself and many of us, have relatives that would not be 

alive without the NHS and it’s dedicated nurses and doctors. Yet our health system is under 

threat from 2 angles underfunding and privatisation.

For decades the Cornish NHS has been underfunded. This has resulted in things like the closure

of Poltair and the continuing threat to services at West Cornwall Hospital and St Michael’s. 

Leaving us here in the west, to travel further (at increased risk in emergencies) for health 

services. 

We’ve seen in recent days the failings of Hinchbrooke, much revered as an example of public 

sector profit making. As we’re all keenly aware in Cornwall, after the Serco out of hours debacle, 

for profit often means cuts in service provision and an increased profit, privatisation does not 

work. 

If I was elected as MP, I would lobby for fair funding for the Cornish NHS. To resist the push to 

make the NHS a profit making machine and to maintain a system that is free at the point of use 

and local to the people. We need a health service as envisaged by it’s founders with care the top 

priority.

Cornwall needs proper devolution to a Cornish assembly

For the 16 weeks up to the general election the West Briton and Cornishman have asked each candidate to write 200 words on a question put by readers for every day until the 6th I'll post my answers here, hope you enjoy readin any questions get in touch with me on twitter @cernyw or email me robscornishblog@gmail.com

“Should more power be devolved to Cornwall and, if so, in what form? 

If the answer is ‘no’, please say why not.”

For me the question: should Cornwall have more power? Is like asking if I’d like to spend my money

or if I’d like someone else to spend it. Although I might sometimes spend my money wisely and

other times come back with magic beans, it’s about choice. I’d prefer it was my decision, so I could

spend my money, on my priorities and if I end up with a beanstalk, I’ve only myself to blame!

That is the nub of it, currently our taxes travel 300 miles, there they decide how to spend it and send

the money back. People that make these decisions aren’t elected by the people of Cornwall and they

don’t have to live with their decisions day in day out. We need decision making by people that live

here and are accountable to us.


For too long we’ve seen our industries fade, earnings fall and house prices rise with little interest

from successive Westminster governments. This situation must stop. We need the powers to make

our own policies: to foster Cornish successes and address our own problems. Cornwall needs a law

making assembly.

To see Mebyon Kernow’s detailed plans for an assembly go to our website.

Mount's Bay needs massive investment from the next government

If elected as an MP for the St Ives constituency, I would make it my mission to get the investment we deserve into sea defences and to help reconnect our communities with the sea. There is huge potential to grow the economy of Penzance, Newlyn and the whole of Mount's Bay and Penwith if we can secure from government the money to unleash this potential. We need sea defences, investment in our harbours and support for industries that rely upon the sea and the capacity to grow new ones.

For far too long we have seen investment opportunities pass us by, as top down approaches have been thought up in distant places and brought to the bay. This has resulted in politicians at all levels descend into fractious debates and rather than work together for the common good and investment they have pulled apart in the name of petty political point scoring. This attitude must stop, we must find ways of working together.

I have always passionately believed that the best solutions come from the ground up. In my time working on the Penzance Neighbourhood Plan it has really opened my eyes to what can be achieved, by giving people the choice to dream their own dreams and come up with their own ideas, thousands of great imaginations can spark to life. We need to utilise the desire by many local people to build a better place and be inspired by their vision and ambition.

If elected as MP I would work with people from the grass roots up to build a consensus around the things we want invested in by government. Not by alienating stakeholders but by engaging them. Mount's Bay is ready and eager for a new kind of politics, one that gets things done. By doing so and engaging people I am confident that we could work out the key problems for things like investment in our harbours and sea defences. We could draw up our own plans and reverse the whole process by taking our ideas from the community to the people in suits and end the opposite approach which has caused alienation, division and failure.

We lost out on a £63 million investment from the coalition government for Penzance harbour. Instead we have the booby prize of dredging and new pavements. The cynic in me thinks it is not a coincidence that all of this work is going on now, during election time. To be even more cynical I wonder to myself sometimes what cost more to the public purse, the works to Penzance harbour? or the strings of visits by Conservative and Liberal Democrat politicians coming down from Westminster for election photo calls?

Lots of great work has been done around Penzance prom, Newlyn Green and soon Jubilee Pool. On that note we all remember that Cameron's words 'money is not object' for storm repairs, in front of the cameras? Well it was just that, words, the coalition government didn't help a bit, as they refused to cough up. Now we are getting back to some kind of normality, we need the sea defences in place to stop this happening again. For the sea is a great asset for the area it is also a great danger, but not one to be feared if we can get the breakwater or other sea defences we actually need.

We see the government invest in all kinds of infrastructure schemes. the massively expensive HS2 is a prime example but there are many more. Cornwall can not keep losing out in these big spending projects. We need strong voices in Westminster, that won't be silenced by party loyalties or shooed away. It is not an easy thing I am proposing, but we need vision to secure a brighter future and mine is this: we need to get people involved in the decision making process and take our ideas to Westminster and challenge them to do right by West Cornwall for once.

Support for Palestine

I don't tend to write a lot about international politics, which is peculiar as it's a subject I know well. One of the things that prompted me into politics was the international situation of the Blair-Bush era. A lot of what happened then really angered me and I still think the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan were a great mistake. I don't think they solved any problems and I think they made many others worse. Further I think many of the debt problems that UK has arose from the billions spent in both wars.

More than that I really didn't like Tony Blair's government's approach to Israel and Palestine. I remember one of the most infuriating headlines I've read was back in 2002 when Blair told the press that if the UK did not sell arms to Israel someone else would. There was a real opportunity for the UK government to put pressure on Israel to find a peaceful solution and end the intergenerational cycle of violence between Israel and the Palestinians and indeed Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt.

There is no greater example than Palestine for a people betrayed so callously by the international community. I am strongly in favour of two state solution, I do believe Israel and Palestine can live in peace. I think the ideology on both sides that one political entity needs to be destroyed is dangerous. I have recently been contacted by dozens of people from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign asking the following questions:

Could you please email me to indicate if you agree with the following statements:

1. I urge the UK Government to uphold the principles of equality, human rights and international law in all its relations and dealings with Israel.
   Yes/no
   
2. I consider the construction of Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land in the West Bank and East Jerusalem to be illegal and unjustifiable.
   Yes/no
   
   In achieving these principles, what are your views on the following steps that a future UK Government could take:
   
3. Do you agree that one of the first acts of the next UK Government should be the recognition of Palestine?
   Yes/no/don't know
   
4. Do you agree that the blockade on Gaza should be lifted immediately?
   Yes/no/don't know
   
5. Do you agree that we should stop trade with Israel's settlements on Palestinian land, and stop settlement goods being sold in Britain?
   Yes/no/don't know
   
6. Do you agree that the EU Israel Association Agreement should be suspended until Israel meets its human rights obligations?
   Yes/no/don't know
   
7. Do you agree that the government should stop supplying arms to Israel until it complies with international law?
   Yes/no/don't know

My answers were as follows:

I shared the dismay felt by many when Israel attacked the Gaza Strip. It is a cause of great concern that the Palestinians have been treated in such an awful way for so long. Suffering in several asymmetric and terrible wars.

To answer your points one by one:

1. Yes I would if elected urge the government to uphold those principles in regard to all states and non state entities. Including the Palestinian territories and Israel itself.

2. The illegal settlements on the West Bank and East Jerusalem should be stopped. It ought to have been the priority of the international community to stop them. This needs to change and become a priority for the UK in it's relations with Israel and to put pressure on the international community to further this aim.

3. I believe it should be a priority of the next government to recognise the state of Palestine (in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank).

4. Yes the blockade of Gaza should be lifted it brings untold suffering to the people and keeps the flames of resentment alive.

5. One of the practical steps to stopping the illegal settlements would be to review trade agreements and imports.

6. I partly agree with this, I recognise that all forms of political and diplomatic pressure should be put on Israel to work towards a peaceful two state solution. However I think severing all ties with the Israelis is not necessarily that productive. We need to offer both a carrot and a stick.

7. I have a number of fundamental issues with the arms trade generally. This is also the position of Mebyon Kernow- the Party for Cornwall. My answer in this case would be unequivocal, yes I agree arms should not be sold to Israel.

There needs to be a foreign policy that doesn't work solely in the interests of the state or alliances. It needs to be based principles and morality. 

As I finished the email: if you have any questions or comments do so below or email me robscornishblog@gmail.com

The housing and planning policies that Cornwall needs to address affordability

To say housing and planning is an important issue in Cornwall is a gross understatement. No one is happy with current policies whether affordability, second homes or over development. I am pleased that Mebyon Kernow is leading on this and has today called for planning policy and the whole process from planning to appeals to be devolved to Cornwall. This coincides with my piece in next weeks Cornishman which addresses the issue of affordability.

The question put to all candidates in this general election is:

“The cost of housing - whether it is renting or buying - is becoming out of reach for a vast number of people in Cornwall – what can be done to solve this pressing problem?”

My answer (within a strict 200 word limit) is as follows:

Housing is a huge issue for people in Cornwall, most people of my generation struggle with high prices of both renting and buying, coupled with low wages, it’s a perfect storm, forcing people out of Cornwall.  Yet thousands of houses are being built, unaffordable to the majority of the local population and even those supposedly affordable are fair higher than the average wage can afford. Second homes are ever increasing and thus further increasing demand and prices. The current Labour, Tory and Lib Dem doctrine is developer led resulting in a building boom swallowing up green fields and not addressing our pressing problems of lack of affordability.

This is why I am delighted that this week that my party Mebyon Kernow has called upon planning to be devolved to Cornwall, the ‘Westminster knows best’ one size fits all approach of central government is not working here. The problem of affordability has not been resolved by successive governments and has in fact got much worse. The time has come for a fresh approach to housing in Cornwall. Empowering us to look at new ways of funding and delivering housing that the people of Cornwall both want and can afford.

Dick Cole's recent piece on Cornwall taking control of planning is here

The Party Whip system is undemocratic, I support the Free Vote Voluntary Recall Alliance

I was recently sent an email from the Free Vote Voluntary Recall Alliance. They are campaigning in this general election for MPs (and PPCs) to unwed themselves from the system of voting for a party line as dictated by the whips.  Their website is here.

I think it's a great campaign and I find it depressing that such legislation is even needed. MPs are voted in by constituents to represent their views not to represent the party line. It makes a mockery of democracy when MPs views and opnions are subordinate to the party and party whips. I'm more than happy to sign the below pledge, I hope the campaign makes PPCs and MPs think that their constituents and personal principles (where applicable) should come first not party bosses.

“This is my promise to the voters of the St Ives Parliamentary constituency.
I , Rob Simmons, the Mebyon Kernow- the Party for Cornwall candidate standing for election as your Member of Parliament , do herby promise and affirm, that if I am elected to be your Member of the Westminster Parliament  in the General Election on 7th May 2015. I will adopt and act in accordance with the terms of the Free Vote Voluntary Recall Alliance Pledge as published today at www.fvvra.org  and I will maintain this, my personal pledge throughout my term as your Member of Parliament”.

Mebyon Kernow- the Party for Cornwall, who we are and what we stand for in this general election

For many of my regular readers, this may be a little patronising but maybe it won't be. Politics is about trust (or more recently the abject lack of it) and familiarity. I always like to think of elections like job interviews, if you are to give someone the responsibility of representing an area and it's people, you need to know a great deal about them, what they believe in, what they will stand up for and whether you can trust them.

The same is true of parties, without knowledge of the party and it's policies and guiding principles, then the job of a candidate is futile. The challenge for any party and candidate is to let people know more about who you are and what to expect. This is especially true of smaller parties like Mebyon Kernow, although you can't pick up a newspaper or watch the news on tv without seeing the views of Labour, the Tories and the Lib Dems the same is not true of parties like MK and other smaller parties in the UK.

This blog is about the party I (Rob Simmons) am standing for in this general election for the St Ives constituency. It's something I've meant to write for a while and prompted by the excellent UK General Election 2015 blog who approached me to write a short piece. That blog thrives on recording a huge amount of information on politics. It's obvious from that study that the author is aware that small parties, will play a huge role in this general election.

So who or what is Mebyon Kernow- the Party for Cornwall?

Mebyon Kernow is a political party, based in Cornwall, over 60 years old now. Founded in 1951 originally as a pressure group dedicated to preserving and enhancing the Celtic nature of Cornwall and open to members of all political parties. In the 70's it became a political party in it's own right and began to field candidates, in the years to come the party became a Cornish, left, green and de-centralist party and mirrored the progressive politics evident in other Celtic parties such as Plaid Cymru in Wales and the SNP in Scotland. These themes continue to this day and the party's policies revolve around three key principles Prosperity for All, Social Justice and Environmental Protection. Many of the specific issues MK has campaigned on have come to pass, such as a University in Cornwall and recognition of Cornwall as a nation.

Over the decades the party has grown in it's presence and ambition. In 2010 the party contested every constituency in Cornwall and collectively the party's 6 candidates gained 5,379 votes a record for the party and a promising sign of progress. Here in 2015 MK is standing again in every Cornish constituency with myself (Rob Simmons) in St Ives, Loveday Jenkin in Camborne, Redruth and Hayle, Stephen Richardson in Truro and Falmouth, Dick Cole in St Austell and Newquay, Orlando Kimber in North Cornwall and Andrew Long in South East Cornwall. With Cornwall traditionally split between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats and both held in low esteem here, particualry the Lib Dems, we are very hopeful of making significant inroads.

The party's manifesto will be launched at our Spring Conference (March 21st Bodmin). Details of the manifesto are being finalised, but it's safe to say, policies like, devolution to a Cornish National Assembly, opposition to austerity, promotion of the living wage, democratisation of various quangos, trusts and the LEP, environmental protection, a planning policy that address affordable housing, over development and second homes, will all feature strongly. It's the party's view that Cornwall's poor economic performance is a result of an overly centralised state and policies that are not designed for Cornwall and do not work for our benefit. For more insight it's worth looking at our manifesto for the Cornwall Council elections and policies on the MK website here and a Cornish Assembly here.

Mebyon Kernow goes into this general election with confidence, we are a small party. Our leader Dick Cole has recently raised money through crowdfunding, we rely on our members and their generosity in donations and time to fight this election campaign. We are nowhere near the 2 established parties in Cornwall the Tories and the Lib Dems in terms of funding and organisation, we don't have paid staff and phone banks. But what we lack in money we make up for in principles, passion and perseverance. Perhaps the following quote is in the mind of the Lib Dems as they send out press releases pleading with people not to vote MK.

"If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.”