Small Business Saturday - 6th December

Small businesses form the heart of our local economy, especially in this part of Cornwall where we have only a few large employers.

I am keen to support our local businesses all year round. However next week there is a particular opportunity for us all to think about this, through Small Business Saturday, which this year falls on Saturday 6^th December.  Small Business Saturday exists to support, inspire and promote small businesses in the local area.

If you are, like me, a small business owner, how are you promoting your business?  Are you aware of the website that gives you promotional material – find it here https://smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com.  Social media is also being used extensively to promote local businesses.

How are you as a customer supporting local businesses?  On Saturday could you use a local retailer rather than the big national chains?

The idea for Small Business Saturday came from American Express in the US in 2010 and is a reaction to the excesses of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, this year on 28^th November and 1^st December respectively.  So it is a new idea that grows every year.

Lets all work together to make sure we support our local small businesses as much as we can and maybe use this Small Business Saturday to consider what more we may be able to do.

Why I have pledged to improve our roads

This week has been another busy week on the road to 7th May. We have received delivery of my latest newspaper, which our army of volunteers will be out distributing over the coming weeks.

As well as dodging the showers whilst out delivering, I have also had a number of meetings with local residents helping them with issues ranging from planning and benefits to highways.

Issues relating to our roads are one of the most common concerns raised by constituents with me.  As well as the frequent concerns about the state of our roads, the number of potholes and issues such as parking and speeding, it is clear that many local people are also concerned at a more strategic level about the effect of the huge growth in traffic on the roads. A recent report highlighted that we also have the two most dangerous roads in Cornwall here in St Austell and Newquay. Yet there has been woefully little investment to improve the situation.

As I travel around the area I often hear how concerned you are about the congestion on the roads.  There was a time that the roads of Cornwall were quiet in the off-season; we all know this is no longer the case.  The roads are busy throughout the year; the number of people living in the county has grown and this has added to the burden on the infrastructure.

The Road Safety Foundation recently issued their annual report that highlighted the only two roads in Cornwall to receive “medium to high risk” status.  These are the A3058 between St Austell and Summercourt, and Par Moor Road, and both lie within the boundaries of our Constituency.

Our current MP warned us to be careful in the festive season and urged Cornwall Council to take note of the Road Safety Foundation’s findings.  But I am afraid this simply isn’t good enough, we need action.

It is clear that a large investment is needed to allow the quality of Cornwall’s roads to catch up with the increased traffic, especially here in mid-Cornwall. I have already been lobbying on your behalf, highlighting the issue to David Cameron, George Osborne and Patrick McLoughlin, the Secretary of State for Transport.

The following projects are already receiving my full support:

The Newquay Strategic Route – this is a key building block in the plan for the Newquay Growth Area and the airport, but it has stalled in recent months.
A new road linking St Austell to the A30 that also provides a by-pass for Bugle and Roche.
A new by-pass for St Austell, probably to the north, to ease congestion on the A390 from Holmbush to St Mewan.
Appropriate remedial work to ensure the A3058 and Par Moor Road are made safer.

The good news is that I am not on my own in this. The next Conservative Government will back these aims with hard cash.

On Monday 10th November, speaking at the CBI, David Cameron announced;

“The biggest, boldest and most far reaching road improvement programme in four decades: over 100 improvements to our major roads. And all underpinned by over £15bn worth of investment. This will be nothing less than a roads revolution – one which will lead to quicker journey times, more jobs, and businesses boosted right across the country.”

So if we form the next Government there will be funds available and I will be pressing the case for investment in mid-Cornwall.

Speaking at the Conservative Party Conference last month, Patrick McLoughlin laid out his vision for rebuilding Britain’s transport system and highlighted the team already in place in the South West fighting on your behalf.

“Our great team in the southwest. People like George Eustice M and Sarah Newton MP backing Cornwall with better transport links for both locals and tourists.”

I would be honoured to join that team of people delivering better roads to this Constituency, but I can only do this if I am elected and so I ask for your support next May.

I would be happy to discuss this issue, or indeed any other, with you so please do not hesitate to get in touch.

25 weeks to go!

Once the dust had settled from the great result in the Mevagissey by election, I was back out on the campaign trail.  With only 25 weeks to go until the General Election everything is focused back on 7th May.

The highlights of my week were:

• Enjoying a breakfast at the Fowey Yacht Club hosted by Fowey Parish Church

• Judging the St Blazey and Par School Christmas Card competition in aid of Chicks

• Helping local residents with a number of planning issues including a proposed Gypsy                   Traveller site at Scredda

• Supporting our newly elected Cornwall Councillor for Mevagissey James Mustoe in his               new role

• Attending the Lions Club of St Austell Victorian Afternoon tea in aid of the Sensory Trust

• Chairing the Carclaze School Governors meeting

• Meeting with a local GP to discuss issues of local health care provision as well as national         NHS issues

• Attending the St Austell Bay Chamber of Commerce Business Breakfast

Anne and I took the day on Sunday to pause the campaign and attend the Remembrance parades in Newquay and St Austell.  It was an honour to be able to actively participate in both of these events and to join the strong turnouts in both towns.  As usual the parades and services were extremely well run and the organisers should feel justly proud of their success.  As we travelled between the two services we took up the invitation to join the Remembrance Day lunch in St Dennis and we were made to feel very welcome. 

 Anne and I with Cllr Tom French at the St Austell Remembrance Parade

On Monday I discussed politics with the student council and history students at Treviglas School in Newquay.  It is always good to see the younger people engaging with today’s issues. 

On Friday afternoon I was honoured to attend the signing of the Charter for Compassion at the Eden Project.   The Charter for Compassion is a global initiative and is;  “a cooperative effort to restore not only compassionate thinking but, more importantly, compassionate action to the center of religious, moral and political life. Compassion is the principled determination to put ourselves in the shoes of the other, and lies at the heart of all religious and ethical systems.”

The campaign team met in the week and I am pleased to report that our band of enthusiastic volunteers continues to grow.  But we have room for many more so if you are keen to get involved then please contact me and we can discuss how you can help.  

This week has seen storms hit the county once again, so stay safe and warm.  If there are any particular issues that you think I could help with then please do not hesitate to contact me. 

Mevagissey and beyond

What a great week for the Conservative Party in mid-Cornwall. 

I have spent most of the week in Mevagissey, as Thursday was the by-election for the Cornwall Council seat, left vacant in August following the resignation of Michael Bunney, the Labour councillor.

Although I disagreed with Michael’s politics, he was a very good local councillor and someone I have a lot of respect for as a person. When Michael won the election in May last year it was pretty clear this was largely a personal vote, rather than a resounding vote for the Labour Party.

With James in Gorran Haven

The challenge for the Conservative Party was to work hard to secure that personal vote, a factor that is always important in local elections, especially in this part of Cornwall.

In 2013 we came 3^rd, after UKIP, and this is an area that UKIP would expect to do well in.  With all of these factors in play, our selection of a strong local candidate was critical and so we selected James Mustoe, the 2013 candidate, again.

James is a local Mevagissey man who grew up in the village and has strong local connections.  He was an obvious candidate to champion the concerns of the people of Mevagissey ward and it was a pleasure to campaign alongside him.

I am therefore delighted to confirm that James won the by-election and is the new Cornwall Councillor for the Mevagissey Division.

The result was

James Mustoe (Conservative) 348

UKIP 281

Labour 204

Lib Dem 197

Green 50

James and I are very grateful to everyone who voted Conservative on Thursday. 

Local by elections are often difficult to predict with low turnouts so this was also an important test of our campaigning team as we build up to May next year.

The result is a testament to James and the team supporting him, not only did we come from 3^rd to win the seat, leapfrogging UKIP, we also saw the UKIP share of the vote drop. I am also sure the Lib Dems will be very disappointed to be kept in 4^th place behind Labour.

This result shows that we are well on track towards being in a position to win this seat in May next year and see me elected as the MP for St Austell and Newquay.

I also want to say a big thank you to everyone who helped with the campaign. We had a small army of people delivering leaflets, knocking on doors, making phone calls and putting up posters.  The weather was atrocious and we all got wet but the engagement from people in the ward kept us going.  Politics is always a team game and this week we showed we have the passion and commitment to win next year.

With just some of our excellent team on polling day in Mevagissey

The focus now firmly shifts back to my campaign. It is now less than six months until the election. New people are coming forward to volunteer to help each week and if you would like to join our army of local people working with me then please do get in touch as we would value your active support.  Help us become the winning team in May.

My thoughts on the Recall Bill

A number of local people have contacted me to ask for my views on the Recall Bill that was voted on in Parliament on Monday this week.

The Bill aims to strengthen the accountability of MPs and establish new grounds for them to be held to account, and ultimately recalled and a by-election held if the circumstances warrant it. Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith proposed a number of amendments which in my view would have made important changes to the Bill to make MPs more accountable to the people they are elected to serve.

I am happy to place on record that if I were currently the MP for St Austell and Newquay I would be supporting Zac Goldsmith’s amendments to the bill.

I believe that we need to rebuild trust and respect between Parliament and the electorate and the amendments Zac is proposing, I believe, would go some way in helping to achieve this.

Too often MPs make promises at election times which are then glossed over once they get elected. If I am given the honour of representing my home constituency at the election next year, I will never forgot that my first priority is to serve and represent the people of mid-Cornwall. You, the electorate will be my boss and I will always be willing to be held to account by you. The proposed amendments to the bill would ensure that all elected MPs will be more accountable to the people they are elected to serve. In my view this can only be a good thing.

I share the disappointment and frustration of many people who have contacted me since Monday’s vote that our local MP did not represent what I believe are the views of the majority of local people and support the amendments proposed by Zac Goldsmith.  I am pleased that many of my Conservative colleagues currently in Westminster did vote for his amendments but sadly not enough to win a majority.

We are certainly living in interesting times in British politics. If I have the honour of being elected as your MP on 7th May next year I will never forget who my real bosses are – you the local electorate. Those who know me will confirm that I am someone who can be taken at his word, I do not make promises to then go back on them, I say what I mean and do what I say I will do. I can show a track record of being accessible and accountable and this is something I will always maintain.

I do hope to be able to win your vote at the next election. If there are any other issues you would like to raise with me then please do not hesitate to get in touch.

People and Gardens

In a week when the debate about the role of people with special needs and disabilities in the workplace has been in the news I was delighted to be able to visit People and Gardens.

People and Gardens is a Community Interest Company (not for profit) based at Watering Lane Nursery between Porthpean and Pentewan. It was set up and is still run by Ken Radford, and supported by The Eden Project, providing work opportunities for people with special education needs.

People and Gardens truly is an inspiring place. It was set up to enable people with learning disabilities or emotional impairments to be able to develop as individuals, to learn work and social skills and to have equality of choice and opportunity in the workplace.

Although the business receives financial support from Cornwall Council from their adult social care budget, the aim is to become self-sufficient. All of the staff are dedicated to providing a positive and worthwhile work experience for those that come and work there. It gives people a sense of purpose and fulfilment as well as growing some very nice veg.

With the current budget pressures facing Cornwall Council I am concerned that this type of project is an easy target for cuts in funding. However, I believe the value of the service People and Gardens provides goes way beyond the amount of money they receive from the Council. I will certainly be supporting them and doing all I can to ensure they continue to get the funding they need to be able to continue the brilliant and vital work they do.

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit there and found it to be an inspiring example of what can be done to help people in our communities who need this type of support. You can find more details of People and Gardens here http://www.peopleandgardens.co.uk/ One of the ways we can all support the work they do is by signing up to receive one of their veg bags.

Bricks and Bread

Last week I was delighted to pay a visit to Bricks and Bread at their new retreat base in Tywardreath.

Bricks and Bread is an inspiring Social Enterprise which works to support small businesses and start-ups grow and development. It does this through mentoring, training and advice, as well as providing access to Government loan schemes. They moved their base from Surrey to Tywardreath earlier this year and have been fully up and running here since May.

With Trudy and Josh at Bricks and Bread

Run by Trudy and Josh, it is just the sort of facility we need to see in Cornwall. Cornwall has always been a place for enterprise and our history is full of examples of people who took the opportunities to innovate. We have a higher than average number of small businesses and self-employed here in mid-Cornwall. One of the keys to growing our local economy will be to support these existing businesses and see new small businesses started so that they can grow and create the jobs of the future.

Trudy and Josh were refreshing in their people focussed approach to business development. It was also encouraging to listen their story and their reasons for coming to Cornwall. It will be interesting to watch how their work can help our local businesses and I look forward to visiting them again sometime soon to see how things have progressed.

If you are interested in the work they you can find out more about Bricks and Bread here   

http://www.bricksandbread.com/index/#up