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

Small business support

One of my priorities should I be elected next year as the MP for St Austell and Newquay will be to support local business.

Small businesses really are the back bone of our local economy. Although we need larger companies to invest and create jobs and career opportunities here in mid-Cornwall, it is also vital that our small businessmen and women get as much support as possible from both the national Government and their local MP.

I have been self-employed and a local businessman myself for almost 25 years so I really do know first-hand the joys and challenges being your own boss brings. However, even with my experience I happily acknowledge that I there is so much more to learn about the local business community. Therefore one of my aims between now and the election on 7th May is to visit as many local businesses as I can. I want to do this in order to listen to the concerns and desires of the local business community. To make sure I have as broad a view as possible of our local businesses, large and small, new and well established. I also want to understand direct from them the big issues that they face and how I can best represent and serve them as their MP.

Today I was delighted to visit Mark Hollis of Finesse Chauffeurs based in Par. Finesse Chauffeurs is a relatively new business that Mark has recently launched just over 2 months ago. They offer a chauffeur service and private hire taxi service for local businesses, visiting business people and travellers, as well as a wedding car service. More details of the services they offer can be found here http://www.finesseexecutivecars.co.uk/

With local businessman Mark Hollis

It was great to meet Mark and listen to the reasons why he decided to leave his former employment and launch out in business. I was also able listen to the challenges he faces and the things he wants from the Government and his local MP.

Double time

Well it has certainly been a scorcher this past week in St Austell and Newquay, and with the schools breaking up and the annual surge of visitors, this has really kicked the annual summer holiday season off with a bang!

With some of my team at Par on a blazing hot Saturday morning

While some of you may be gearing up to get away from it all, my own schedule is getting busier and busier. I have taken advantage of the glorious weather and spent most of my time getting out and about across the constituency, meeting people and finding out what I can do to help sort out the issues that are important to you. From job opportunities for young people in Newquay to changes to local bus services in Par, via wind turbines in Gorran and St Ewe and the increased parking charges in Fowey, this past week you have shown me a number of local issues specific to particular areas, as well as some (with the initials ‘WT’) that seem to have universal unpopularity wherever I go.

Looming wind turbine at Gorran

As well as the important business of meeting local people, with the end of summer term as Chair of the Carclaze School Governors I attended the final meeting of the Governors for the 2013-14 school year and was then privileged to join the Carclaze School Leavers Assembly, to congratulate and send on their way another fine class of young people ready for the next stage of their lives. 

As well as these educational activities, amongst other things I also went along to the opening of the new Lloyds Bank premises in St Austell and met with many local businesses at one of the regular St Austell Chamber of Commerce Networking events.

Finally, with it being summer I have been lucky enough to go to several great evening events, the highlight being my presentation of half of the total £6,780 raised during my Walk to Westminster to the Cornwall Air Ambulance at their Summer Ball, which is fast becoming one of the charity occasion highlights of the year. I also participated in a very interesting auction at the Sea Cadets Summer Ball (check my Facebook for more), and finally ended the week on a high at the always exhilarating Charlestown Regatta. 

In Charlestown for the Regatta 

Hopefully this lovely weather will be with us for some time now, so if you see me out and about, whether it be in one of the towns and villages or on the beach, please do stop and say hello, I am always keen to hear from you as my journey to get elected in May 2015 continues!

Rowing at the Double

On Sunday I got to spend the afternoon out on the water. We entered a team from the local Conservative Party in the 15th annual Children’s Hospice SW Charity Gig Race at Newquay Harbour.

This was the second year we had entered a team and it was once again a great time. Our team this year was made up of myself, Richard Pears - my campaign manager, Adam Harris and Jack Berry (our cox) who are part of my campaign team. We were joined in the gig by three regular rowers from Newquay Rowing Club.

Newquay Rowing Club is one of the largest and most historic clubs in Cornwall (and probably the planet). They do a great job of putting on this annual event which is well run and fun to participate in. The conditions this year were almost perfect; calm seas and sunny but not too hot.

This year we came in a credible 4th out of 7 in our heat. This is, in my view, the best place to finish as the top three go through to the final which means you have to row again!

The event is a great way of raising the profile of the hospice and raising much need funds for the charity. I am delighted to do my little bit again and can highly recommend the event for anyone who  fancies entering next year.   

On the Double - Blog for 5th July 2014

Well our first week back following our Walk to Westminster has certainly been busy. After all the unpacking and catching up with the mountain of post and emails we threw ourselves into a diary full of community events.

We are certainly in the feast week/carnival week season. This past week we have spent time joining in with the events in Mevagissey, St Austell and St Dennis and there is more of the same in the next few weeks.

At the St Dennis 'It's a Knockout'

I am always amazed at just how good Cornwall is at putting on these weeks of community fun and entertainment. Many of them have been going on for many years and the traditions have been passed down from generation to generation. Each one is unique and has its own particular style and flavour. But at the heart of each of them is a group of dedicated people who work tirelessly to organise the events and a small army of volunteers who give their time to make sure everything runs well.

At the St Andrew's Church hymn singing on Mevagissey harbour

As we have been out and about we have continued to be overwhelmed by the number of people who have come and congratulated us on our walk. Everywhere we have been people have come and spoken to us about it. We really appreciate all the support and we are now at £6500 raised for the Cornwall Air Ambluance and Children’s Hospice SW which is just amazing.

This coming week we will be getting back out on the doors delivering literature and speaking to residents about my campaign. It’s going to be a busy summer with lots to do. If you would like to help with my campaign to be the next MP for St Austell and Newquay, by delivering some literature in your area please do get in touch. We really do need all the help we can get. You can email me on office@stevedouble.org.uk