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Lib Dems dismiss ‘Minister for Cornwall’ plans

Published Thursday, March 18th, 2010   

Posted by Nick Eyriey
Editorial director Nick Eyriey is an experienced and respected journalist having spent some 20 years in the local and national press working with newspapers such as The Yorkshire Post, Today, The Sun, and the Mail on Sunday.

Local Liberal Democrat MPs have hit out at Conservative promises for a ‘Minister for Cornwall’.

While there is no dedicated Minister for Cornwall in the current Government, for the past three years Hertford MP Mark Prisk has held the title of ‘Shadow Minister for Cornwall’.

The closest it comes to at the moment is Minister for the South West, which is held by Kim Knight. But under Conservative proposals that would be scrapped, and a dedicated Minister for Cornwall created.

The Lib Dems, however, are not impressed and have instead renewed their calls for a Cornish Assembly.

North Cornwall’s MP, Dan Rogerson, presented a Bill to Parliament last year, with detailed proposals to turn Cornwall Council into a 123 member assembly, with similar powers to those of the National Assembly for Wales.

Commenting, he said: “Promising a Minister for Cornwall is just yet more Tory window dressing.

“Making up a red box marked ‘Cornwall’ might mean the trappings of Ministerial office for another Conservative MP, but it won’t mean any change for people here.

“Even when I was growing up here in Bodmin, it was clear to me that London governments just didn’t get Cornwall’s needs.

“Today’s Conservatives still don’t. Only a strong Assembly, taking real money and power from Whitehall and bringing it back into Cornish hands will really allow us to protect local services and community life here in Cornwall.”

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