Mike Eathorne-Gibbons leaves the Conservatives

It takes quite a lot to amaze me in Cornwall Council nowadays, but the decision by councillor Mike Eathorne-Gibbons to switch from Conservative to Independent less than a fortnight after the election is genuinely amazing.

I also think it is incredibly arrogant and contemptuous to voters.

It would be naive not to accept that people sometimes switch sides. But this is usually on a point of principle - they cannot agree with the direction that their party is taking on a particular issue or on a series of issues and they feel that their only recourse is to leave their party.

Except, of course, that there have been no decisions yet at Cornwall Council and so there is nothing for Mike to be upset about. Indeed, the only decision that has been made that affects him is that the Conservative group has re-elected Fiona Ferguson as its leader.

In an interview with Radio Cornwall, Mike has said he believes he was elected as an individual and not because of his party label. Once again, I think this is incredibly arrogant. Most politicians would like to claim that their electorate choose them because of their amazing work record or personal endeavours. But the truth is most people choose who to vote for on the basis of party label - even if that label is independent.

The voters of Ladock and St Erme will have a chance to express their feelings for Mike's move - but not for another four years.


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The parking changes which do Cornwall Council a discredit

Sadly, more and more people are being caught out by changes to parking rules and regulations in and around Launceston. And Cornwall Council is seeing its reputation trashed as a result of a situation that could, and should, have been handled very differently.

Earlier this year the council decided to make various changes to parking rules around the town. One of these was to introduce residents parking schemes in Western Road, Kensey Hill and Race Hill. The problem is not whether or not this was the right decision, but how it was communicated.

I argued at the time that the council should do its utmost to make drivers aware of the changes. I didn't think that the first people knew about any change should be a ticket on their windscreen. I asked for a two or three week period when, instead of handing out fixed penalty notices, the council should be putting notes under windscreen wipers to advertise the change.

But the council refused. They argued that the statutory notices in local papers and the changes to the signage at the side of the road would inform drivers. I have yet to come across more than one or two people who actually read the council's notices in the papers. The form and content is required by law and is, in my view, a colossal waste of money. And the road signage looks exactly the same as what was there before unless you take the trouble to study it closely.

And, to add insult to injury, the parking service claimed that putting notes under windscreen wipers risked the council being sued for trespass. (Which is utter rubbish, by the way. It is the action that the Police have advised)

And so many visitors to our town who have been parking in the same place for years are getting tickets.

I don't blame the traffic wardens who are simply doing their jobs and applying the law completely properly.

But this is a cock-up by the council which should have been avoided and is the sort of attitude which I hope can be changed.

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Lib Dems seeking a fresh start for Cornwall with a 'One and All' administration

Since the election last week produced a council in which no single party has overall control, there has been much speculation about how an administration might be formed. The Liberal Democrats have said that we are seeking to be part of a 'rainbow alliance' comprising all of the groups on the authority.

With discussions on-going, it is not helpful to give a running commentary, but our aims are set out in a letter that newly re-elected Lib Dem group leader Jeremy Rowe* sent to other groups last night.

To: All members of the Council

Dear Colleagues

I am writing to open up a dialogue on a way forward for the running of Cornwall Council.

The people of Cornwall have spoken and it is clear that no one group can claim the right to run the council on its own. We have huge challenges ahead and it is clear that we need to put our differences aside.

I would like to suggest that we see if we can create as wide an administration as possible to run Cornwall over the next four years, but we do this based on a common programme of principles which a shared administration would pursue. I hope these are things that everyone can agree on.

• Protect the services which are important to the people of Cornwall;
• Improve housing options including the building of new council houses for local families;
• Keep council tax as fair as possible;
• Drive the economy to create and protect jobs within Cornwall. Create additional apprenticeships to upskill local young people for the world of work;
• Take more council decisions in local communities instead of in County Hall;
• Always seek the best value for money and the most efficient services;
• Keep our roads safe, clean and well-maintained and support our local economies by cutting parking charges;
• Campaign for fair funding and additional powers from central government.

The people of Cornwall gave us all a challenge and an opportunity to come together for a fresh start - a One and All council. No one group will have a monopoly on good ideas and we would be happy to discuss anything that you think should be added to this list.

With best wishes

Cllr Jeremy Rowe
Leader of the Liberal Democrats
Cornwall Council

*I was re-elected Deputy group leader at the same time - many thanks to my colleagues.


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On Collin Brewer

Yesterday, I was one of a number of councillors who met with disability campaigners at County Hall. The campaigners were protesting about the re-election of Collin Brewer to the authority after his well publicised comments about disabled children.

One of the councillors who spoke was my colleague Jade Farrington. Jade is disabled having had her left femur replaced with a metal prosthesis following cancer as a child. Jade said that she is deeply ashamed to be sharing a council chamber with Collin Brewer.

Jade went on to acknowledge that, having been re-elected by the voters of Wadebridge East, there is nothing that the council can do to 'sack' Mr Brewer. It is just a shame that, having done the right thing by resigning from the last council, he chose to put himself, the council and his comments back in the spotlight again by re-standing.

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Re-elected - thank you!

Big thanks to everyone who voted for me to remain the Cornwall Councillor for Launceston Central for the next four years. I got a rather 'North Korean' 70% of the vote.

I've had huge numbers of people give me good wishes and help me and the local team to campaign. So to all who signed my nomination paper, delivered leaflets for me and voted for me - many thanks. I really couldn't have done it without you. Many thanks too to Kris Roberts and Phil Tucker for standing and making it a contest. All politicians get nervous at election time, but without a contest the people aren't properly served.

Elsewhere in Launceston, Jade Farrington won Launceston South. She will take over from Sasha Gillard-Loft. Sasha has been a great colleague for the last four years and just failed in her bid to win the Altarnun division. I'm going to miss her presence on the council hugely. I'm going to have to learn more about planning now. And Adam Paynter was re-elected as councillor for Launceston North and North Petherwin.

Whoever you voted for (or even if you didn't vote), all three of us are here to served everyone in our town. Whatever your issue or concern, please get in touch and ask us for any help that you need.

Across North Cornwall, the Liberal Democrats made five gains taking Padstow, Poundstock, Bodmin St Petroc, Lanivet and Camelford. The Conservatives were left with just two seats.

The Lib Dems are now the largest single party in Cornwall with 36 seats. The Tories collapsed to 31 and there are 35 independents, 8 Labour, 6 UKIP, 4 Mebyon Kernow and 1 Green. No party has overall control and so the groups will have to work together for the good of Cornwall - a positive outcome in a way.

The biggest shocks of the day were the losses of former Council Leader Alec Robertson in Helston and sole Labour councillor Jude Robinson in Camborne.

I'll have a look in more detail at the results over the weekend. In the meantime, sleep beckons.

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Dear Voters - Today is YOUR day

I make no apologies for having been so quiet on here over the past few weeks. It's been election time so there has been little going on at county hall and few new announcements.

What there has been is a lot of leaflet delivery and a lot of talking to voters across Launceston.

I've been hugely encouraged and gladdened by the conversations I've had. Whether you are voting for me (or one of my colleagues) or for someone else, I can only think of a couple of occasions where the discussion has been of the negative 'none of you care about anyone except yourselves' type.

Most people have wanted to engage, to have their say and to offer their ideas for what can be made better in our town. I hope that whoever wins in Launceston Central, South and North, they (we?) will take these ideas forward and try to press whoever is in charge for a better deal.

I've walked over 20k on quite a few days this campaign - as well as continuing to deal with casework and attend meetings. I enjoy the work I do representing local people and I very much hope you will give me a chance to carry on doing so.

Whatever your views, please make an effort to vote. Polls are open from 7am to 10pm and you don't need your poll card in order to vote. If you received a postal vote but have not yet sent it back, you can hand it in (with the declaration that came with it) at any polling station.

The counts don't take place until tomorrow, so this evening I will be enjoying a large glass of an adult beverage.

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Time to say thank you.

Officially, councillors stay in office for a few days after the election. But I wanted to say a few thank you's on the last 'real' day of my term of office. Hopefully I will still have a job after tomorrow, but that is up to the voters.

I could go on longer than Gwyneth Paltrow at an Oscar ceremony, but I will keep it short and sweet.

Thank you to Mark O'Brien and Rosemary Stone who have run the Launceston Community Network. They have been invaluable in arranging meetings, organising events and liaising with (sometimes recalcitrant) officers. Without them, the role of a local councillor would be a lot harder. The only downside - Rosemary insists on bringing cake to meetings.

Thank you to Oliver Jones who is the regional highways engineer for Launceston. It is he who suffers my (almost daily) reports of potholes and requests for other changes to our road network. It's not his fault if things don't get done - there is usually no money available. But he never fails to make repairs when they can be done and to explain why not (when they can't).

Thank you to Richard Williams, the council's head of legal and in overall charge of all the excellent democratic services team. Richard is the officer I write to most often after Oliver. He has the patience of a saint. Which is very useful for a Wolves fan.

As I said above - there are lots of other people who have helped with many things - council staff, local groups and organisations, residents, business people and random strangers. Thanks to you all.

But if I had to name one organisation who get my 'boo hiss' award for utterly failing to do a decent job looking after the people they are meant to care about...

Step forward Elan Homes, developers of Kensey Valley Meadow, who have done a shockingly awful job in responding to the needs of residents there or my requests on their behalf.


UPDATE - One of my readers suggested that this post reads like I am not optimistic about the result in my division. Thanks for the concern! I never take voters for granted, but am hopeful of still being able to represent Launceston Central for another four years. I just think it is right to say thanks to the people who have done most to make my job possible so far.

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