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CORNISH ANSWERS NEEDED IN UK’S POOREST REGION SAYS MP

Commenting on the news that the Isles of Scilly and Cornwall are still the poorest region in the UK, local MP, Andrew George, says that Cornwall needs to find its own answers rather than waiting for them to arrive from Government or its agents.


The new figures from Eurostat, the European Commission’s Statistics Directorate, reveal that once again the GDP in the Isles of Scilly and Cornwall is significantly below the EU average.

These figures have been used over the years to justify Cornwall’s entitlement to the highest level of European regional economic aid in the form of Objective 1 and now Convergence funding.

The annual review of relative wealth, which was based on figures for GDP per inhabitant from 2005, revealed that Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly’s wealth was well below the EU, let alone the national average. Cornwall scored a rating of just 77.4 – with the EU average taken as 100 – whereas Inner London was found to be the richest region with a rating of 303.

Mr George said: “This is proof that the answers are not going to arrive from outside Cornwall. We have got to come up with our own solutions.

“We have been told for nearly 40 years that Cornwall’s future lies in high housing and population growth, tourism and road building.

“In that time Cornwall has more than doubled its housing stock yet the housing problems of locals have got far worse. Tourism still offers only seasonal and low paid work and as roads have been widened, straightened and duelled company head offices have moved east as second homers have come west able to get to their weekend cottages as journey times have shortened.

“Cornwall and Scilly need their own development agency. We must find the answers from within rather than believing that Government and their agents have a clue about what they are doing. Our future plans should be based on developing a strong Cornish brand, adding value to local produce, developing Cornwall as the green peninsula, integrating the university into our local economy and to stop building thousands of unaffordable homes but allow developments which help meet local need.”