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CORNWALL UNITARY ORDER GOES THROUGH COMMONS

The MP fort the West Cornwall constituency of St Ives, Andrew George, kept to his consistent commitment over Local Government Reform in Cornwall and voted against the Government’s Order implementing the new Authority from April next year.

The Order was passed by the Commons 287 votes for to 116 against. The passage of the Order through the Lords will largely be a formality.


In the debate on the Order on 7th February Mr George described it as “technically, legally and politically defective”.

Mr George said: “I am not opposed to reform. After all, it is difficult to justify keeping a confusing array of two tiers of authority, seven councils and 331 elected representatives covering the whole of Cornwall for ever and a day. However, this is a missed opportunity. The Government needs to go back to the drawing board.

“I have consistently argued that Cornwall should be able to decide more for itself, rather than simply implementing Government policy. All this does is create a large Government Agency rather than a Local Authority.

“I am ambitious for our Parish and Town Councils to take on more powers too, if that is what they wish. The Order fails to do this either.

“It is a great pity that Government Ministers have failed to respond to Cornwall’s ambitions and to give us the more powerful structure that most of us have argued for.”