THE Conservatives have a huge Parliamentary majority and could pass any law, regardless of objections from the opposition parties, if only they could agree with themselves! 

But last week, there was chaos in government, as Conservative MPs took chunks out of one another over their plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. The Conservatives want us to believe that “small boats” crossing the channel are the reason why public services are in meltdown and millions of people can’t afford to feed their families or heat their homes (or even to find a home at all). A UN report published this week revealed that whilst child poverty has fallen in most other developed nations since 2014, it has increased in the UK by 22 per cent!

The truth is that these problems are all the fault of a government which (amongst other things) has failed to build enough affordable housing, failed to pay decent wages to care workers and failed to reform the NHS dentistry contract. The situation in Cornwall has been exacerbated by the failure to put proper controls on holiday rentals and second homes. Worse still, the Conservatives have used the cost-of-living crisis as an excuse to reverse plans to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels; a decision which is bad for the environment, bad for our economy and bad for the cost of living. Now, more than ever, the country needs political leaders who will offer positive solutions, but the Labour party has none. While the Tories are in turmoil over migration, Labour offer no alternative. Only the Lib Dems are brave enough to say something genuinely different: Far from being the cause of these problems, immigration is actually an important part of the solution, providing the workers we need to run our nurseries, hospitals and care homes.

Labour’s lack of positive alternatives is repeated at every level, from the local to the international. The Conservatives support the Israeli Army’s brutal offensive in Gaza. Labour whips its MPs not to express an opinion. Only the Lib Dems are calling for a permanent ceasefire. The Conservatives build barriers to our trade with the EU which hold back our economy, hurt our farmers and drive up the cost of living. Labour are too weak and divided to state the simple fact that being outside the customs union and single market is bad for economic growth. Last week, Conservative and Labour Councillors both voted for another 15 per cent increase in tolls on the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry. Only the Lib Dems are campaigning for the tolls to be abolished altogether. So it should come as no surprise that Labour HQ has officially labelled South East Cornwall as a “non-battleground seat”. Voters are ready for a change from the Conservatives, and the Lib Dems, not Labour, are offering that real alternative for South East Cornwall.

Liberal Democrat Cornwall Councillor for Lostwithiel and Lanreth