Mebyon Kernow’s candidate for Police and Crime Commissioner has hit out at the proposal to merge the Devon and Cornwall Police force with that of Dorset, arguing: ‘Cornwall ’s police need good levels of funding, not further mergers.’

He has also criticised the ‘biased’ nature of the consultation and called on local people to ‘respond to the so-called consultation in our thousands and say no to this centralisation.’

Michael Bunney from Gorran, who works as the deputy head of an academy working with vulnerable children and serves on St Goran Parish Council, said:

‘On behalf of Mebyon Kernow, I will continue to support the creation of a Cornish Constabulary. The money being spent to promote the consultation should be put into front-line policing, which would be a far better use of hard-pressed resources.

‘History has shown us that whenever public services are centralised, Cornwall and its communities lose out – and we cannot allow that to happen to our local policing. Centralisation takes services away from our communities.’

The consultation can be found at: https://www.futurepolicing.co.uk/

Mr Bunney is writing to Cornwall’s six Conservative MPs, calling on them to actively oppose the merger.