PHIL Hutty has come straight from a hustings at a Saltash school. What was he asked about? ‘Tuition fees,’ he told Stuart Fraser.

And?

‘I think most people have forgiven us for tuition fees. Some haven’t, but most have.

‘I was one of 120 candidates who wrote to Nick Clegg after the 2010 election asking him not to break the pledge on tuition fees. If I’d been elected in 2010, I would have voted against it.

‘I think the Labour Party proposal on scrapping tuition fees is laudable. Our policy is that we should return to the grants system to aid students to get to university.

‘But I think we need to have a conversation about how we are going to fund university education that also includes other young people who don’t want to go to university.

‘In this great push to get 50 per cent of people going to university, we ran the risk of saying to people who wanted to pursue other roads that they were in some way less important and that’s not right.

‘I want to see investment in what their career choices are.

‘The labour market is changing all the time and people are now likely to have three or four different jobs in a lifetime, so we should be looking at supporting them every step of the way.’

Education is a theme to which Mr Hutty warms, prompted by questions about funding crises in South East Cornwall schools, like Callington Community College.

‘We have to invest in our children. We have to put our hands in our pockets.

‘I spoke to a primary school teacher who told me “we’re failing a generation”.

‘How is that right? Are we going to look back in 20 years and shrug our shoulders and say “that was THAT generation that never had the opportunities”?

’Education has never been a bad investment. But the school I went to in Saltash has £65,000 less than it had last year. You can call it levelling off or say there’s record levels or investment but, however you dress it up, this headteacher had £65,000 less to spend than last year to teach our children. That’s a fact.

‘Look, what’s wrong with our education system? Us. Politicians. We all feel we have to put our penny’s worth in and we should just let teachers teach.

‘We shouldn’t ask about money, we should just ask how much.

‘I’ve never come across a headteacher who was wasting money.’

Phil Hutty shares his party’s belief that they are going to lose the national election. ‘Let’s be honest. The Conservatives are going to win a thumping majority. ‘I’m fearful people in this country are writing a blank cheque for the Tories. ‘I think we need to guard against a Government of any colour having so big a majority it can do what it wants. That’s never been good for this country and I don’t think it would be again.

‘What I’m saying on the doorstep to people is: “You’re in a position in South East Cornwall to decide whether to elect an MP who is going to always support the Conservative Government whatever they do – or do you want somebody who starts from the standpoint of this community, that wants to fight for Cornwall?”

‘Cornwall gets less money, a worse deal, time after time after time and I’m sick of it.

‘In all the talk about Brexit and European funding, why don’t people ask why Cornwall had so much European money? Because it was one of the poorest regions in Europe. Why does nobody say we need to hang our heads in shame for getting into that position?’

Europe. Brexit. Why would Brexit-voting South East Cornwall want an MP who campaigned to remain in the European Union and whose party policy is to hold another referendum on whether or not our exit deal should be approved?

‘This election isn’t about Europe. I still believe we’re better off in Europe, but we lost that election. The nation has decided. We are leaving. I think our best deal is remaining in Europe, but we can’t have that so we look at the best deal we can get.

‘What happens if the deal is taken to the country in a referendum and people vote “no” to it? I don’t know. I don’t know what the deal will be, I don’t know what we’d do.’

Mr Hutty is worried about the exit process: for example, he fears fishermen will still have to answer to similar rules, but administered by British agencies.

And in the short term, agriculture faces uncertainty over subsidies ‘which represent more than half some farms’ income’ after 2022.

He sees a ‘big opportunity’ for farmers to replace imported foods that may rise in price post-Brexit, but worries that in the short to medium term shoppers will face big increases.

And added to these problems for farmers, he says, is one that should be higher on the agenda: milk. ‘You simply cannot produce milk for the price that is asked for it in supermarkets.’

Where does Mr Hutty stand on issues that have led to criticism of Tim Farron, the party leader? Is gay sex sinful? ‘No.’ Is Mr Hutty anti-abortion? ‘I am a Catholic, though like many I’m a non-practising Catholic. One of the difficulties I have with the church is abortion. It is a woman’s right to choose and I would always defend that.’

Mr Hutty has been criticised for not living in the South East Cornwall constituency. What does he say to that criticism?

‘I live in Downgate (near Callington). It used to be part of the constituency and it will be again at the next election.’

And what is driving him forward on the campaign trail?

‘As a social worker I’ve seen a country move from what, to me, was about community to one that’s more about money, paying less tax, selfishness, going to the doctor when you’ve just got a cold… I think a measure of a country’s greatness is what we do for our community, how we invest in the future, how we look after children and vulnerable people.’