Last week started with a meeting with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove MP to discuss the Devolution Deal. I have consistently said that we should not have a Mayor without a referendum and the people of Cornwall have a say. I said to Michael Gove that this substantial change to the way the Duchy is governed needs a referendum. I made it clear to him that if the government and the council want to go down this route that it is the people that should make the final decision.
On Monday night I joined my Cornish colleagues to celebrate St Piran’s Day. It was good to be able to eat pasties and have a drink to the Patron Saint of tin-miners and someone who is often regarded as the Patron Saint of Cornwall.
At Parliament’s Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee on which I sit we discussed soil health. At this meeting we discussed the Government’s role in preventing further soil degradation and restoring soils across England, including through its Environmental Land Management Schemes and Soil Health Action Plan for England. At this meeting we met with a number of experts to garner their knowledge on the subject.
On Wednesday I met with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya from Belarus. She stood for election in the 2020 Belarusian presidential election as the main opposition candidate after her husband, Sergei Tikhanovsky, the previous candidate, was arrested. Many opposition leaders have been arrested from speaking out against the Lukashenko regime which is backing Putin in the war in Ukraine. She told us that she has now been sentenced to 15 years in absentia and is effectively now unable to return to her country. She strongly disputes Lukashenko’s election and neighbouring Lithuania Prime Minister even referred to her as the national leader of Belarus. She has been an active campaigner against the Lukashenko regime speaking at the UN, the EU and at the Council of Europe. It was a real pleasure to meet such a strong politician on International Women’s Day. On Wednesday I also joined FairFuelUK at their reception which was calling for the Fuel Duty level to remain frozen. I was happy to support their campaign for fuel duty not to go up in these difficult times.
On Wednesday night I joined the British Veterinary Association. During the event we were told of the importance of the Kept Animals Bill and that a review needs to take place of the Veterinary Surgeons Act of 1966. It was good to get an update from the industry and the issues they face.
On Thursday morning I championed Cornwall as a filming location which boasts the fantastic setting for TV like the fantastic Delicious series with Dawn French filmed at Pentillie Castle, the new Beyond Paradise filmed in Looe or big movies like Alice in Wonderland filmed at Antony House. These are just three brilliant productions that go beside the likes of Poldark and Doc Martin. The Minister responded saying that she was pleased to see Screen Cornwall’s British Film Institute-funded report on how to establish Cornwall as a creative cluster of significance.
Back in the constituency on Friday I was pleased to meet with the local NFU and about 30 local farmers. It was good to hear of the issues they raised which I can take back to government and raise at Parliament’s Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee. It is clear that we need to do more to assist our important food producers and I will be raising this at the highest levels.
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