THANK YOU again for signing our petition. The petition results will be presented at a full meeting of Cornwall Council on TUESDAY 29 NOVEMBER. A motion has been put to allow councillors to vote to authorise a REFERENDUM of all voters on a Mayor.
JOIN US! Come and tell councillors entering the Chamber that you want the people to decide. We are gathering 8.45 to 10.30 outside the front of County Hall main entrance. If you want to come to give your view please do. If you want more information please contact us at info@letcornwalldecide.com.
Council Leader Linda Taylor has so far said no to a referendum. She wants to be Mayor but doesn't want you to have a say on whether we get a Mayor. This is not democratic. Please come and make your feelings known.
More news...
TOWNS AND PARISHES DEMAND A REFERENDUM!
Meanwhile 52 Town and Parish councils have voted to back our call for a people's vote. None have voted to agree with Councillor Taylor. Even her own local council St Ives Town Council voted unanimously for a referendum. The motion there was proposed by the leader of the local Conservative Group too. Big towns have voted to support the people on this, including Truro, Camelford, Redruth, Camborne, Bude, Penzance, Falmouth, Wadebridge and Launceston. Many more to come. So far the score is 52-0
LIZ TRUSS TELLS CORNWALL TO DO WHAT IT'S TOLD
Council leader Linda Taylor and the six MPs went to ask the new (then!) Prime Minister to ask for a Devolution Deal with no Mayor. They were clearly worried by our campaign and could sense the political damage to their party in forthcoming elections. But astonishingly the answer from London was "NO - DO WHAT WE SAY". Truss got her Secretary of State Simon Clarke to write back to Linda Taylor refusing Cornwall's request. This letter is hidden on the Council's website. The Council has not publicly announced that its request for no mayor was refused. Not a squeak! They are ploughing on regardless. (Note: Simon Clarke was sacked shortly after writing the letter. You couldn't make it up).
MPs OPPOSE MAYOR
We have it on good authority that most Cornwall MPs are now against a Mayor. Certainly Derek Thomas, Cherilyn Mackrory and Sheryll Murray. Steve Double once called for a referendum but then pretended he hadn't. The MPs are in a mess on this. Do wrote to yours to ask them to act. They probably agree with you. After all, which MP would want to go into the next election knowing that their party had imposed a Mayor on Cornwall against the will of the people?
BEWARE "CONSULTATION" PROPAGANDA
The Council will shortly publish a ten week "consultation" on the Deal and the Mayor. But we are expecting a hard sell of the Deal and a playing down of the Mayor bit. The Deal will offer Cornwall £12m a year of investment. That sounds a lot but it's money that can't be used for services. It can though be used to pay consultants to bid for national funds! It's peanuts compared to the Council's capital programme of £1.4 Billion (just 0.008%). The Deal won't introduce a second homes tax (the council is getting that power anyway with/without a Mayor). And it has no housing or planning powers. It's basically going to be warm words and small bribes.
MAYOR POWERS SHOCK UPDATE
Did you know that if Linda Taylor introduces a Mayor without a referendum and then stands, the election will be in Spring 2024. And the term will be for FIVE YEARS whatever happens in the 2025 council elections. And a Mayor would be able to choose their own Cabinet (whatever the make up of the Council). And their annual budget cannot even be amended without a vote by two thirds of councillors. They can't be replaced by councillors is they are simply terrible or behave illegally. They will be paid around £80k a year (roughly double the Council Leader) and have their own staff and a budget of perhaps £1 million pa. Can Cornwall afford this in a cost of living crisis?
PLEASE COME TO COUNTY HALL ON TUESDAY 29 NOVEMBER!