Union: Time MPs fought for vital county funding

CORNWALL’S Conservative MPs have been accused of ‘failing to go into bat’ for the county and secure additional Government funding, as the Duchy faces a ‘perfect storm’ of rising Covid-19 cases and the ending of the job retention scheme.

Unite, Britain and Ireland’s largest union, levelled the accusation at Cornwall’s six Tory MPs, including cabinet member George Eustice, who is environment secretary as well as the member for Camborne and Redruth.

Unite said the latest blow are plans by Cornwall Council to axe jobs as a result of Whitehall’s failure to pay for the costs incurred by Covid-19, leaving the council with a £40 million deficit to fund statutory services. It is understood 200 posts will be lost out of a total workforce of 5,600 by March 2021.

The union also referenced job losses among private firms, pointing out that Cornwall Airport has seen 36 job losses and cuts in hours for those remaining and it is still waiting for an answer from government ministers about its bridging loan.

They also said St Austell Brewery is cutting 60 jobs, while the Eden Project has undertaken 169 job cuts.

In addition, Unite say Cornwall’s manufacturing sector is now being damaged by the failure of government to support many of the county’s essential businesses.

The fact that an initial 80 highly skilled staff are being made redundant at PALL Aerospace shows that the aviation industry is being ‘left to fail’, Unite claim.

Unite regional officer Deborah Hopkins said: “Cornwall’s public services and the economy are facing a perfect storm of rising Covid-19 cases and the ending of the job retention scheme ( JRS) – yet, Cornwall’s MPs seem to be reluctant to go in to bat for the county, even though George Eustice has a seat at the cabinet table. Cornwall Council is now planning to cut 400 jobs by voluntary redundancy, but, no doubt, if that fails, it will be compulsory job losses – and that’s because of the failure of central government to fully fund the authority’s response to coronavirus.

“Those in the jobs’ firing line are often the most experienced adult and social care professionals who are in the frontline for families hit by deprivation, and, quite frankly, a depth of poverty which should not be allowed in a country which is one of the world’s richest.

“It is worth noting that only 30 per cent of council work is carried out by those directly employed and 70 per cent of these services are provided by profit-hungry private companies.

“Cornwall’s Tory MPs are always criticising alleged council inefficiencies, but fail to make the connection that most of them are run by the private sector, so beloved by Conservatives.

“The time has come for the Conservatives to stop wringing their hands and start making the case for substantial funding for Cornwall.”

The time has come to start making the case for substantial funding DEBORAH HOPKINS, UNITE