At a council level we need:
Investment in the Care sector
This year Cornwall has double the number of Universal credit applicants and benefit recipients than last year, and over 35,000 people on furlough. At the same time just down the road elderly residents have been going to bed cold in privatised Ocean Housing in Rialton Heights. Adult social care is struggling and we also have an ageing pop
ulation. I would love to see part of the recovery plan in Cornwall put this unutilised labour to use, by improving working conditions in the Care Sector - making it a more desirable occupation, and thus providing a viable year round opportunity for people out of work. Fair rent and affordable housing
Not just as an afterthought but as a priority. Zenith Apartments sit empty today while young families struggle to pay for both rent and food, Cornwall now having some of the biggest food banks in Europe. Prioritising fair rent and affordable housing will be key to addressing child poverty and the growing divide we are seeing between rich and poor children in school attainment. Green jobs for Cornwall
We also have less than 9 years to reach net zero emissions to meet our ambitious 2030 target and we should take it seriously. I would fight for new jobs focusing on forest planting with "Forests for Cornwall", funding and support for regenerative agriculture projects that fix CO2 in the soil and the development of ambitious bicycle infrastructure projects. Taking Green planning seriously doesn't mean less but more economic activity and opportunity. If a Space Port will bring jobs and investment to Cornwall then great, but we should also make sure we are offsetting its carbon impact locally. But how can we make this happen? Although the council is controlled by conservatives, we have more Labour voices on Cornwall council than ever before and this is not a partisan issue with decision makers of various stripes promoting the principles outlined below. The achievements of the Labour council in Preston, in Salford, in Gateshead, on the Wirral, North of the Tyne, Greater Manchester and SNP North Ayreshire show what can be achieved locally. Even over a period of Austerity! These are not lessons for councillors alone, but also apply to every community member, social enterprise and company that is interested in strengthening our local economy and society. Together here we look to build a space for film screenings, discussions and workshops to educate each other, campaign for these policies, and support local projects putting Community wealth building into practice. The Five Principles of Community Wealth Building:
1) Plural ownership of the economy is about deepening the relationship between the production of wealth and those who benefit from it. As such there is a focus on developing co-operatives and locally owned or socially minded enterprises within the economy. These by their very nature are more locally generative, as economic activity is more rooted and relational to place.
2) Making financial power work for local places by increasing flows of investment within local economies. For example, local authority pension funds are encouraged to redirect investment from global markets to local schemes and community owned banks and credit unions are supported to grow.
3) Fair employment and just labour markets is about working within large anchor institutions and their human resource departments to encourage them to pay the living wage, adopt inclusive employment practices, recruit from lower income areas, build secure progression routes for workers and ensure stable employment contracts and reliable hours.
4) Progressive procurement of goods and services is about developing a dense supply chain of local enterprises, SMEs, employee-owned businesses, social enterprises, co-operatives and other forms of socially rooted business, which can provide goods and services to the large local anchor institutions. This is a means through which greater social and environmental benefits can be harnessed through local economic multipliers which increase wealth retention within the local economy.
5) Socially productive use of land and property is about ensuring that equitable forms of ownership, management and development of local assets are developed. In community wealth building the function and ownership of these assets is deepened to ensure that any financial gain is harnessed by local people and communities. This is not a partisan issue, if you find value in these ideas please get in contact with us to find out how to get involved.
