Commenting on the news that average wages in coastal constituencies are £1,600 lower than inland areas,

Colin Martin, Prospective Liberal Democrat MP for SE Cornwall said:

A fortnight ago I wrote about Boris Johnson’s failure to understand that in a Parliamentary democracy, a Prime Minister has to allow MPs to question his actions and his policies. Prime Minister’s Questions takes place every Wednesday, but in the eleven weeks since he took office, he has only attended once. This week, PMQs was cancelled again because of another suspension of Parliament.

Commenting on today’s announcement about potential new funding for the NHS in Cornwall and Plymouth:

“This is a desperate attempt to distract the public from the chaos of Brexit.”

“The Government’s own figures show that a no-deal Brexit will put a £30 billion hole in their spending plans. So, unless they’ve found Labour’s magic money tree, they need to sort Brexit before they can make any credible promises about the NHS.”

Two weeks ago, I wrote about meeting with the prospective Leader of Cornwall Council to ensure he supported my priorities for South East Cornwall before I decided to offer him my vote. I will take exactly the same approach when deciding who to support as the new leader of the Liberal Democrats. Both Ed Davey and Jo Swinson have impressed me when I have spoken with them in the past, but before I make my choice, I will be asking them how they will address Cornwall’s concerns about transport, fair funding and Climate Change.

This week marked the half-way point for the joint administration at Cornwall Council. Lib Dem Adam Paynter stepped down as leader, swapping places with his deputy, Independent Julian German.

Earlier this month I met with both Adam and Julian to ensure that the priorities of the six Lib Dem councillors in South East Cornwall would still be high on the agenda. Julian confirmed that he would continue to support our three top issues.

There are over seven billion people in the world. Can one person’s actions really make a difference?

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by global events like climate change or religious violence; and feeling powerless is actually bad for our health. So, it’s understandable that some people just look the other way and hope that someone else will deal with it. But if we all do that, nothing will ever get fixed.

Once again as I sit down to write this column for the Cornish Times on a Tuesday, I have no idea which way the Brexit negotiations will have unfolded by Friday. We may have crashed out of the EU without a deal, the Government may have reached an agreement with Jeremy Corbyn, or Parliament may have cancelled Brexit altogether. I’m hoping that the public will get the final say.

A mental health respite home in Menheniot has been saved from the brink of closure following an intervention from Lib Dem councillors. Oakleigh House (also known as Sanctuary House) was told last November that its funding was being ended, but now Cornwall Council and NHS Kernow have agreed a long extension to the contract.

Cornwall Council funds Tri-Service Safety Officers to fill the gaps left by Police funding cuts

(L-R) Richard has been working as a Tri Service Safety Officer in Liskeard for 2 years. Jack, Myghal and Phil will be deployed in Lostwithiel, Polruan and Looe

In 2016, the Leave campaign for Brexit was simple; “Blame the EU for everything, we just need to take back control.”