Plus ça change ... (but everything under the Tories remains no better!)

Eighteen years ago this week, I moved to Cornwall to work for local Liberal Democrat MP Colin Breed. He taught me how to be an effective campaigner, working diligently and creatively to tackle the issues affecting our community:

• Successfully securing funding for a bypass on the A38.
• Demanding greater local control over planning rules to meet the needs of our community.
• Protecting the civil rights of individuals against an authoritarian Government.
• Standing with our armed forces calling for decent housing and better care for veterans.
• Working with other Cornish MPs to fight for a fair deal on funding, for schools, hospitals, council services, economic development and of course, the Tamar Crossings.
• Speaking up for farmers, fishers and food producers.

Today we face very similar issues:

In 2006, Colin Breed secured funding for the Dobwalls bypass; today I am campaigning with SAFE38 for a bypass between Carkeel and Trerulefoot, along with other safety measures.

Colin Breed campaigned against the Labour planning policy which saw 1,200 new homes built at Pillmere with less than one parking space per house, leading to streets so clogged with cars that the bus couldn't get through! Today I am campaigning against the Conservative planning policies which have allowed thousands of Cornish homes to be turned into holiday accommodation, leaving 24,000 families on the waiting list for affordable housing.

Colin Breed voted against Labour's laws which gave excessive powers to Police to arrest people and detain them without trial. I have spoken out against Conservative laws which criminalise legitimate refugees and even take away our right to peaceful protest.

Incredibly, armed forces housing has actually got worse since the Conservatives came to power, and the number of veterans with untreated mental illness continues to grow.

Colin Breed worked with other Cornish MPs to get the EU to recognise the level of poverty in Cornwall. The original "levelling up" programme gave Cornwall £60m per year from 2000 and was due to reach £100m per year from 2021. Pro-Brexit politicians promised that the UK Government would replace "every penny", but in fact we now receive just £44m per year. Promises made to farmers, fishers and food producers have all been broken too.

After working for Colin Breed and the Liberal Democrats, I went to work for the Cornwall Sustainable Energy Partnership. Tackling climate change and helping people to escape from fuel poverty have been my passion for many years, and the importance of these issues becomes clearer every day.

Unfortunately on every one of these issues, our current Conservative MP has either been an ineffective advocate for our community, or has acted directly against our interests by following the party line.

In July, I proudly led hundreds of protesters across the Tamar Bridge to demand Government funding to scrap the tolls, but neither Labour nor Conservative MPs were anywhere to be seen.

So, after thirteen years of Conservative representation, perhaps what Saltash needs is another Liberal Democrat MP called Colin!

To find out more about my work standing up for South East Cornwall, please visit https://www.seclibdems.uk/