Mebyon Kernow is campaigning for the rebalancing of the United Kingdom economy, away from the present concentration on London and the South East of England. This includes a commitment to an Economic Fairness Act to ensure that Cornwall gets its fair share of government investment.

It is unacceptable that Cornwall is the poorest part of the United Kingdom, that our economic performance (GVA) is only 65.8% of the United Kingdom average*, and our workers earn 20% less than elsewhere. Such figures show that UK governments have failed Cornwall for decades and have failed to address the massive economic inequalities between the regions and nations of the UK.

MK supports a range of measures to improve Cornwall’s economic performance, which will help people to provide a better future for themselves and their families, whilst protecting our exceptional natural environment. This would include higher levels of both public and commercial capital investment to boost economic activity and improve our skills, productivity, infrastructure, housing stock and public services.

Commitments include reduced business rates for small and town centre businesses, controls to ensure more public sector contracts in Cornwall are awarded to local firms, increased local production to meet local needs, more value-adding processes within Cornwall, the greater use of natural resources, investment in Green technologies such as energy efficiency, investment in high technology industries to create skilled high value jobs, and the enhancement of higher education facilities within Cornwall.

MK is also committed to tough regulation of the big supermarkets to prevent them operating as a virtual cartel to force down farm prices to uneconomic levels. An economically viable farming sector is fundamental to security of food supply and the character of the Cornish countryside and way of life.

*In comparison, England’s GVA is 103% of the UK average. It is 94% in Scotland, 76.7% in Northern Ireland and 72.2% in Wales.