The Westminster Parties

Hands up - who knows what is meant by the Westminster or London  based political parties? This term seems to have become quite poular over recent months and it seems that your local Westmister representatives aren't too pleased at its use.

It's a fairly simple concept really. The Conservatives, Lib Dems, Labour and UKIP parties all very much centralise investment and decision making to Westminster, London and the South East. Whenever an important decison is to be made it's London and Westminster that has the first bite of the apple before English regions get a sliver and places like Cornwall get thrown the scraps if anything at all.

All the London based parties are guilty of this no matter how they attempt to make out otherwise. They're all the same whether it's Labour imposing 'bonkers' housing targets on us - the Tories gerrymandering our historic border to ensure a better probability of returning more Conservative MPs - or the LIb Dems jumping on any bandwagon going that they think might turn them a vote or two.

In Cornwall we have Cornwall Labour or Cornwall Liberal Democrats (already showing disregard by ingnoring the adjective 'Cornish' and choosing the anglicised use of Cornwall as an adjective) and the Tories who I'm not sure even bother with a Cornish branch. They all claim to be fighting for Cornwall - whether it's through the coalition London parties having 'MPs at the heart of government' or by Labour reminiscing about the scraps thrown to us by Blair and brown and making them seem like a banquet.

In reality, the Cornish branches of the London parties are disregarded almost as much  by their political masters in their Westminster offices as the people of Cornwall are disregarded. Time and again our local Westminster representatives have to make up fairy tales to excuse how their bosses in London have most recently sidelined Cornwall for the benefit of London in an attempt to keep alive the myth that their government cares about us.

This is what is meant by Westminster or London based parties.

Only Mebyon Kernow is based in Cornwall, fighting for the people of Cornwall. Only Mebyon Kernow can say that evrything they stand for is for the benefit of ordinary people right here in Bodmin or Boswinger, in Illogan or Indian Queens. Only Mebyon Kernow have social and economic policies which have the primary purpose of improving the lives of Cornish people within the setting of the UK, Europe and the world.

A vote for a Westminster based party is a wasted vote. No matter who you vote for you end up with the London government which will keep Cornwall's GDP below 75% of the European average. Just as they have for decades now.

Only Mebyon Kernow believes in building houses for local needs only, in growing social housing stock instead of selling it off.

Only Mebyon Kernow will fight for fair funding for Cornwall - to ensure that Cornish children receive the same opportunities that are available in the City of London.

Only Mebyon Kernow will campaign for a fairer local tax system that will protect services essential for the most vulnerable in our society.