Newspaper Column – The Cornishman – 16/06/25

• Cornwall is out of this world when comes to Space science. We enjoy a positive and growing global reputation. Cornwall’s brand is generating growing admiration. 

I’ve been backing the excellent work of Goonhilly Earth Station since it commenced work at the former BT site just over a decade ago. Its deep space research and commercial and defence satcom work is its primary core business. An essential hi-tech sector developing high-paid year-round jobs in our economy and career opportunities for talented local people. Just what our economy needs. 

It’s currently supporting missions around Mars and observing solar weather and last year provided essential communications and support to assist private international moon landings. 

I made our case in the Space sector debate in Parliament this week and have asked the Minister to ensure that Cornwall retains a place at the top table and that joint work with NASA and the European Space Agency is fully supported by the Government. 

 

• Our nature is not a ‘blocker’ on our country’s future. It’s an enhancer of our quality of life, economy, and well-being. Wildlife charities have lost faith in this government and are now demanding it scraps the proposed Environmental Delivery Plan and goes back to the drawing board. 

I challenged Ministers in the planning and infrastructure bill debate. The UK is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world. I’ve been shocked this spring by the dramatic fall in pollinators – butterflies and bees – in our part of the world.  

Unless we do something, we’ll face an irreversible nature collapse. The government must start listening. 

Small house builders are not being forced out of the market by nature. Small affordable homes projects are unaffordable because far too much of the benefit of new developments goes into the pockets of land value speculators and those who play the system, and not enough to support those who need the homes or who actually build them. 

 

• I called on Government Ministers to help protect farmers and growers from supermarket bully-boys, in a recent Commons debate. 

I was proud to Chair the national Grocery Market Action Group (members included NFU, Friends of the Earth, Traidcraft, CLA, Action Aid, British Fruit Growers’ Association, Scottish NFU…) between 2005 and 2015. We successfully campaigned to persuade the then Competition Commission to hold a comprehensive Inquiry into the buying practices of Supermarkets and the whole retail supply chain.  

Our campaign was successful, resulting in the creation of a Supermarket regulator (Grocery Code Adjudicator) in 2013, but it has been underfunded, depends on secondments from Government departments and has failed to undertake any effective action to curtail the anti-competitive practices identified by the Competition Commission.  

So, we are calling on the Government to take action and give the regulator the teeth and funds it needs to be effective.