Newspaper Column – The Cornishman – 27/07/26

• Political commentators declared Burnham’s first week in power a success. But then most PMs are cut plenty of slack in their first week, before the short honeymoon period is over; and the media returns to routine hostilities.  

The chummy, man-of-the-people-with-pork-scratchings, his antidote to metropolitanism, and his Manchesterism outreach project has been laid-out along with his desire to combat cost-of-living problems. And, yes, there is a “But/However…”  

However, I’ve been surprised and disappointed by the evident lack of concern for nature restoration and the climate emergency. Starmer allowed his government to wrongly portray nature as a “blocker” to growth, and to weaken protections for nature and the environment in the roll-out of policies which demonstrated an astonishing naivety about what drives much of the private development market.   

The UK remains one of the most nature-depleted countries on earth, and the opportunities to place nature restoration and projects to combat the climate emergency at the centre of the government’s response still seems to be overlooked by the Burnham-led government, as well as his choosing to become more dependent on fossil fuels.  

Needless to say, I am already pressing him to look at this again. 

   

• Andy Burnham’s decision to restore the £2 bus fare cap sounds welcome. Though I’d rather see any extra funding spent on improving regularity, including those services which have been cut earlier this year, for example from half hourly to hourly.   

I have always urged government to concentrate bus subsidies on younger people. Free or a £1 cap on public transport for under 25s would drive demand for a wider range of services to get early-start apprentices to work, students to college and encourage later night services to support an evening and nighttime economy. It would also save hundreds of lives as young people could be less dependent on mopeds and motorbikes.  

I also urged the Transport Secretary this week to address a long-standing injustice affecting residents of the Isles of Scilly. There is no equivalent bus fare cap for those living on St Martin’s, St Agnes, Bryher and Tresco, for example. Inter-island boat services are their local “bus” service, to access healthcare, education, employment and other essential services on St Mary’s and beyond. Not to offer support is discriminatory and should be part of government action to help tackle the cost-of-living crisis.  

During winter months, the cost of return travel from an off-island can be £160 to attend essential medical appointments, etc. Some have even declined essential medical diagnostic appointments during winter months due to cost. This adds to social isolation and creates barriers to employment, childcare, and community services.  

Irrespective of the bus fare cap level on the mainland, it’s not right that islanders receive no equivalent support simply because their “bus” service happens to take place on water. Islanders deserve the same access to affordable public transport as everyone else.