OUR fishing industry has been treated as an afterthought by this and the last government. What little support there is has been spread very thinly.

During the Brexit campaign, I was prepared to admit the fishing industry was the one sector which might potentially have benefitted from leaving the EU. But of course the promised benefits never materialised as the Leave campaigners had promised. The Brexit campaigners were delighted to use the fishing industry as the poster boys for their campaign. To parade themselves on flotillas on the Thames. But they were nowhere to be seen when Parliament was considering the serious consequences of those empty promises. And of course none of them turned up to last week’s fisheries debate to show the same interest in the fishing industry as they were so keen to show when it was politically convenient for them to use them. Perhaps they were too busy marketing gold bullion, or taking multi-million-pound bribes from foreign crypto-billionaires? Cornwall received £100million per year from the EU; the promised replacement for that hasn't happened either.

I've called on Ministers to allocate more funding to Cornwall, to make up - in part - for what we've lost.

We're driving a campaign success!

We had good news this week from Transport Ministers that additional support will be given to the Penzance Driving Test Centre, which has been operating at a much lower capacity in recent years, contributing to long delays for hundreds of learner drivers across west Cornwall.

Though a welcome step forward, I’ll be carefully monitoring if this makes a significant difference, and urging them to keep their foot on the accelerator and deliver this as soon as possible. I’m grateful to and congratulate all the campaigners and the thousand+ petitioners who've kept up the pressure. It does make a difference!

Governments have turned cafes, pubs, restaurants and music venues into venues for industrial-level tax collecting – VAT, Business rates, employment taxes and excise duties. Many tell me they barely break even. Half their turnover goes out in tax! And they’re significant employers, providing jobs to thousands here in West Cornwall & on Scilly; families depend on them. They are a vital part of our communities.

That’s why I’m urging the government to look at switching as much of the tax burden from the present tax on enterprise, to a tax on profit, when they succeed. Liberal Democrats plan a VAT cut for the hospitality sector. Funded by a tax on the big banks. I'm asking Ministers to look again at what measures they will take to support our hospitality venues.

I’ve urged Defence ministers to increase support for the work of the National Drone Hub at Predannack on the Lizard following the recent publication of the government’s Defence Investment Plan.

Predannack has many advantages as a research base, not least hundreds of square miles of relatively clear airspace.