A Fair and Just Future for Cornwall
‘A Fair and Just Future for Cornwall’ serves as a guiding theme for 21 articles by key stakeholders from across business, faith and the voluntary sector, all of whom articulate their own particular vision of a better future for Cornwall as we emerge from lockdown. There is no attempt to find a common agenda and each author is speaking from their own perspective.
Click on the image to download the report.
In this guest blog, Gavin Barker of Cornwall Independent Poverty Forum shares what they hope the report will achieve. Church Action n Poverty’s partners at End Hunger Cornwall have played an active role in producing this report.
The pandemic is a turning point. The decisions we take now will frame the direction we go in and it is vital that Cornwall has a say over its own future. Too often, the most important decisions about our future are tied to a Westminster agenda that pays little attention to a local context. We want our MPs and council leaders to listen carefully to as wide a range of local voices as possible before taking important decisions. Each of the contributors has decades of experience and expertise in their respective roles. They have a deep understanding of the communities in which they live and serve and they deserve to be listened to.
We want our MPs and council leaders to listen carefully to as wide a range of local voices as possible before taking important decisions.
The lead organisation is Cornwall Independent Poverty Forum which has its base in Truro Diocese and the Revd Philip Mounstephen, Bishop of Truro has contributed an article. While our normal focus is poverty issues we felt it was vital to step outside our role and reach out to as many groups and organisations as possible, including the business community.
There is a second purpose to this report and that is to trigger a wider public conversation. We will be sharing this on social media and we will also be writing to different community groups as well as 20 town and parish councils and inviting them to read the report and share their own vision – what they want for their town and community as well as for Cornwall. Everyone should have a voice.
Everyone should have a voice.
It’s very easy for reports such as these to be ‘parked’. They make a brief media splash, our leaders and elected representatives nod their heads, make positive noises, a letter is sent to the local press and everyone moves on.
We do not want this to happen. We are asking for a considered response from our MPs as well as council leaders and in three months’ time we will convene a meeting of all contributors to the report in order to share notes, any responses from MPs as well as discuss next steps.
Finally, in a year’s time we will gather together again and ask the question ‘What has changed?’ and we will use this report as a baseline by which to measure progress. The outcome of that process is likely to be a second report in answer to that question. The report will therefore be part of a rolling campaign as we all work to bring about a fairer, more inclusive and sustainable future for Cornwall.
