'BIG DAY FOR CORNWALL' AS NEW COUNCIL OPENS FOR BUSINESS

1.12.31pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 1st Apr 2009

Cornish MPs have welcomed the advent of the new Council for Cornwall this morning in a special House of Commons motion.

The group have congratulated hardworking Council officers from all seven local authorities in Cornwall, as both the District and County Councils come to an official end today.

Their motion calls on everyone in Cornish public life to come together "to make the new authority successful and ambitious for Cornwall as the first step to real devolution from Westminster towards a Cornish assembly."

Commenting, North Cornwall's MP Dan Rogerson said:

"Council officers, and councillors from across the political spectrum, have worked hard to make the new Council possible. Many have given long service over the 35 years that Districts and the County have delivered a joint service to Cornwall. They all deserve recognition today.

"This will not have been easy for some of the staff involved, and it will be part of our role as local MPs to make sure that we work with councillors to ensure everyone is treated well, whether they are moving out of local government, or into the new Council.

"This is a big day for Cornwall and represents a golden opportunity to move forward, not just to provide better local services, but to speak as one voice, demanding more power from London."

Andrew George, MP for the West Cornwall Constituency of St Ives and the Isles of Scilly, added:

"Whatever the disagreements of the past, we must now look forward.

"As a distinctive region in the United Kingdom, Cornwall must now use the new tier of Government to take our community forward as both a champion of social justice and an exemplar of environmental policy.

"As MPs we want to work with the new Council to demand the right for Cornwall to have a greater say on its own future and public services. It is the Cornwall Council, not Whitehall or SWRDA, that is best placed to drive local economic development, meet local housing requirements and co-ordinate health, education and social care."