Giving children a safe space where they can be curious

I WENT to Liverpool last week for the Labour Party Conference and spoke at fringe events on topics that affect Cornwall, from legal aid deserts to how we provide more affordable rural and coastal housing to the National Farmers’ Union event on driving rural growth.

- Jayne Kirkham MP

I passed on some statistics about Cornwall at each of these. There's been a 265% increase in the number of households in temporary accommodation since before the pandemic, for example, from 250 in 2019 to 912 last March.

‘There were 24,000 holiday lets in Cornwall in July, up 30% on 2019, and the South West has the most legal aid deserts in the country, particularly in housing law. It’s hard not to conclude that these facts are linked and you can see why people are looking for faster change.

Listening to the speeches, I felt hope. After years of decline and growing division, we have a government focused on renewal. One part of his speech that stood out was Keir Starmer’s focus on education and skills.