Cornwall Live readers aren’t shy about putting their two pence in. Hundreds of people took part in our commenting forum this year, and it’s no surprise – it’s been a busy one, for all sorts of reasons.
From farmers making their voices heard at home and in the capital, to an ill-fated visit by a former Prime Minister, this is what got you talking this year.
The year began with freezing cold, and parents were up in arms over school uniform checks being done outdoors. Brannel School near St Austell came under fire for the practice, with some parents taking their children out during the controversy. Some parents said that kids had to remove their coats for the checks, but the school responded: “We continually encourage students to bring coats to school, particularly in periods of colder weather, and do not expect them to remove outdoor wear until they have re-entered school buildings. However, it is of course up to individuals as to whether they choose to wear them while outside.”
Commenter Vickicb wrote: “We wouldn’t do this to any adults in any workplace, there would be uproar! Let’s start treating our young people with some kindness and care and maybe students and teachers will all benefit.”
In the months before the general election was announced, Rishi Sunak was on tour – and his Cornwall visit in February saw him drop in at famous pasty shop Philps in Hayle. A backlash from anti-Tory followers on Facebook forced a removal of a post showing the then-Prime Minister in the shop. People also poked fun at his pasty-eating method.
Reader Saffa said: “The world has gone nuts, I use to go to Philps in my school lunch break when they where just a small corner shop next to mill ponds, now people are swearing at them just because the PM was hungry and popped in for something to eat.”
In March, more than 100 people attended a meeting to oppose a vast solar power farm in the middle of Cornwall. The application for a 210-acre park that would have a lifetime of 30 years was described as a “prison”, with one person saying: “This will be a huge industrial development on unspoiled countryside – one of the largest industrial sites in Cornwall.” Solar power has been a big issue for Cornwall this year, with applications being met with stiff resistance.
Beccag wrote: “Let’s hope Cornwall’s strategic planning councillors see the urgent bigger picture in this application and don’t treat it merely as a tick box exercise to meet their solar quota.”
Huge tip queues, failed rubbish collections and dozens of dumped bin bags were said to plague a town in Cornwall, as we reported in April. Months earlier, Newquay became one of the first places to join the new fortnightly rubbish collection scheme. Recycling rates went up as a result, reported the council: “In the first two months of the rollout in mid-Cornwall, we collected 800 tonnes of food waste and the proportion of recycling we are picking up in the area has gone up from 40 per cent of all waste collected to 55 per cent.”
Rrtt said: “I think it’s disgusting, there is no excuse for fly tipping. And I see no problem with the fortnightly collection. If everyone recycled properly there wouldn’t be a problem. My family can do it so why can’t anyone elses?”
One of Rishi Sunak’s plays to appeal to voters ahead of the general election, national service was back on the agenda in May. If it had gone ahead, all 18-year-olds would have been legally required to take up either a 12-month placement in the armed forces or cyber defence, or give up the equivalent of one weekend a month to volunteer in their communities. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called the policy “desperate” and added that it would create a “teenage Dad’s Army”.
Mick6161 wrote: “National service doesn’t have to mean parade ground square bashing and pre-dawn 30 mile marches and all that carry on. As mentioned, it could mean weekends working for the community and so on. It’s actually not a bad idea, but will never happen and is just a rather desperate headline catcher.”
In June, the Vicar of Dibley star who made a home in Cornwall, Dawn French, urged people to vote “tactically” as the general election loomed – holding your nose and voting for someone you don’t like, so that someone you don’t like even more doesn’t win a seat. This time, it was in service of ousting the Tories.
Triggerandhisdoggo said: “Vote for who best represents your views and values. Don’t vote for someone you disagree with, just because some vacuous celebrity says so.”
Keir Starmer’s Labour party won big in the July general election, and it was a dismal night for the reigning Conservatives. Several big scalps were claimed, including former Prime Minister Liz Truss, Penny Mordaunt, and Jacob Rees-Mogg – who has since presumably found his calling on television.
35sundaysalldays wrote: “Good luck to them, not sure how they will get on, but definitely a change was needed. All I ask is honesty, integrity, and ‘say it how it is’. If we can’t afford something, don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
Business and tourism chiefs in the region were left disappointed in August as Brits appeared to choose European hotspots like Spain, Greece and Italy – despite intense heatwaves – rather than the milder Cornwall. People found all sorts of things to blame, from accommodation prices and availability, to beach parking.
CornishBod said: “We don’t hate tourists, we hate over-tourism. They’re quite different. When nurses cannot find truly affordable homes to rent because all the rentals and family homes have all been flipped to Air BnB, then local people suffer greatly. This is unacceptable and the anger is growing. The whole system needs proper regulation with quotas for the number and type of holiday lets that are allowed in accordance with local need.”
An early controversy for the newly elected Labour government that is still rumbling on today. MPs voted to support means-testing the winter fuel payment in September, cutting millions of pensioners off from the previously automatic extra payment.
Pyworthypilgrim wrote: “Would it not just be more sensible to make this a taxable benefit? Those not liable to pay tax, i.e. the lower earning band, would receive the allowance in full. Those within the tax band would pay tax on it, receive the balance, and the Govt. would recoup from those liable for tax.”
20mph signs were vandalised just days after they were put up in October. The signs at the Pillmere estate in Saltash were sprayed with black paint. The council said it is aiming to reduce deaths and serious injuries on the road by 50 per cent by 2030, make roads in Cornwall safer for pedestrians, as well as encouraging more people to walk and cycle which would see benefits to the environment.
RVNA said: “As someone that walks, cycles, rides horses and drives, I can honestly say that far, far too many people don’t listen to the current speed limits. They think they have to drive that fast. They don’t seem to care about driving laws or the highway code. Many don’t know what the road markings mean either.”
Farmers from across Cornwall joined a mass protest in London in November, aimed at pressuring the government to reverse course on their controversial inheritance tax plans. Ministers continue to insist that only a small number of farms will be affected, despite persistent demands to “axe the family farm tax”.
CornwallAmigo wrote: “One of many ill thought-out policies. Or just plain vindictive. All farms will be solar farms or housing estates.”
Staff at Cornwall Council were told that they face losing their jobs in December, as the council faces financial challenges. A spokesperson for the council said that they are “having to make choices that are lawful, deliverable but in no way desirable to produce a balanced budget for 2025/26.” Staff will undergo a 45-day formal consultation – with five days extra for the Christmas break.
Silverly12 – “What I find staggering is why it is considered necessary to worry employees just before Christmas. Not that this is restricted to Local Government it happens in the real world as well. However, wouldn’t it just be more humane to start worrying employees after Christmas – however inevitable it might be? Local Goverment can always find money when needed, whatever they may tell the press. What about a bit of humanity?”
Have your say! What was the most memorable moment of the year in Cornwall? Comment below, and join in on the conversation.