CORNWALL COUNCIL MUST BE OPEN TO ONE AND ALL

10.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 18th Jul 2008

Stephen Gilbert has said that the new Cornwall Council "must be open to one and all" to take part - and not just those who are retired or independently wealthy.

The Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate for St Austell & Newquay was commenting after a report to the One Cornwall Implementation Executive said that people in full-time employment probably wouldn't be able to take on the responsibilities of an elected member.

Stephen Gilbert said: "10 years ago I was Cornwall's youngest Councillor, elected at the tender age of 21 to Restormel Council. Back then I managed to balance the demands of being a Councillor with a full time job. Since then I've also served as a Councillor on the London Borough of Haringey, a unitary authority, and at the same time managed a full time job working in the City for the world's largest fund management company."

"It's vital that the new Cornwall Council is open to people who work full time - we need to make sure that it properly represents the people of Cornwall in all our wonderful diversity and that we get the best of Cornish talent to stand.

"It is simply not good enough for the One Cornwall team to design a new system that would exclude the vast majority of people from taking part. This isn't the 19th century; with good use of modern technology we should be able to get a Council that is open to everyone."