Celtic fringes complaining about their subsidies (BBC2 tonight @ 21:00)

harryhound · 14 May 2007 at 6:22PM

Two weeks ago Channel 4 broadcast "The lie of the Land" featuring some rural characters in Cornwall complaining how difficult it is to make ends meet in the agricultural business.

Tonight BBC2 gets in on the act, featuring a protest by the people of Lanreath; its half way between Liskeard and St Austel, as the crow flies. They take their complaint to Islington (London), the heartland of New Labour.

The people and their animals in central London should be entertaining.
I expect they will display old fashioned courtesy, manners and reasoned argument. So refreshing, when much protest these days means who can shout the loudest in Anglo Saxon.

HOWEVER the people of London and the home counties generate the most wealth per head in the whole of Europe; despite the overcrowded expensive accommodation and the choked transport infrastructure. Much of this wealth is creamed off by the tax system and distributed to the "less favoured" fringe regions.

The taxation and grant system is so complex, that I have no idea who gets what. I wonder if the program will cast any light on the situation?

Do we owe these people a living ?

Perhaps it is all the fault of those absent second home owners ?

Harry.

PS I must remember to pay my 143.26 council tax tomorrow, and I still can't get my wheely bin emptied.

Original Channel 4 story:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=442852

linzibean · 14 May 2007 at 6:52PM

I fell the plight of the villagers..... half the homes in the village used part time and pushing the prices out of reach of locals, high council tax and yet minimal policing, school and NHS facilities, continual shafting by the supermarket economy. And yet, as you rightly point out, the City provides the majority of tax that goes to give these areas any funding they do get.... it's swings and roundabouts. Maybe they should go to Monaco and plonk their animals on the yatchs of the absentee brits living in tax havens

Hapless_2 · 15 May 2007 at 1:26PM

And yet, as you rightly point out, the City provides the majority of tax that goes to give these areas any funding

I live right on the border with Cornwall. My council tax for band A is £135 a month less than in some areas of North Cornwall. We have some of the highest water charges in the country as we pay for the cleaning of the beaches. Yes Cornwall and parts of Devon got Objective 1 and 2 funding from the EU not just the UK govt.
Petrol can be expensive, homes are expensive, jobs are not easy to get hold of. It is not idyllic living in Devon or Cornwall, we don't spend all day surfing the waves off Bude, Newquay or Croyde.
Recently some areas have been told that they have to rely on tourism (like that's stable) as no new businesses are moving down this way.
I live in a small village, there are NO properties here for less than £120,000. there are no tourists in our village, it's a farming village and no-one give a s*** about the small areas.
Our nearest town is 9 miles away...no bus to get there, the only bus goes 12 miles in the opposite direction. No chemist apart from dispensing pharmacy in the doctors, they do not sell things like calpol, paracatamol, solpadiene etc just prescriptions only.
We are forever getting told by the eco-facists that we shouldn't use our cars, we have no choice. Many people in council housing cannot simply move away, that has just been made difficult by the closure of the homeswap system and a new more complicated system brough in. (We were moved here by the council, 12 miles from where we were renting privately)
Most village born people cannot move out of the village, they simply can't afford to some can't even move out of their parents home, most have to drive to work. We have 2 vets, 2 furniture shops, 2 local shops, but only a part time doctor. Nearest NHS dentist is 35 miles away, nearest A & E is 23 miles away. If you are diagnosed with a more serious illness then there is 60 miles to Exeter or even further to Bristol.
Wages are just minimum wage. Petrol in the nearest 3 petrol stations are over £1 a litre. The main roads are only classed a C roads so never get repaired, rarely gritted in the winter and if a tree comes down then a general call for 4 x 4 owners and chainsaw owners goes out so the road can be cleared as the councils do not have the money for it.
Most people here rely on farming in one way or another. Most of the tenant farms are now being sold off.
Job losses in Devon and Cornwall
Definately Devon Dairies Torrington...Gone
Dairy Crest Totnes..Going
Dartington Glass Torrington...teetering
Brannams pottery..Teetering-going
China Clay pits 800 jobs...going
Hospital services and jobs 300-500 ...Going
Appledore shipyard...rescued by DML but teetering only 10% of the jobs saved

But according to many, we are living like kings on the rich man's subsidies!

linzibean · 15 May 2007 at 2:50PM

I never said you were living like kings. And I was referring to income tax, not council tax. I know how high council tax can be in the country - I live in mid Wales

Our house price, fuel, and health care provisions are as you describe for your area. I sympathise abotu car use too - people who live *near* convenient shops, healthcare etc, or have adequate public transport, don't realise how difficult it can be for those in the back end of no where, with little or poor transport links, everything is an hours drive from everything else, and tourists image life is rosy. Yes, I'm bitter about having to rent a house rather than afford to buy. I'm bitter the average wage around here is almost half that in more built up areas in England. I could move to these places, of course. But then I would have to live in a more polluted, built up area, with more crime (statistically) and generally lower quality of life, so it's swings and roundabouts. Sigh. thank you the British economy, you make life worth living!!

Gemmzie · 9 July 2007 at 6:38PM

I wholeheartedly agree with Hapless. It's not all surfing and farming in Cornwall - and year round jobs are hard to come by, even more so on a decent wage.

The government's wonderful low cost first time buyers houses are 130k starting! It's impossible.

Celtic fringes complaining about their subsidies (BBC2 tonight @ 21:00)

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