Camborne and Redruth constituency is where students could decide next MP in General Election – Cornwall Live

For people looking in from outside of Cornwall, Camborne and Redruth would, on the face of it, be considered a working-class constituency which might be expected to be traditionally aligned to Labour.

But since the constituency was first formed in 2010 after boundary changes it has returned a Conservative MP at each of the three general elections it has voted in.

While the heart of the constituency is based around the urban areas of Camborne, Pool and Redruth it also stretches to the north and south coasts, taking in areas such as Constantine and Gweek.

Camborne is home to one of the biggest foodbanks in Cornwall which gives out 16,000 meals a month - an increase of 20% since 2018.

But, at the other end of the scale, there is Constantine where the average house price, according to Zoopla, stands at just under 350,000.

And there is also a large student population due to the Falmouth University and University of Exeter accommodation on the shared Penryn campus being within the constituency with around 1,800 students. Because of this there is a chance that the student vote could be significant on December 12.

At the last election in 2017 Conservative George Eustice was re-elected with a majority of 1,577. That represented a drop in his majority just two years earlier when he was returned with a healthier majority of just over 7,000.

The last two elections have seen Labour taking runner-up spot but when the newly-formed constituency was first contested in 2010 it was the Liberal Democrats who were second.

Julia Goldsworthy, who had served as MP for the former Falmouth and Camborne constituency from 2005 to 2010, lost out to George Eustice by just 66 votes.

Then, five years later, she found herself trailing far behind in fourth place behind the Tories, Labour and UKIP with just 12.4% of the vote compared to 37.4% in 2010.

The Lib Dem vote in this area did not recover and at the last election finished third with just 2,979 votes, a measly 6.1% of the overall vote.

But what do the candidates seeking your votes on December 12 think are the main issues in Camborne and Redruth and what have they heard on the doorstep?

Green Party candidate Karen La Borde said that it had been "mixed" but there were clear priorities.

"It is the NHS, people are struggling to get doctors' appointments, they can't get dentists, surgeries are closing,"she says. "Social care is also mentioned a lot as we have an ageing population that I wasn't aware of.

"People are struggling to get social care for their parents who they are having to look after and those who work in social care are not being paid enough."

Public transport, low wage economy and education have also been raised when the Green candidate has been out canvassing.

She adds: "I have met people who are running two or three jobs at a time just to keep afloat. And in education I have met teachers who say that children are turning up to school without having been fed, so they are having to feed them before they can start teaching.

"We in the Green Party say that we want to focus on the climate emergency but also social justice - the two things go together. We want to create a universal basic income that would really help people in this area."

But Karen highlights the differences in the constituency areas saying that in Constantine people are more keen to talk about second homes - "something you don't have in the town areas".

She says: "There is extraordinary wealth over there. It is embarrassing compared to what there is elsewhere in the constituency."

The Green candidate said she was pleased that climate change has taken a higher profile in this election but she was still finding people who "don't care" but said that mostly people were interested and want to make a change.

For Liberal Party candidate Paul Holmes there is only really one issue at this election - Brexit.

"The Liberal Party is, unlike the Liberal Democrats, in favour of leaving Europe - we should have left by now," he says, "we are a Brexit party."

He says that housing and homelessness had been raised a lot and the priority should be in building council and social housing.

And Mr Holmes praised Don Gardner for the work he does at the local food bank, saying "he deserves a medal, it's fantastic".

But he adds: "I help to raise money for it by holding concerts, but we shouldn't need to. We shouldn't need to have food banks."

The Liberal Party candidate also mentioned the plans for lithium mining in Cornwall which he supports but says should be used to build an industry in the county.

"All the work that is involved with it should be in Cornwall, we should have all the jobs not be shipping it all out of here to be used elsewhere.

"What is wrong with building factories down here to make batteries?"

Mr Holmes said the low wage economy was a factor in Camborne and Redruth and there was a big gap between the national average wage and those earned in Cornwall.

The impact of this spreads to the provision of affordable housing which, Mr Holmes said, means that the way affordable housing rates are calculated put it out of reach for locals.

"The word affordable should not be used in Cornwall because it doesn't exist."

The Liberal Party also has plans to reinstate the Milk Marketing Board which Mr Holmes said would be important to help the dairy industry in Cornwall.

He recalled the days when there were four major dairies in Cornwall and said that a Milk Marketing Board would help bring about a return of a thriving dairy industry.

But when all is said and done the Liberal Party is basing its campaign around its desire to see Brexit happen.

"We haven't had government of this country for three years," said Mr Holmes. "It has been stagnant, it has been locked in a place we don't want to be, locked by people trying to thwart something the people of this country wanted.

"Once out of Europe we can get back to doing things like helping schools and hospitals and planning for new businesses. But nothing is happening now."

Describing himself as a monarchist he said that if the UK remained in Europe it would end up being "an offshore island in the United States of Europe and would lead to the abolition of the monarchy".

George Eustice, who is defending his place as Conservative MP for Camborne and Redruth, has always been a leave supporter having previously been a member of UKIP.

And it is Brexit which he has been encountering on the doorstep when campaigning in this election.

He said: "There is exasperation at the national situation and the faliure to deliver Brexit. There is a desire to have a government that can just sort the Brexit thing out and get on with the job. That is what I have heard from all sorts of people including former Labour voters."

But he is keen to state that he doesn't think it is the only issue in Camborne and Redruth.

"It would be wrong to say it is the number one issue in terms of what matters to people here, but it is number one in terms of the fact that we need to get it out of the way in order to address the things that people do care about.

"It is a logjam and we're not going to be able to move on to the issues that matter to them."

The other issues include the NHS - "our pledge to continue increasing funding for the NHS has been welcomed" - and the need for higher paid jobs in the area.

Mr Eustice said he had seen that there had been more people indicating support for the Lib Dems "in the villages" but he had been seeing "generally a positive reaction".

He said the issues in Camborne and Redruth around low wages and deprivation could be helped by the Conservatives highlighting plans to increase the living wage and to take more people out of the income tax and National Insurance threshold.

But he said there was also some optimism in the area with a number of better paid jobs being created in recent years with creative and technology companies which had been formed by students from the university who have remained in Cornwall.

Labour candidate Paul Farmer is clear what the main priority is for the people he has met in Camborne and Redruth - public services.

He said: "That covers a lot of things, whether it is people with long-term illnesses or dependents with special needs, we have areas of financial deprivation and there are concerns about the NHS.

"We have the biggest food bank in the UK - it is an issue that we are very concerned about and it is evidence of the situation that we are in."

Mr Farmer says that he has experienced poverty himself which he says gives him much more insight into the plight of those affected than other politicians.

"I have lived in Cornwall for a long time and I was self-employed, I brought up my children on a low income and qualified for tax credits. I have lived most of my life in council housing and know exactly what the pressures are that people face and what it is like to feel like you life is falling apart."

But what would he do to try to help those affected? "We need big investment in Cornwall and specifically in our area.

"The low wages here are a real problem - a lot of the people using the foodbank are in full-time work, but they can't afford to live.

"The Labour green industrial revolution will help to create the better quality jobs that will help people in these areas."

However the Labour candidate says he has not really encountered many people wanting to talk about the one issue that many believe has caused this election - Brexit.

"I don't think people feel that we are moving on, but they are just fed up of people talking about it. When I knock on doors I ask if people have a particular issue and the main response is 'everything really'.

"People don't think it has been resolved but there is this stasis associated with it. But whether it will be an issue at the ballot box remains to be seen. It baffles me really that I haven't had more people talking about it - it is just not something people want to talk about and is usually me who brings it up."

He adds: "What I try and talk about is a future that is better than where we are now.

"Housing is something that is a big issue and something that needs to be addressed everywhere - we need much more social housing and affordable housing.

"If you live in our constituency it is harder to qualify for a council house due to the competition for them - it is 50% harder to qualify in this area, you need to be 50% poorer to get a house here than anywhere else in Cornwall.

"That kind of situation makes people less optimistic about the future and especially when you talk to people who have to use the food bank.

"It is stark for those people - many of them are on limited zero-hours contracts and not earning enough to live on. I want to make sure there is more help for them and a better benefits system for people."

Liberal Democrat candidate Florence MacDonald says she has had a lot of people talking to her about the issues which affect everybody's daily lives.

"There are a lot of families that don't have the security and stability that they would like and need. Whether that is job security or a secure home.

"There is a lack of affordable housing and long-term tenancies and there are the problems with Universal Credit.

"The way that Universal Credit works means that if you have flexible working or zero-hours contract there is a mismatch between your income and benefits which mean you can find yourself short and unable to pay things like rent.

"That will not only affect your financial situation but also your mental health and wellbeing of your children. These all link into a number of different areas which affect a lot of people."

Florence said the Lib Dems would look to make changes to Universal Credit which would make it better to fit with the circumstances that people find themselves in and to help those who may not have fixed contracts or are self-employed.

Changes to workers' rights would give people the right to a fixed-term contract after 12 months of working.

She said: "There are some advantages to having flexible hours but at the moment the advantages are for the employer and not the individual.

"We also need more jobs in this area and the green industrial revolution will create opportunities, especially here in Cornwall."

Housing is also a key issue for her and she talks about the need to give people longer tenancies which would provide more stability for people and improving rights for tenants.

And when it comes to Brexit she is clear how people in Camborne and Redruth feel: "On the doorstep the main reaction is that people are completely fed up of it, beyond belief fed up.

"I have had a lot of people saying they don't trust any politicians anymore, a lot of people saying they won't vote this time or that they just don't know how they will vote.

"It feels more up in the air than I would have expected - generally people feel furstrated at what has happened."

Other issues which have come up on the doorstep for the teacher have been funding for services in Cornwall, the NHS and education.

"Infrastructure has been a huge one. People see a lot of development going on but there is no infrastructure to go with it. People can't get GP appointments and then wonder where all these other people will go. The same applies to school places."

But she says there is a frustration among people that Brexit has distracted from the issues that matter.

"I feel, myself, that this election is not going to solve those problems. We are in an awful situation because David Cameron called a referendum on something he wasn't prepared to carry out.

"That has created big divisions and has messed up the political picture. I don't feel confident that this election will produce a majority or a strong majority which will sort it out.

"We have had three successive governments that have not been stable and I am not sure that will be solved with this election."

On the campaign trail she is keen to ensure people know she is listening.

"I go out there and talk to everybody but not telling them what is right or wrong. I want to hear what they have to say.

"The anger at Brexit is also an anger about a lot of other things. I will be completely honest about my stance so that people know what choice they are making when they vote."

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Camborne and Redruth constituency is where students could decide next MP in General Election - Cornwall Live