Felicitations: Editorial in The Voice

I am Felicity Owen and as reported in last week’s St. Austell Voice I am delighted to have been selected as the Labour Party's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate (PPC) for St Austell and Newquay (StaN). I just want to tell you a little about myself here in this new column, which I hope you will enjoy reading.
I am a lifelong Labour voter and I joined the party in 2017. 
I was a member of the Royal College of Nursing Union from 1981 to 2015. I recently became a member of Unite. I am an active member of the StAN CLP and Branch and a member of the NHS group which campaigns against local Government cuts and privatisation.
I live in the area, I worked here and I now volunteer here and know what difficulties the government’s policies are having on local people.
I volunteer and am a trustee for St Austell Community Kitchen (STAK), a
charity which supports the vulnerable, needy and homeless. I help in the kitchen providing lunch for whoever needs it.
I’m also a trustee with Cornwall Neighbourhoods for Change (CN4C) who started in Redruth but have been operating in St Austell for the last two years. They are in the process of setting up in the old Bystro at the Bank as a Community bank. If you are interested in helping with the new Community bank, please contact Clare Jones cjones@cn4c.org.uk

I will be standing for Labour at the next general election so between now and then I want to tell you how the Government’s policies are affecting us all.
The rich are richer and the poor are poorer, even people in work cannot afford to feed their families properly. Many have turned to foodbanks for help. St Austell Food Bank is a fantastic resource but they are running short of some items so please help if you can by contacting admin@staustell.foodbank.org.uk to offer what you can.
They have run out of packet soup and pot noodles. They have a low stock of tins of meat, fish and soup. Shampoo and conditioner is needed as is dog food. They are open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 13:00 to 15:00 and food can be dropped off between those times at the Light and Life Centre, Unit 4-5 Brunel Business Park, St. Austell PL25 4TJ.

I worked for the NHS for forty years and I am appalled that the Conservatives have removed the nursing bursary which has led to a fall in the number of people training to become nurses. The Tories constant drive to privatise our NHS is very worrying. The NHS was founded to be free at the point of delivery and it was the best Health service in the world, it must be kept that way.

As I’ve been talking to Labour members in St. Austell and Newquay, housing has been raised by most people as an issue needing urgent focus.
In STAK we see a lack of suitable housing for people in difficulty. There are issues of homelessness, lack of affordable housing, low stock of council houses, house prices so high that they exclude the low paid, second homes standing empty, other empty properties, lack of temporary accommodation, homes unfit for human habitation and unscrupulous landlords.
In Labour controlled councils like Plymouth, Nottingham, and Hackney council houses are being built. There are some council houses being built in Cornwall but very few and not enough to meet need. Let’s get more Labour Cornwall councillors and aim to make Cornwall Council Labour controlled & get a council house building programme underway to meet local need.
I will be writing about the many issues the Tory austerity policies are creating in our area and Cornwall as a whole so I would like to thank The Voice for giving me the opportunity to provide balance. Watch this space.