nothing changes...

So last time I wrote I was lamenting the fact that we have heard precious little about what actual policies our PPCs are putting forward. Yet it seems they are all still reluctant to do that as the subject has turned now to the matter of election funding. Yes, it's a scandal that Lord Ashcroft has been bankrolling the Tories to the tune of millions and yes I'm sure some of that money has found its way into Cornwall to help the candidates here if not directly but through all those lovely glossy leaflets which show no sign of stopping or the giant billboards which have sprung up around Cornwall featuring "ordinary" people saying they have never voted Tory but why they will now.

However to the average man on the street I'm not entirely sure that this is a key issue - they simply don't care. Speak to most people and while they will agree that it's not right they are also not so daft that a few glossy leaflets are going to dictate how they vote. In fact because of the MPs' expenses scandal of last year most people have heard about Ashcroft and just shrugged their shoulders - it doesn't surprise them that such practices exist. This is particularly the case in Cornwall where many see Westminster as a far away land which has little or nothing to do with them.

If anything it has just shown how out of touch with the general public the main political parties are - rather than stamping their feet and shouting about how unfair it is they would be better off telling us how they would stop it and then tell us something, just something, about what they will do to help Cornwall.

As I said before there is a black hole in the information being put forward by most of the candidates, hopefully once the election is declared we might see something tangible but for now the silence is deafening.