Candidates for the 2024/25 General Election
We are fielding candidates for all six Westminster constituencies in Cornwall, so that everyone has a choice to vote Green.
Cornwall’s Green Party candidates aim to make sure that Green voices are heard loud and clear in this election, speaking up for social justice, a better deal for local communities and meaningful action on the accelerating climate emergency.
The Green Party’s parliamentary candidates in Cornwall are:
St Austell and Newquay – Amanda Pennington
Amanda served as a Town Councillor in Wadebridge from 2011 to 2021, when she became Mayor of Wadebridge until 2023. She has played a big part in many projects that have improved life in her community, including the building of a skate park for young people and the Town Council’s takeover of the local library service. As Chair of the Planning Committee for several years, she successfully engaged the local community to help make sure that any planning proposals gave maximum value to the town.
A mother with children who went to local schools, Amanda is deeply embedded in the local community and passionate about young people having opportunities to thrive. In 2022, she led a successful campaign to save Wadebridge Leisure Centre from closure, transferring it from private management to a Community Interest Company (CIC) run for the benefit of local people.
Camborne and Redruth – Catherine Hayes
A Town Councillor in Hayle, Catherine is co-founder of the campaigning group First NOT Second Homes and is highly active in her local community, supporting people facing food and energy poverty. She’s well known throughout Cornwall as a tireless campaigner for affordable housing and has done a great deal to draw attention to the extreme difficulty that local people face in finding anywhere to live, due to the proliferation of second homes and holiday lets pricing local outs of the market.
Catherine recently worked to set up a local food distribution project to help people who can’t afford to feed themselves and their families. She also understands the concerns of local businesses, having run one of her own – Cath’s Cornish Kitchen, producing home-made food made with local ingredients.
Truro and Falmouth – Karen La Borde
Karen is a former businesswoman who has served on Truro City Council since 2022, having previously been a parish councillor for several years. In both these roles, she’s worked hard to make a difference to the community by improving local facilities and fighting for the best possible deal for residents.
Passionate about the environment, Karen takes a particular interest in planning issues, and has fought to save green spaces from being overrun by developer-driven projects that fail to deliver affordable housing for local people. She was central to the campaign to get Cornwall Council to declare a climate emergency, and now aims to play a full part in making sure that the transition to a zero-carbon economy happens as quickly as possible and brings real benefits to the people of Truro and Falmouth.
South East Cornwall – Martin Corney
An elected Parish Councillor for St Ive Parish, Martin has been Vice-Chair and Chair of his Council. With a background in science, he previously worked as a computer programmer and at Devonport Royal Dockyard.
Martin cares deeply about the environment and about speeding the transition to a zero-carbon economy. Over the years, he has worked hard to improve life opportunities for local people in his part of Cornwall through several community projects, including a youth club, a food bank and a local food-growing project.
St Ives – Ian Flindall
Ian runs a small family farm near Morvah, producing quality food for the local market in ways that promote high standards of animal welfare as well as conserving and enhancing natural habitats and biodiversity. Before becoming a farmer, Ian worked in the energy world and was responsible for several major energy conservation projects for local councils and the Ministry of Defence.
Having seen the energy bills for his farm more than double recently, he is keenly aware of the need to roll out renewables much more rapidly to keep bills down at the same time as cutting carbon emissions and strengthening the UK’s energy security, and he’s had a hands-on role in installing dozens of small wind-turbines in Cornwall. Ian sees it as vital that farmers are supported to improve the UK’s national food security while contributing positively to a more sustainable environment.
North Cornwall – Lance Symonds
Cornwall Green Party believes that Lance, at the age of 20, is the youngest general election candidate in Cornwall. Having grown up in council housing in Bude, where he attended Budehaven Community School and Callywith College, Lance understands the challenges facing less privileged communities.
As a student representative, he played a big part in raising awareness and support for the LGBT+ community, including organising Pride events. He was also involved in fundraising for the Intercom Trust, a charity supporting people who struggle with their identity. Lance is currently studying for a degree in Law. He wants to do everything he can to make sure local people are able to live happy and fulfilled lives in a world that is not ruined by social injustice and environmental catastrophe, and he is determined that the voices of young people are heard in this election.
Key Policies
Key policies that the Green Party will be highlighting ahead of the general election include:
- Affordable housing (including giving councils the power to introduce local rent controls and limit the expansion of Airbnb and holiday lets)
- An end to the creeping privatisation of the NHS and dental services
- A a massive programme of home insulation to cut heating bills and reduce emissions
- Much greater investment in renewable energy
- Taking water and sewage disposal back into public hands
- A wealth tax on the super-rich to help pay for investment in vital public services.
