Cornwall councilor announces London decision excluding him from 2025 Cornwall election

The leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Cornwall Council today (Friday November 15) announced his intention to leave the county.

Colin Martin, Cornwall councilor for Lostwithiel and Lanreath, took to social media to inform residents of his decision to leave the area, making him ineligible for the Cornwall Council elections due in May next year.

A move to London is planned for the councilor who was also a Liberal Democrat candidate in July’s general election in south-east Cornwall. He will join his wife Kate, who has secured a new position in the capital.

He said: “For eight years, I have made the choice to serve my community…I am proud of what I have accomplished…But these accomplishments have come at a cost. A thousand individual choices to attend a meeting or spend time campaigning forced me to sacrifice time with my family.

“Now my wife has been offered a bigger role in education. She will be based in London and this time, I made the choice to prioritize family and move there with her.

Originally from Wakefield in Yorkshire, Colin moved to Cornwall in 2005 and was elected as a Cornwall councilor for Lostwithiel in 2017, gaining support after negotiating a deal between the community center and Post Office Ltd for an outreach service during the closure of the town post office. He previously worked alongside former South East Cornwall MP Colin Breed as a social worker.

Among his achievements he cites Cornwall Council declaring a housing emergency in 2021, leading to cross-party talks and the agreement of a package of measures to control the spread of second homes and vacation rentals. Most of these measures have now become law across England.

He also proposed that a Cornwall Climate Commission has been established and will give Cornwall an independent assessment of progress towards net zero and our preparedness for extreme weather.

Lib Dem group chair at Cornwall Council, Hilary Frank, said: “Colin’s departure marks the end of an extraordinary chapter of service and dedication to Cornwall. Colin has been a tireless and fearless champion for the community, achieving real results on issues ranging from affordable housing to climate action.

“As leader of the Liberal Democrat group at Cornwall Council, Colin has led with a keen intellect and an unwavering commitment to excellence in policy review, ensuring that decisions made at County Hall are in the best possible way. interest of Cornwall residents.

“While we are sad to see him resign, we respect his decision to put his family first and wish him all the best for the future.” His leadership and vision will be greatly missed, but his legacy will continue to inspire those of us working to make Cornwall a better place for all.

Safe38 Chairman James Millidge said: “We are very sad to hear the news that Councilor Martin will be standing down at the next election.

“Colin has been a strong campaigner for improved safety on the A38 and has been instrumental in helping the A38 become a priority for investment. There is still a lot of work to be done on this to ensure that medium speed cameras are delivered as quickly as possible on the Carkeel to Trerulefoot section.

“The committee will miss his presence at our monthly meetings and we wish him the best for his future.”

Scott Slavin, Vice President of the Tamar Toll Action Group, adds: “As one of the first members of local government to recognize the importance of our campaign for change on how the Tamar Crossings are funded, TTAG in as a group is grateful to Cllr Colin Martin. for his commitment to us and the efforts he has made to centralize it at the heart of liberal democratic politics in the South West.

“It was, at least in part, his early recognition of the importance of this issue that led other parties and members of local and national government to accept that this is an issue that requires resolution in the long term, particularly for the people and businesses of South East Cornwall.

“TTAG would therefore like to thank Cllr Colin Martin for his support and wish him and his family all the best for their new lives in London.”

Colin’s time on Cornwall Council was not without controversy. In January last year, the councilor was reprimanded for tweets criticizing a member of the council’s cabinet and found guilty of breaching the council’s code of conduct. He was ordered to apologise, but failed to do so and was censured by the council’s standards committee.

A politician through and through, his parting statement did not spare newly elected MP Anna Gelderd, declaring: “On May 22, Rishi Sunak made two very questionable choices: first, he went out without an umbrella; then he decided to call an election which led to a landslide Labor victory.

“The same day my wife was offered a job running a special school in Cornwall. If I had won the election we would soon have been living apart again, but it was a price we were still prepared to pay so that I could serve south east Cornwall in Parliament.

“But the voters made a different choice. They chose to support a Labor candidate who promised “change”. Four months on, it’s clear that every time she was asked to choose between doing what’s good for Cornwall or following Labor’s orders, she put her party first.”

He concluded his statement by saying, “I respect the choices others have made…I offer my sincere apologies to those who feel like I’m letting them down now, but I hope they will also understand and respect my choice. »