LIBERAL Democrat leader Tim Farron visited Lewannick Primary School on Wednesday, May 10, ahead of the upcoming General Election on Thursday, June 8.

Mr Farron was joined by the party’s prospective parliamentary candidate for North Cornwall, Dan Rogerson, where they interacted with the children of all ages and took part in some of the morning’s activities.

Mr Farron and Mr Rogerson helped the Year 1 and Year 2s with the start of baking jam tarts and following instructions on planting the seeds to grow vegetables.

The final part of the morning was to interact with the Year 5 and 6s during their critical thinking class, where they regularly discuss politics and government.

Mr Rogerson previously served as the North Cornwall MP for ten years between 2005 and 2015 and was delighted to welcome Mr Farron to Lewannick, saying: “Lewannick Primary School is a great school. I’ve seen and worked with them for many years. They used to send up their Year 6 pupils up to parliament to find out how things work up there, which is a great experience for young people coming from Cornwall, which is a lot further away. So the fact that they have the commitment to do that and to give the pupils those sort of opportunities is something I’ve always welcomed.”

Education is always at the forefront of any government’s strategy and Mr Farron has promised a £7-billion cash injection into schools’ funding if the Liberal Democrats get voted in, as well as £460-million more in schools and colleges in the South West over the next parliament.

The funding would include £35.7-million for Cornwall and it would be spent on reversing cuts to frontline school and college budgets, protecting per pupil funding in real terms and ensuring no school loses out from changes to funding arrangements.

£32-million of the funding in the region would be spent on protecting the Pupil Premium, introduced by the Liberal Democrats to help the most disadvantaged children.

It would amount to around £750,000 extra per school, enough to employ an estimated 1,840 teachers across the region.

Mr Farron said: “Two thirds of our schools in England over the next two months are planning to lay off teachers including at least one post. So our pledge today is to put £7-billion into schools’ funding by reversing the corporation tax cut and redirecting other spending, because we believe that schools are a priority.

“Only the Liberal Democrats can provide the strong opposition Britain needs to stand up for the West Country.”

Mr Rogerson echoed those statements, saying: “I’m a school governor in North Cornwall as well and I see, as we’ve heard from Tim, that the cuts mean that schools are having to lay teachers off and, talking to other governors in other schools, that’s a real threat and we can’t have that.

“This is crucial for our future, not just individually for these young people to give them the best chances, but how are we going to compete with other countries in having the best-educated and best-skilled workforce in the future?”

The local elections in North Cornwall were held on May 4. The upcoming General Election takes place on June 8.

Mr Farron said: “The results of the local elections last week are massively positive for us Liberal Democrats topping the polls very clearly here in the North Cornwall area.”

Mr Rogerson echoed his party leader, saying: “It was an unexpected General Election which coincided with the local elections and it’s pretty much become one campaign as the issues are the same in that we’re fighting for good public services in North Cornwall and we’re standing up to the cuts that the Westminster government are imposing on us. That’s why I was really pleased that we had such a strong performance here in North Cornwall in the local elections.

“We elected 16 out of the 21 councillors and the Conservatives only got three, so I think that shows that the Liberal Democrats’ strength is here and its about having all those conversations on the doorsteps with people to show that their vote locally can make a difference nationally and if they have an MP that’s willing to speak up for those concerns, not just here in Cornwall but on the stage in Westminster as well.”

While there are concerns over cuts to education funding, the Liberal Democrats are also looking at infrastructure, farming and housing in the area.

Mr Farron noted concerns about what farm payments may look like in the future, and affordable homes.

He said: “North Cornwall is one of those areas in the country where the average house prices are multiple times more than average incomes and providing affordable homes and preventing them bleeding off into the second homes market is utterly critical if schools like this have enough children to be able to keep them going.”

Mr Rogerson agreed with Mr Farron, stating his belief that more needs to be done for the people of North Cornwall and what areas he wants to focus on, saying: “I’ve also made it a priority to get investment in infrastructure such as the A30 at Temple, Superfast Broadband and looking at rail links to improve access to and from Cornwall and bringing trains to Okehampton and so on. All these things can help local businesses and help the local economy.”

Mr Farron certainly believes that Mr Rogerson is the best man for the job, adding: “Dan is the best farming minister that I have known in the 12 years I have been a member of parliament. That’s because he understood and understands rural communities like this and he fights for them. He does what’s best for his community and that’s what North Cornwall needs.”

- Also standing in the North Cornwall Constituency is John Allman (Christian People’s Alliance), Joy Bassett (Labour Party), Robert Hawkins (Socialist Labour Party), Scott Mann (Conservative Party).