THE Prime Minister says he supports the introduction of an overnight tourism levy for Cornwall and that it could be a massive game changer for the county.

Andy Burnham was on a flying visit to the Duchy today (Saturday, August 15) to unveil a £65 million funding package for farmers, amid fears hot, dry weather could drive up food prices on supermarket shelves.

He visited the family-run Colwyn Farm at Perranwell Station, near Truro, as part of a morning schedule, which also saw a trip to The Arborist café at Killiow, also near the city.

Mr Burnham wrote to Cornwall Council leaders and our six MPs earlier this week saying he supported devolution plans for the Duchy. He added that he hoped to find himself on a beach eating a Cornish pasty very soon.

It turned out his visit was a lot sooner than people expected. He wasn’t on a beach but at the idyllic setting of The Arborist where council leader Cllr Leigh Frost unexpectedly presented him with a box of Barnecutts pasties, which were quickly and greedily packed away by the Prime Minister’s minions.

Sat opposite the PM in the café’s reading room, I mentioned I was at a Local Democracy Reporter conference at Media City in Manchester last November where Mr Burnham spoke to a room full of political journalists. During a Q&A, he didn’t go quite as far as saying he felt Cornwall should enter into a Devonwall-style combined mayor-led authority with other South West areas, but it was obvious he favoured that model.

There is now the move to make Cornwall a single foundation strategic authority. Has his opinion changed? Is he happy for Cornwall to go its own way without the need for a mayor or a political hook-up with Devon?

“It’s not my opinion that matters about the form that devolution should take at a local level,” he told me. “It’s got to feel right to people here because if you try and foist something on to people it won’t work. It’s got to be bottom up.

“Personally, I still see the case for a combined authority, but I’m ready to go with a Cornish devolution deal. If the six MPs and the leader of the council are ready to come to me and say ‘that’s what we want’, I’m ready to give you that devolution deal.

“So the offer from me to the leader of the council today will be, if you want it, I would like it cross-party so come together with the MPs, come to No 10 North, let’s get around the table and let’s thrash out a devolution deal for Cornwall.”

Would that mean that Cornwall could lose out on some of the benefits that a mayor-led authority might bring, such as his plan to allow mayors to keep a share of income tax?

“I think you have to recognise the form that you take may then have implications in terms of what can be devolved and how quickly, because a bigger authority has that ability to take on more.

“If you think about policing – obviously policing is dual counties in this part of the world – so the form does have implications, but I’m looking at giving the best I can and I want good growth in every postcode and that is true of every postcode in Cornwall.”

It was then that the Prime Minister revealed he was in favour of a ‘tourism tax’ being introduced in Cornwall.

“I am prepared to look at an overnight visitor levy for Cornwall. People in the tourism industry might say ‘woah, hang on, what will that mean for us?’ but it’s something that tourists from Britain are paying all over Europe this summer, so actually it could be something of a game changer for Cornwall.

“I don’t think people resent the idea of a few extra pounds on a hotel or Airbnb bill because you’re using the services. It’s not fair, actually, to pay for all of the services and infrastructure from council tax – that’s a burden that residents can’t carry on their own.

“Cornwall wouldn’t have to do it, but it’s just there as a possibility and I’m keen to not just give that power to mayors if there are parts of the coastal and rural economy that want those powers early and are prepared to move early for a devolution deal.”

He’s no doubt got the message in recent weeks from Cornwall Council and our MPs that Cornwall is unique and is obviously also aware of the bid by the local authority for Cornwall to be recognised as the fifth nation of the UK. Does he see that happening during his tenure?

“I think that might be pushing too far from my point of view. There were moments where I thought about declaring independence in Greater Manchester, but it never got to that point!

“I believe in a United Kingdom. I’m not saying you’re going all the way to independence, but let’s get you going properly with a devolution deal. I think focus on that, as that’s practical and here and now. That could change lives in two or three years. That could get growth going in every postcode in a short period of time.”

He added: “I think Cornwall is a jewel in the UK’s crown, we love it and have all got memories of it, but has the UK looked after Cornwall as much as it may? I would say no – the infrastructure isn’t what it should be and there’s a fragility to some of the services down here.”

Mr Burnham believes that devolution would also help the challenges that the farming community are facing in Cornwall as “they’re different from other parts of the country. If you have control of post-16 education, that a massive benefit for the farming industry here”.

Chatting about the struggles the hospitality trade is facing and the 20% cut in business rates announced for next year, Mr Burnham added: “It’s great to be in this business, The Arborist, in Truro on the old golf course – it’s an amazing business with music nights at a family location.

“It really speaks to what hospitality businesses do – they give life, they give people a lift, they build a sense of community and togetherness, hence they deserve extra support. We need to give them the ability to do more of those good things that benefit society.

“We’ve made a start with the commitment to a 20% business rates cut for pubs, but there’s going to be a stage two and we’re looking towards the budget later this year to see what more we can do. I can’t make firm commitments today because, as you know, it’s tough out there in terms of finances, but hospitality brings something unique to the high street and our communities and it deserves our support.”

Mr Burnham said he wanted people to know during his visit “that No 10 North is as much at the services of Cornwall as it is of the north of England.

“The point is it’s giving leaders here a single conduit through the centre of government into that Whitehall system and making that Whitehall system come back with a single plan for Cornwall, rather than passing round leaders from pillar to post and all the departments.

“It’s about growth going more quickly and getting power out and down. People are making a mistake if they think of it as a gimmick. No 10 North could make a big difference for Cornwall and do it very quickly.

“The old way of working through Whitehall silos hasn’t got the growth going in the way it needs to”.

Joined at The Arborist by Truro and Falmouth’s Labour MP Jayne Kirkham, the PM added that the Cornish MPs (the two Lib Dem members as well as the four Labour MPs) are doing a “fantastic job in representing the needs of this county back to Westminster and me specifically – they have made representations about issues around second homes and housing prices as it’s particularly felt in this part of the world”.

He finished his chat by saying: “I come back to the idea of an overnight visitor levy – I think it could be a major game changer in Cornwall, if it’s pitched the right way. Just start with a level that is fair. That is a new revenue stream and then you can borrow against that revenue stream.

“It could be massive for this county. Let’s get into that conversation sooner rather than later. By this time next year I would hope to be coming down where that devolution deal is already in place and delivering benefits for the people of Cornwall.”

Then he was off to catch a five-hour train back to London, mentioning how connectivity needs to improve between Cornwall and the rest of the country as he walked past surprised café customers.