Camborne and Redruth: battle lines drawn in key Cornish seat

Perran Moon, Labour’s candidate for Camborne and Redruth, said “we are absolutely not happy”.

“But the threshold looks pretty strong at the moment,” he added.

He said he would focus on creating jobs in renewable energy.

“We have huge opportunities with our tin, lithium and renewables businesses, all of which will help us transition our economy away from fossil fuels while creating hundreds of new, high-skilled, high-paying jobs.” he said.

Thalia Marrington, the Lib Dem candidate for Camborne and Redruth, who is also a councilor in Cornwall, said she would focus on affordable housing, environmental issues and reducing violence against women.

She said she wanted to be elected “by being honest with people”.

“Everyone is so sick of every politician … we have to win back trust,” she said.

Asked about the potential of tactical voting, she said: “I don’t like it because it’s a negative way to vote, I’d like people to vote positively for someone they really want.”

Tactical voting occurs when a voter abandons their preferred party or candidate and votes for one with a better chance of winning at the local level.

Catherine Hayes, a town councilor from Hayle, sits in the Green Party seat.

The party is campaigning on the message of “speaking up for social justice, better understanding for local communities and meaningful action to accelerate the climate emergency”.

“I think we’re supporting what people really need,” Ms Hayes said.

“We’re really looking at the housing crisis properly … and we’re looking at the water companies – they need to be bought back into public ownership.”

Roger Tarrant, Reform UK candidate for Camborne and Redruth, said many people felt “politically homeless”.

“The other parties all seem to want the same thing – open borders, net zero, increasingly stifling regulations that hurt business,” he said.

“Reformation is against all these things.”

Paul Holmes, who is for the Liberal Party, said he wanted more young people in work.

“We need apprentices, not Mickey Mouse college degrees,” he said.

He said Brexit had been “wasted so far” and Britain should trade with the Commonwealth and invest in its “traditional industries”.

Robert Hawkins, who represents the Socialist Labor Party, said he wanted Britain to be “completely” separated from the EU and the party would consider abolishing VAT.

He said the tax was “totally unfair” because “the very rich man pays the same as the very poor man”.

“We would take care of the working class, not the bosses,” he said.