A CORNISH politician who has dedicated more than 40 years to standing up for the needs and concerns of local communities is hoping to build on his successes by standing for Parliament.

Roger Holmes, a well-known figure in many areas of Cornish life, has been selected to represent Mebyon Kernow in the South East Cornwall constituency at the forthcoming General Election.

With Mr Holmes' selection, the Party for Cornwall now has a full quota of five candidates representing all of Cornwall's Parliamentary seats. They are: Dick Cole (St Austell and Newquay), Loveday Jenkin (Camborne and Redruth), Simon Reed (St Ives), Loic Rich (Truro and Falmouth), Joanie Willett (North Cornwall) and Roger Holmes (South East Cornwall).

A respected local councillor, Mr Holmes has served Liskeard as an elected member for more than 40 years. The son of a local GP, he joined Mebyon Kernow in 1967 and was elected to Liskeard Borough Council the following year at the age of only 23. He was a member on Caradon District Council from 1973 to 1983, served on the governing body of a primary school for nine years and also on the Cornwall Rural Development Programme which covered the whole of rural Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

He continues to sit on Liskeard Town Council and has twice served his home town as mayor. A passionate supporter of town and parish councils, he has represented his community on Cornwall Association of Local Councils for many years and is currently its vice-chairman.

Within Mebyon Kernow, he has been a long-standing member of the National Executive and served the party in a number of roles, including a spell as National Secretary in the early 1980s. But as well as being a prominent MK activist, he has promoted a wide range of causes close to his heart through a number of Cornish and other organisations.

An advocate of increased European co-operation, he has been the driving force behind the Cornish Bureau for European Relations, through which he has sought to build links between Cornwall and other European nations and regions. For his services to Cornwall, Roger was honoured with a bardship in 1991.

Speaking after his selection "It is a great honour and privilege to be asked to take this on," he said.

"It is increasingly clear that the people of South East Cornwall are fed up with the status quo and that they want a change. I believe that my long experience and proven commitment provide that possibility. They will now be able to choose a real change in approach."

Chairman of Mebyon Kernow's South East Cornwall constituency party, Andrew Long, said: "Roger is an experienced councillor and a campaigner of great personal integrity, who has dedicated his life to fighting for a better deal for Cornwall."

The party's five candidates are now campaigning to raise awareness of the party's core values.

In a joint statement, they said: "MK exists to fight for all the people of Cornwall, with a political programme that puts Cornwall first and offers an alternative to the London-centred parties.

"We will play our part in building a confident and outward-looking Cornwall that has the power to take decisions for itself. To achieve this, our detailed policies are founded on the core values of prosperity for all, social justice and environmental protection.

"Cornwall needs MPs who will stand up and fight for the best interests of local people and to protect public services.

"But there is a better alternative and we appeal to one and all to look beyond the main London-based political parties and consider supporting a Cornish political party that is one hundred per cent committed to local communities.

"A vote for MK will be a positive statement that we want Cornish communities to thrive, our economy to prosper and a clear statement that we are confident in the ability of local people to make the political decisions that matter."

For more details visit: www.mebyon kernow.org