EU funding programmes and farm subsidies in Cornwall will continue to be available if the UK voted to leave the European Union, say three of the county’s MPs — but their comments have drawn criticism from Mebyon Kernow.

Conservative MPs for North Cornwall’s Scott Mann, St Austell and Newquay’s Steve Double and St Ives’ Derek Thomas, who will all be voting to leave the EU in the referndum on June 23, claim EU funding will continue to flow into Cornwall the day after a Brexit vote and beyond.

But their comments have been condemned by Mebyon Kernow’s economy spokesperson Andrew Long, who is also the Cornwall Councillor for Callington.

Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly is currently benefiting from the EU’s Structural and Investment Growth Programme (2014-2020) — made up of the European Social Fund, the European Regional Development Fund and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.

With concerns being raised by people in Cornwall that EU funding may disappear upon a Brexit vote, the three MPs claim the Duchy will still benefit directly from EU development funding and Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments during a two-year exit process, as well as from central government in future years after membership fee payments cease.

Mr Mann said: “All the money that we get in EU funding is essentially from British taxpayers. Over half of our membership fee this year won’t come back to the UK whatsoever. If we used all of our gross contribution to cover ‘lost’ EU spending, we would have an extra £11-billion to spend on priorities such as the NHS and schools which usually disappears into EU coffers.

“Farmers rely heavily on CAP payments, and they can rest assured that we will stand squarely behind them during a Brexit. They won’t be left to fend for themselves.”

There have also been suggestions that Cornwall would get £200-million more in structural funding if regional policy was repatriated to the UK government. This is according to a study in 2012 by the ‘Open Europe’ think-tank.

But Cllr Long criticised the MPs’ claims: “These claims are at best fanciful and at worse a crude attempt to fool the electorate. The reality of the situation is that over the last 30 years, it is the London Government that has continually ignored Cornwall and its people.

“Funding for basic services and infrastructure has been well below the UK average and, as such, we are now rock bottom of the economic regions in terms of GDP and the fault lies squarely with Westminster. There is not one guarantee that the funding will continue.

“We have qualified for three rounds of EU funding in an attempt to get ourselves out of the economic hole that the UK government has placed us in.

“These claims that funding would continue hold no credibility. Despite protests for the last ten years, funding for the rail network continues to be spent on HS2 and the South East and once again we will be the last region to get assistance. Spending on education is way below the national average, funding for local government has been cut, and all this from a government who claim to be looking after the whole of these islands. It will come as no surprise that the people of Cornwall will simply not believe this latest claim.”

Cllr Long is urging businesses across the region to register any interest they have for accessing EU funding early, as the Cornwall and Isles Of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership and Cornwall Council gear up for the new funding streams.

Cllr Long said: “After a two-year delay caused mainly by interference from Whitehall, we are finally getting confirmation that the Growth Hub set up by the Local Enterprise Partnership and Cornwall Council will be going live very soon.

“The Growth Hub will be an effective ‘One Stop Shop’ that businesses can use to see which stream of funding would be suitable for their business rather than have to hunt around themselves. The hub was proposed by the council back in 2010 but due to the delays from the government, they are only now able to gear themselves up for action.”

Any businesses wishing to contact the Hub can call the National Business Support Helpline 0300 456 3565 or email the hub on [email protected], or more information is available at www.ciosgrowthhub.com