You are probably right (not about the lamebrian bit, no need for that kind of derision), but the cruise ship operation at Dover is now significant (although granted it's mainly in Spring/Summer/Autumn) and way, way bigger than anything that Falmouth (or wider Devon/Cornwall) could support.
NQY suffers even more from where it is than MSE does, of course. The former could never be a freight hub, whereas MSE sees multiple daily heavy freighter ops on some days of the week currently (and from big players in that industry, the likes of Cargolux).
The local MP seems to think he has identified a credible backer who says he can make it work, so let's see.