The campaign for Cornish devolution began in 2000 with the founding of the Cornish Constitutional Convention, a cross-party, cross-sector association that campaigns for devolution to Cornwall.[1] In 2001, the Convention sent 50,000 individually signed declarations calling for a Cornish Assembly to 10 Downing Street, during the then-government's attempt at introducing regional assemblies, however the call went unanswered.[2] The act of turning Cornwall County Council into a unitary authority in 2009 was based on the idea that it would give Cornwall a stronger voice and be a "stepping stone" to a Cornish Assembly,[3] and a "Government of Cornwall" bill was introduced to the UK Parliament in the same year by Cornish MP Dan Rogerson, but did not succeed.[4]
Following the announcement of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, and with promises of more devolution across the UK from Westminster politicians, there were renewed calls for devolution to Cornwall.[5] In November 2014 a petition was launched on the government petitions website campaigning for a Cornish Assembly.[6] A law-making Cornish Assembly is party policy for the Liberal Democrats, Mebyon Kernow, the Yorkshire Party, and the Greens.[7][8]
Background
The exchequer hall of the Duchy Palace in Lostwithiel, site of the autonomous Cornish stannary courts and then-capital of Cornwall (the tinners parliament was last held in the Hall in 1751)
Cornwall enjoyed a level of self-government until 1753 through its Stannary Parliament. The privileges of the stannaries were confirmed on the creation of the Duchy of Cornwall in 1337, and strengthened by the 1508 Charter of Pardon, which came after the Cornish Rebellion of 1497 was partly instigated by anger over Henry VII's overturning of stannary rights to wage war against Scotland (see also Revived Cornish Stannary Parliament). Laws and maps of the time mentioned "Anglia et Cornubia" (England and Cornwall). With the decline of the Cornish language blurring the distinction between Cornish people and English people in the eyes of central government, Cornwall began to be administered as a county of England.
Cornwall County Council was created by the Local Government Act 1888. At the same time, the Celtic revival saw the emergence of Cornish nationalism. Although it was mainly concerned with culture in its early days, some inspiration was taken from the movements for Irish, Welsh and Scottish home rule, with a Cornish newspaper declaring in 1912, "There is another Home Rule movement on the horizon. Self-government for Cornwall will be the next move". The Cornish political party Mebyon Kernow was formed in 1951, calling for greater autonomy in what it hoped would become a federal UK.
Post Second World War Cornwall became increasingly linked with Devon in an economic, political and statistical sense (more recently this process has become known as "Devonwall-isation"), symbolised by the merging of Devon and Cornwall Police in 1967. With entry into the European Economic Community and the prospect of receiving European development funds, there was mounting evidence that the unpopular Devonwall process significantly disadvantaged Cornwall. Devon's relative wealth overshadowed Cornwall's low GDP and high deprivation, meaning that the single "Devonwall" area did not qualify for EU funding. In 1998 Cornwall was recognised by the UK Government as having "distinct cultural and historical factors reflecting a Celtic background", paving the way for NUTS2 region status and allowing Cornwall's issues to become visible.[9]
During the 1990s the pace of debate gathered parallel to discussions relating to National Minority status for the Cornish under the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, and recognition for the Cornish language within the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (both campaigns ultimately being successful). The calls for Cornish devolution also gained more widespread attention. In 1990, a Guardian newspaper editorial commented “Smaller minorities also have equally proud visions of themselves as irreducibly Welsh, Irish, Manx or Cornish. These identities are distinctly national in ways which proud people from Yorkshire, much less proud people from Berkshire will never know. Any new constitutional settlement which ignores these factors will be built on uneven ground."[citation needed]
Assembly campaign
In 2001, 50,000 signed declarations calling for a Cornish Assembly were presented to 10 Downing Street - over 10% of Cornwall's electorate.
In the late 1990s, devolution became a political issue in the UK with the creation of the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and Northern Ireland Assembly. Campaigners in Cornwall responded by campaigning for similar devolution in Cornwall, the Liberal Party called for a Cornish Parliament at the 1997 General Election, and in July 2000 Mebyon Kernow issued a "Declaration for a Cornish Assembly", which said:
"Cornwall is a distinct region. It has a clearly defined economic, administrative and social profile. Cornwall's unique identity reflects its Celtic character, culture and environment. We declare that the people of Cornwall will be best served in their future governance by a Cornish regional assembly. We therefore commit ourselves to setting up the Cornish Constitutional Convention with the intention of achieving a devolved Cornish Assembly - Senedh Kernow."
Three months later the Cornish Constitutional Convention (which had been meeting for some time as an informal discussion group) held its first open meeting to promote the objective of establishing a devolved Assembly. In less than two years, Mebyon Kernow's petition attracted the signatures of over 50,000 people calling for a referendum on a Cornish Assembly, which is a little over 10% of the total Cornish electorate. A delegation including MK leader Dick Cole, West Cornwall Liberal Democrat MP Andrew George and representatives of the Convention (Richard Ford, David Fieldsend and Andrew Climo)[10] presented the declaration to 10 Downing Street on Wednesday 12 December 2001.[2] The Labour government did not respond to the petition, and continued to promote its own plans for English regional assemblies, placing Cornwall within the South West region. The plans were put on hold when voters overwhelmingly rejected a regional assembly in the North East of England in 2004.
In 2007, the Labour government announced plans to abolish regional assemblies.[11] The then Cornish MP Dan Rogerson asked the government to look again at the case for a locally accountable Cornish Assembly and Cornish Development Agency, "in light of the important convergence funding from the EU".[citation needed] The same year, the then leader of Cornwall County Council David Whalley stated "There is something inevitable about the journey to a Cornish Assembly. We are also moving forward in creating a Cornish Development Agency - we are confident that strategic planning powers will come back to us after the SW regional assembly goes."
In 2008 Parliament agreed plans to create a unitary authority for Cornwall, abolishing the six district councils. Leaders at the time claimed that the unitary would provide a "single voice" for Cornwall to demand greater powers, and be a "stepping stone" to a Cornish Assembly.[citation needed]
In 2011 Bert Biscoe, of the Cornish Constitutional Convention, commissioned a researcher to visit Guernsey as part of the devolution campaign, to meet politicians and lawmakers and see if the island's system of government could be of inspiration to Cornwall.[12]
The new Cameron–Clegg coalition government abolished the South West Regional Development Agency and replaced it with local enterprise partnerships. In 2014 the government announced plans to place Cornish EU funds into a nationally run programme, depriving Cornwall of its ability to allocate where the money goes. This decision was later reversed and Cornwall was granted the autonomy to manage its own EU funds.[13]
In 2014, Mebyon Kernow relaunched its campaign for a Cornish Assembly with Towards a National Assembly for Cornwall.[17] It argues that Cornwall currently "lacks the tools to make important political, economic, environmental and social decisions for itself", and that government bodies, quangos and agencies "fail to recognise the strengths of Cornwall or understand the special needs of its communities". The paper proposes a forty-member assembly with a first minister and executive that has power over the following areas:
Agriculture, fisheries and food
Environment and heritage (planning, monuments, national records)
Education and skills
Culture (sport, language, the arts, broadcasting)
Local government
Justice and administration (courts, charities, electoral review)
Economic development (enterprise, industry, energy, technology, science)
Transport
Health
In September 2014, the then St Ives MP Andrew George called on Cornwall to use the Scottish independence referendum as an opportunity to mount a campaign for devolution, saying "If Scotland and Wales can be offered further powers then Cornwall must be next in line. After all, Cornwall is already recognised as a distinct region for economic development purposes, as a separate people and for its distinct language."[18] Earlier in the year, the Liberal Democrats voted to make a Cornish Assembly party policy at their annual conference in York, although their ideas have been criticised by Mebyon Kernow as "nothing more than local government reform".[7]
The Liberal Democrats announced that a Cornish Assembly would be in their manifesto for the 2015 general election, proposing a "Devolution Enabling Act" that would give Cornwall the chance to take law-making powers from Westminster. Prospective MP Julia Goldsworthy said "we need real devolution in Cornwall too. Not just more power for local government, but a proper legislative assembly for Cornwall like Wales has."[19] In March 2015, visiting Cornwall on St Piran's Day, Liberal Democrat leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg elaborated on his party's plans, saying "Cornwall could choose to have different rules to England on a whole range of policy areas like academy schools, health service spending, right-to-buy, second home ownership and bus services."[20]
The leader of the Conservative group in Cornwall Council, Fiona Ferguson, called the plans to ask government for more powers for Cornwall to govern itself "very attractive".[21] In January 2015 Labour'sShadow ChancellorEd Balls pledged greater "flexibility" in local decision making during a visit to Cornwall.[22]
In March 2015, Cornwall Council published The Case for Cornwall, a booklet containing its proposals for devolution in areas of transport, energy, health, social care, housing, economy and heritage.[23] Council leader John Pollard stated that following initial discussions, a "more detailed document" would be submitted to the government following the 2015 election.[24]
In July 2015 the UK government devolved control over bus services in Cornwall to the unitary council. According to the council's transport portfolio holder, Bert Biscoe, the deal gives him far more control over buses, strengthening his ability to ensure that routes run in rural areas - which private bus companies might find uncommercial.[25] The integration of health and social services in Cornwall was also announced.[26] The implementation of the changes required the passing of the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016.
Support
Popular support for devolved power in Cornwall was shown when a 50,000 petition for a Cornish Assembly was handed to the government in 2001.[2] The petition had the support of all five Cornish Liberal Democrat MPs, Cornwall Council and most independent councillors. The same year, the leader of the unionist Liberal Democrats in the Scottish Parliament, Jim Wallace, expressed his support for an Assembly.[27] In 2003, a Cornwall County Council-commissioned MORI poll showed a result of 55% of Cornish people in favour of a fully devolved Cornish Assembly.[16]Lord Whitty, as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions, in the House of Lords, recognised that Cornwall had a "special case" for devolution[28] and on a visit to Cornwall, Deputy Prime MinisterJohn Prescott said "Cornwall has the strongest regional identity in the UK."
In December 2011, Welsh MP Jonathan Edwards submitted an Early Day Motion requesting a Cornish Assembly. The bid was sponsored by Cornish MPs Dan Rogerson and Andrew George, as well as Welsh MPs Elfyn Llwyd and Hywel Williams and English MP John McDonnell. The Motion was also signed by Labour, Liberal Democrats, Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru MPs.[29] In February 2012, Eden Project founder Tim Smit added his support for a Cornish Assembly in an interview with BBC Spotlight. He hoped that greater devolution of powers and control of finances to Cornwall would aid in the development of green and other innovative technologies by Cornish companies.[30] In May 2014, leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, Natalie Bennett, expressed her party's support for a Cornish Assembly and signed a declaration to support Mebyon Kernow's proposals.[31] In September 2014, a Pirate FM poll on a Cornish Assembly ended with 64% in favour of greater powers for Cornwall.[32]
A poll carried of 500 voters in the Camborne and Redruth constituency by Survation for the University of Exeter in November 2014 found that 60% were in favour of power being devolved from Westminster to Cornwall, with only 19% opposed and 49% were in favour of the creation of a Cornish Assembly, with 31% opposed.[33]
In 2014 Mebyon Kernow's online poll petitioning The UK Prime Minister and Cabinet to "Create a Cornish Assembly" achieved 2,667 supporters.[17]
The Cornish Nationalist Party is a political party, founded by Dr James Whetter, who campaigned for independence for Cornwall.
Mebyon Kernow – The Party for Cornwall is a Cornish nationalist, centre-left political party in Cornwall, in southwestern Britain. It currently has five elected councillors on Cornwall Council, and several town and parish councillors across Cornwall.
Politics of England forms the major part of the wider politics of the United Kingdom, with England being more populous than all the other countries of the United Kingdom put together. As England is also by far the largest in terms of area and GDP, its relationship to the UK is somewhat different from that of Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. The English capital London is also the capital of the UK, and English is the dominant language of the UK. Dicey and Morris (p26) list the separate states in the British Islands. "England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, and Sark.... is a separate country in the sense of the conflict of laws, though not one of them is a State known to public international law." But this may be varied by statute.
The constitutional status of Cornwall has been a matter of debate and dispute. Cornwall is an administrative county of England.
Daniel John Rogerson is a Cornish Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Cornwall from the 2005 general election until his defeat at the 2015 general election. In October 2013, he became the Liberal Democrat Minister at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, holding the office until losing his Parliamentary seat to Conservative candidate Scott Mann.
The Cornish people or Cornish are an ethnic group native to, or associated with Cornwall and a recognised national minority in the United Kingdom, which can trace its roots to the Brittonic Celtic ancient Britons who inhabited Great Britain from somewhere between the 11th and 7th centuries BC and inhabited Britain at the time of the Roman conquest. Many in Cornwall today continue to assert a distinct identity separate from or in addition to English or British identities. Cornish identity has also been adopted by some migrants into Cornwall, as well as by emigrant and descendant communities from Cornwall, the latter sometimes referred to as the Cornish diaspora. Although not included as a tick-box option in the UK census, the numbers of those writing in a Cornish ethnic and national identity are officially recognised and recorded.
Dick Cole is a Cornish politician, currently serving as an elected member of Cornwall Council and the leader of the Cornish devolutionist political party, Mebyon Kernow, a role he has held since 1997. He is currently one of the longest serving political leaders in Britain. Dick Cole was first elected MK leader in 1997.
Cornwall Council, known between 1889 and 2009 as Cornwall County Council, is the local authority which governs the non-metropolitan county of Cornwall in South West England. Since 2009 it has been a unitary authority, having taken over district-level functions when the county's districts were abolished. The non-metropolitan county of Cornwall is slightly smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes the Isles of Scilly. The council has had a Conservative Party majority since the 2021 local elections. Its headquarters is Lys Kernow in Truro.
The South West Regional Assembly (SWRA) was the regional chamber for South West England, established in 1999. It was wound up in December 2008. Its functions were taken on by the Strategic Leaders' Board, the executive arm of the newly established South West Councils.
Cornwall is administered as a county of South West England whose politics are influenced by a number of issues that make it distinct from the general political scene in the wider United Kingdom, and the political trends of neighbouring counties. Its position on the geographical periphery of the island of Great Britain is also a factor.
The Royal Commission on the Constitution, also referred to as the Kilbrandon Commission or Kilbrandon Report, was a long-running royal commission set up by Harold Wilson's Labour government to examine the structures of the constitution of the United Kingdom and the British Islands and the government of its constituent countries, and to consider whether any changes should be made to those structures. It was started under Lord Crowther on 15 April 1969, Lord Kilbrandon took over in 1972, and it finally reported on 31 October 1973.
Cornish nationalism is a cultural, political and social movement that seeks the recognition of Cornwall – the south-westernmost part of the island of Great Britain – as a nation distinct from England. It is usually based on three general arguments:
Devonwall was a political concept introduced in the United Kingdom in the 1970s by the Conservative government. It was an attempt to link Cornwall and Devon together in an economic, political and statistical sense to form a South West region. This involved combining and centralising some local government functions and services such as the police, ambulance, fire services and media output such as local TV and newspapers.
Cornish devolution is the movement to increase the governing powers of the County of Cornwall.
The Cornish Constitutional Convention was formed in November 2000 with the objective of establishing a devolved Cornish Assembly. The convention is a cross-party, cross-sector association with support both in Cornwall and elsewhere. It is not campaigning for any form of separatism or independence.
The Cornwall Council election, 2009, was an election for all 123 seats on the council. Cornwall Council is a unitary authority that covers the majority of the ceremonial county of Cornwall, with the exception of the Isles of Scilly which have an independent local authority. The elections took place concurrently with other local elections across England and Wales as well as the UK component of the elections to the European Parliament. Cornwall had seen its district and county councils abolished, replaced by a single 123-member Cornish unitary authority, for which councillors were elected for a full term.
In the United Kingdom, devolution is the Parliament of the United Kingdom's statutory granting of a greater level of self-government to the Scottish Parliament, the Senedd, the Northern Ireland Assembly and the London Assembly and to their associated executive bodies: the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, the Northern Ireland Executive and in England, the Greater London Authority and combined authorities.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Cornwall: Cornwall – ceremonial county and unitary authority area of England within the United Kingdom. Cornwall is a peninsula bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall is also a royal duchy of the United Kingdom. It has an estimated population of half a million and it has its own distinctive history and culture.
Federalism in the United Kingdom aims at constitutional reform to achieve a federal UK or a British federation, where there is a division of legislative powers between two or more levels of government, so that sovereignty is decentralised between a federal government and autonomous governments in a federal system.
The 2025 Cornwall Council election will be held on Thursday 1 May 2025 to elect all 87 councillors to Cornwall Council in England. It will take place on the same day as other council elections in the United Kingdom.
References
↑ Cornish Constitutional Convention, About, retrieved 20 September 2014
↑ "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 22 Oct 1998 (pt 23)". parliament.uk. Retrieved 11 April 2016. Cornwall has been allowed to split off from Devon because of a 'recognition of the very different economic conditions of the counties and Cornwall's sparsity of population, geographic peripherality and distinct cultural and historical factors reflecting a Celtic background.'
↑ "Eden Project tackles fuel poverty with co-op plan". BBC News. 14 February 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2016. – link to full interview on BBC Spotlight Facebook page, video 1 has his support for a Cornish assembly, video 3 details his support for devolution of powers to Cornwall.
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