Cornwall Council

Last updated

Cornwall Council

Konsel Kernow
Whole council elected every four years
Arms of Cornwall Council.svg
Coat of arms
Cornwall Council logo.svg
Council logo
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 1889
Leadership
Pauline Giles,
Conservative
since 25 May 2021 [1]
Linda Taylor,
Conservative
since 25 May 2021
Kate Kennally
since 11 January 2016 [2]
Structure
Seats87(44 needed for a majority)
Konsel Kernow 2021.svg
Political groups
Administration (43)
  Conservative (42)
Other parties (44)
  Independent (20)
  Liberal Democrat (13)
  Labour (6)
  Mebyon Kernow (5)
  Green Party (1)
Length of term
4 years
Elections
First-past-the-post
Last election
 6 May 2021
Next election
 1 May 2025
Meeting place
Lys Kernow 2023.jpg
Lys Kernow, Treyew Road, Truro, TR1 3AY
Website
www.cornwall.gov.uk

Cornwall Council (Cornish : Konsel Kernow), known between 1889 and 2009 as Cornwall County Council (Cornish : Konteth Konsel Kernow), 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 is under no overall control since July 2024, when the Conservatives lost their majority. [3] Its headquarters is Lys Kernow (also known as New County Hall) in Truro.

Contents

History

Elected county councils were established in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888, taking over administrative functions previously carried out by unelected magistrates at the quarter sessions. The first elections to the county council were held in January 1889 and it formally came into being on 1 April 1889, on which day it held its first formal meeting at the Municipal Buildings in Truro. The first chairman of the council was William Edgcumbe, 4th Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, a Conservative peer. [4] [5]

Until 1974 the lower tier of local government comprised numerous boroughs, urban districts and rural districts. In 1974 the lower tier of local government was reorganised and Cornwall was left with six districts: Caradon, Carrick, Kerrier, North Cornwall, Penwith, and Restormel. [6]

On 1 April 2009, the six districts were abolished as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England and their functions taken over by the county council, which was renamed 'Cornwall Council'. [7] [8]

Devolution

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. [9] In 2009 the Liberal Democrat MP Dan Rogerson introduced a bill in parliament seeking to take power from Whitehall and regional quangos and pass it to Cornwall Council, with the intention of making the council an assembly similar to the National Assembly for Wales. [10] In November 2010 the Prime Minister, David Cameron, suggested in comments to the local press that his government would "devolve a lot of power to Cornwall – that will go to the Cornish unitary authority." [11] In 2011, the then Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said he would meet a cross party group, including the six Cornish MPs, to look at whether more powers could be devolved to Cornwall. [12]

Some powers were eventually devolved from the government to Cornwall Council in 2015, relating to matters including bus franchising, education and apprenticeships, renewable energy and energy efficiency and integration of health and social care services. [13] [14] Further devolved powers were agreed in November 2023, including in relation to adult education and Cornish distinctiveness and promotion of the Cornish language. [15]

Governance

Since 2009, Cornwall Council has provided both county-level and district-level services. The whole county is also divided into civil parishes, which form a second tier of local government. [16]

Political control

The council was under Conservative majority control from the 2021 election until July 2024. [3]

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows: [17] [18]

Non-metropolitan county

Party in controlYears
Independent 1974–1985
No overall control 1985–1993
Liberal Democrats 1993–1997
No overall control 1997–2005
Liberal Democrats 2005–2009

Unitary authority

Party in controlYears
No overall control 2009–2021
Conservative 2021–2024
No overall control 2024–present

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 2005 have been: [19]

CouncillorPartyFromTo
David Whalley [20] Liberal Democrats May 20054 Jun 2009
Alec Robertson Conservative 23 Jun 200916 Oct 2012
Jim Currie Conservative 16 Oct 20125 May 2013
John Pollard Independent 21 May 201323 May 2017
Adam Paynter Liberal Democrats 23 May 201721 May 2019
Julian German Independent 21 May 201925 May 2021
Linda Taylor Conservative 25 May 2021

Composition

Following the 2021 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to July 2024, the composition of the council was:

PartyCouncillors
Conservative 43
Independent 20
Liberal Democrats 13
Labour 5
Mebyon Kernow 5
Green 1
Total:87

Mebyon Kernow and the Green councillor sit together as a group. Of the independent councillors, 15 form the "Independent Group", another four do not belong to a group and there is one 'Independent Conservative Aligned'. [21] [3] The next election is due in 2025.

Elections

Cornwall Council Electoral Divisions map as of May 2021 Cornwall Council political divisions May 2021 map.svg
Cornwall Council Electoral Divisions map as of May 2021

Since the last boundary changes in 2021 the county has been divided into 87 electoral divisions, each electing one councillor. Elections are held every four years. [22] [23]

Premises

The council has its headquarters at Lys Kernow, also known as New County Hall, on Treyew Road in Truro. It was purpose-built for the council and opened in 1966. [24]

Old County Hall, Truro: Council's headquarters 1912-1966 Old County Hall Truro.jpeg
Old County Hall, Truro: Council's headquarters 1912–1966

The quarter sessions which preceded the county council had generally met at the Shire Hall in Bodmin. From its first meeting in 1889 the county council chose instead to meet in Truro, where it initially met at the Municipal Buildings (later called City Hall, now the Hall for Cornwall). In 1912 the council moved to a new building at County Hall on Station Road in Truro, which served as the council's headquarters until 1966. [25] [26] [27]

Cultural services

Among the services provided by the council is a public library service which consists of a main library in Truro and smaller libraries in towns and some villages throughout Cornwall. There are also the following special libraries: Cornwall Learning Library, Cornish Studies Library, the Education Library Service, and the Performing Arts Library, as well as a mobile library service based at Threemilestone. [28]

Cultural projects

Cornwall Council is promoting ten cultural projects as part of a five-year culture strategy. One project is the development of a National Theatre of Cornwall, a collaboration of the Hall for Cornwall, Kneehigh Theatre, Eden Project and Wildworks. Cornwall Council has based its idea on the successful National Theatres of Scotland and Wales. [29]

Another of the projects is the proposed creation of a National Library of Cornwall to resolve inadequacies with the current storage of archives. [30] It is hoped that this will bring some important documents concerning Cornish history back to Cornwall as well as providing better public access to those records already held. Cornwall Council is also involved in the project to build a Stadium for Cornwall.

Cornish ethnic and national identity

Cornwall Council backs the campaign for the Cornish to be recognised as a National Minority in the UK. The council's then chief executive Kevin Lavery wrote a letter to the Government in 2010, writing, "Cornwall Council firmly believes that the UK Government should recognise the Cornish as a national minority under the terms of the Framework Convention." Adding that, "Cornwall Council believes that the Government's current restricted interpretation is discriminatory against the Cornish and contradicts the support it gives to Cornish culture and identity through its own departments." [31] Cornwall Council's support was officially reaffirmed as council policy in 2011 with the publication of the Cornish National Minority Report 2, signed and endorsed by the then leaders of every political grouping on the council. [32] The council took an active role in the promotion of the options for registering Cornish ethnicity and national identity on the 2011 UK Census. [33] The Cornish people were finally recognised as a National Minority by the British Government on 24 April 2014 and incorporated into the European Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities giving the Cornish the same status as the United Kingdom's other Celtic peoples, the Scots, the Welsh and the Irish. [34]

International relations

Since 2008 Cornwall Council and the former county council, together with Cornwall Enterprise, and Cornwall Sustainable Energy Partnership, have been involved with a Protocol of Cooperation between Cornwall and the Conseil général du Finistère in Brittany. The protocol aims to allow the two regions to work more closely on topics of common interest and engage in a knowledge exchange with the possibility of jointly applying for European funding. [35] Cornwall is also a member of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions, a partnership of European regions, which aims to promote and highlight the value of these regions to Europe. Cornwall comes under the Atlantic Arc Commission sub-division of 30 regions, which has been used to advertise the potential of renewable energy off the Cornish coast to Europe. [36] [37]

A scheme arising from these partnerships is MERiFIC (Marine Energy in Far Peripheral and Island Communities) which seeks to advance the adoption of marine energy across the two regions, including the Isles of Scilly. [38] The project has received £4 million of European funding that will be spent in Cornwall and Brittany. [39]

Cornwall County Council organised an event in Brussels in 2008 to promote various aspects of Cornwall, including the Cornish language, food and drink and showcasing Cornwall's design industry. This was part of the Celtic Connections programme of events put together by the Celtic nations as a showcase for culture in Europe. [40]

Various fact finding missions have been organised by councillors to study how other regions and small nations of Europe govern themselves successfully. Independent councillor, Bert Biscoe, organised a fact finding mission to Guernsey in 2011 to see if the island's system of government could be adapted to work in Cornwall. [41]

Since 2010 Cornwall Council has been a full observer member of the British–Irish Council due to the Cornish language falling under the BIC's areas of work. [42]

Economic projects

Cornwall Council, in partnership with the Eden Project, is bidding to have the world's first Green Investment Bank based in Cornwall. The council is also working with the NHS and Eden to tackle fuel poverty by creating a Cornwall Together co-op which will buy electricity at lower-than-market prices. [43] No further progress has been made on this since it was originally proposed.

Cornwall Council are servicing nearly 30 long term lender option borrower option loans (LOBOs) totalling £394 million. The council is locked into some of the deals until the year 2078, paying interest at more than double the current market rate. [44]

Notable members

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornwall</span> County of England

Cornwall is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised by Cornish and Celtic political groups as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, Devon to the east, and the English Channel to the south. The largest urban area in the county is a conurbation that includes the former mining towns of Redruth and Camborne, and the county town is the city of Truro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornish Nationalist Party</span> Political party in the United Kingdom

The Cornish Nationalist Party is a political party founded in 1975. It initially campaigned for independence for Cornwall but later supported devolved powers under central UK control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mebyon Kernow</span> Political party in 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.

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.

A Cornish Assembly is a proposed devolved law-making assembly for Cornwall along the lines of the Scottish Parliament, the Senedd and the Northern Ireland Assembly in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of Cornwall</span> South West England county

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornish nationalism</span> Nationalist movement in the United Kingdom

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:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devonwall</span> Proposed region of England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Jenkin</span> Cornish nationalist politician (1925-2002)

Richard Garfield Jenkin, was a Cornish nationalist politician and one of the founding members of Mebyon Kernow. He was also a Grand Bard of the Gorseth Kernow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Cornwall Council election</span>

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.

Loveday Elizabeth Trevenen Jenkin is a politician, biologist and language campaigner. She has been a member of Cornwall Council since 2011, and currently serves as councillor for Crowan, Sithney and Wendron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Cornwall Council election</span>

The Cornwall Council election, 2013, 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.

Rhisiart Tal-e-bot is a Welsh activist, Early Years lecturer who has been General Secretary of the Celtic League since 2006 and editor of Carn magazine since 2013. He is also the former president of the European Free Alliance Youth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kresen Kernow</span> Archive centre in Cornwall, England

Kresen Kernow in Redruth, United Kingdom is Cornwall's archive centre, home to the world's biggest collection of archive and library material related to Cornwall. Funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Cornwall Council and opened in 2019, it brings together the collections which were previously held at Cornwall Record Office, the Cornish Studies Library and Cornwall and Scilly Historic Environment Record as well as in various outstores.

Mebyon Kernow – The Party for Cornwall is a Cornish nationalist, centre-left political party in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It primarily campaigns for devolution to Cornwall in the form of a Cornish Assembly. It has representatives in local government, but has never succeeded in national elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of Cornwall</span> Overview of and topical guide to Cornwall

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bert Biscoe</span>

Bert Biscoe DL, also known by the bardic name Viajor Gans Geryow, is a Cornish politician, historian and bard of the Cornish Gorseth. Biscoe represented Cornwall Council's Truro Boscawen District as an independent Cornwall Councillor until 2019, serving as an independent Truro City Council Councillor for the new Boscawen & Redannick Ward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old County Hall, Truro</span> County building in Truro, Cornwall, England

Old County Hall is a municipal facility at Station Road in Truro, Cornwall. The old County Hall, which was the headquarters of Cornwall County Council from 1912 to 1966, is a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Cornwall Council election</span>

The 2021 Cornwall Council election took place on 6 May 2021 as part of the 2021 United Kingdom local elections. It was contested under new division boundaries as the number of seats on the council falls from 123 to 87. The election was won by the Conservative Party, who took an overall majority of seats.

Wendron was an electoral division of Cornwall in the United Kingdom which returned one member to sit on Cornwall Council from 2009 to 2013. From 2009 until his death in 2011, Mike Clayton represented the division as an Independent. Loveday Jenkin, the former leader of Mebyon Kernow and the runner up in the 2009 election, won the ensuing by-election and represented the division until it was abolished in 2013.

References

  1. ↑ "Council minutes, 25 May 2021". Cornwall Council. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  2. ↑ Johnstone, Peter (19 January 2016). "New Cornwall Council chief executive is in for the long haul". Falmouth Packet. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 Noble, Seb (26 July 2024). "Conservatives lose majority on Cornwall Council". BBC News Online . Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  4. ↑ "Cornwall County Council". Cornubian and Redruth Times. 5 April 1889. p. 7. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  5. ↑ "Timeline". Into Cornwall. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  6. ↑ "Carrick District Council". What do they know?. 4 March 2009. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  7. ↑ "Cornwall Council becomes the new unitary authority for Cornwall". Celtic Counties. 25 May 2009. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  8. ↑ "The Cornwall (Structural Change) Order 2008", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 2008/491, retrieved 19 February 2024
  9. ↑ Cornish Constitutional Convention, About, archived from the original on 23 August 2014, retrieved 19 July 2014
  10. ↑ "Calls for More Power to Cornwall/". Dan Rogerson official site. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  11. ↑ "Cameron on Cornwall, cuts and the coalition". This is Cornwall. Archived from the original on 9 December 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  12. ↑ "Clegg to discuss greater powers for Duchy with Cornish MPs". Western Morning News. 16 November 2011. Archived from the original on 17 November 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  13. ↑ "Cornwall devolution deal". gov.uk. 22 July 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  14. ↑ "Groundbreaking Deal for Cornwall is signed". West Briton. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  15. ↑ "Cornwall devolution deal (Kevambos Digresennans Kernow) 2023". gov.uk. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  16. ↑ "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  17. ↑ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  18. ↑ "Local election results: Cornwall". BBC News Online . Retrieved 27 November 2009.
  19. ↑ "Council minutes". Cornwall Council. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  20. ↑ "Leader quits after critics' abuse". BBC News. 11 March 2009. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  21. ↑ "Councillors by party". Cornwall Council. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  22. ↑ "The Cornwall (Electoral Changes) Order 2019", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 2019/1088, retrieved 19 February 2024
  23. ↑ "The Cornwall (Electoral Changes) Order 2021", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 2021/106, retrieved 19 February 2024
  24. ↑ Historic England. "New County Hall including terrace pool surrounds and bridge to courtyard (Grade II) (1323700)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  25. ↑ Historic England. "Old County Hall (Grade II) (1282633)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  26. ↑ "Cornwall County Council: Opening of the New County Hall". Royal Cornwall Gazette. Truro. 15 August 1912. p. 8. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  27. ↑ "County Hall open day". 28 November 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  28. ↑ "Your Local Library". Cornwall Council. Archived from the original on 29 August 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  29. ↑ "National Theatre hope highlighted by report". West Briton. 2 February 2012. Archived from the original on 14 September 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  30. ↑ Cornwall Council – Historic Cornwall Advisory Group – Bagas Kusulya Kernow Istorek – 29 June 2011
  31. ↑ "Cornish minority bid gets a big boost". West Briton. 22 April 2010. Archived from the original on 15 September 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  32. ↑ Ian Saltern (16 November 2011). "The Cornish National Minority Report 2 (Excerpts)". Europäisches Journal für Minderheitenfragen. 4 (3): 187–205. doi:10.1007/s12241-011-0019-x. S2CID   146337220.
  33. ↑ "2011 Census: Cornish identity". Cornwall County Council. 5 August 2011. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  34. ↑ Danny Alexander; Stephen Williams (24 April 2014). "Cornish granted minority status within the UK" (Press release). HM Treasury and Department for Communities and Local Government. Archived from the original on 13 January 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  35. ↑ "Protocol of Co-operation – Cornwall and Finistère". Cornwall.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  36. ↑ "European Partnerships". Cornwall.gov.uk. 23 March 2010. Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  37. ↑ "Cornwall Council – Cornwall Councillor calls on European leaders". Cornwall.gov.uk. 28 October 2011. Archived from the original on 2 September 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  38. ↑ "European Projects". Cornwall.gov.uk. 20 January 2012. Archived from the original on 7 December 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  39. ↑ "Cornwall Council – £4m for renewable energy project in the South". Cornwall.gov.uk. 9 May 2011. Archived from the original on 2 September 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  40. ↑ "Promoting Cornwall to the World". 1 July 2009. Archived from the original on 1 November 2010.
  41. ↑ "Guernsey government may be model for Cornwall". BBC News. 23 August 2011. Archived from the original on 25 August 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  42. ↑ Read, David (2014). Cornish National Minority Advisory Report. Truro: Cornwall Council. p. 22.
  43. ↑ "Eden Project tackles fuel poverty with co-op plan". BBC News. 14 February 2012. Archived from the original on 13 January 2016.
  44. ↑ "Taxpayers pay massive interest on council loans | Cornish Guardian". Archived from the original on 11 July 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  45. ↑ Dale, Helen. "Dick Cole re-elected leader of Mebyon Kernow". Falmouth Packet (online edition). Retrieved 30 November 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.