Philip Hosking (Cornwall, The Cornish Democrat): With the up and coming 'make or break' elections to the new Unitary Authority followed by town, parish and general elections Mebyon Kernow more than ever needs a policy direction for obtaining autonomy and bringing power closer to the people of Cornwall.
Previous to the undemocratically imposed Unitary Authority MKs proposition for devolution and answer to Cornwall's democratic deficit was three fold:
1) Powers devolved from central government and quangos to an elected Cornish Assembly with powers akin to the Scottish Parliament and certainly no less than those of the Welsh Assembly.
2) The vast bulk of local government powers and functions of the erstwhile county council devolved down to the district councils or amalgamation of districts.
3) Where possible and agreeable powers and functions devolved to parish and town councils.
So what to campaign for now that the district and county council have been sunk and the schema above made redundant?
MK has created a working group called 'Home Rule' whose purpose is to address this question and they are looking for all ideas and comments on a future direction in the campaigning for Cornish autonomy. All organizations and think tanks with an interest in devolution and decentralization are invited to submit their ideas to MK and help form a new policy for bringing power down to our Cornish communities. MK is asking for all comments and ideas to be sent to:
Home Rule Working Group
Mebyon Kernow
Lanhainsworth
Fraddon Hill
Fraddon
St Colombe
TR9 6PQ Kernow
email: dickcole(AT)tinyworld.co.uk
Coincidentally 2008 is the 500th anniversary of the of the unrecinded Charter of Pardon issued by King Henry VII that restored the Cornish Stannary Parliament following the rebellion of 1497 and gave it the right of effective veto over parliament and King. To commemorate this event the contemporary pressure group, the Cornish Stannary Parliament are looking to start a debate in Cornish civic society on the following and so are looking for all opinions (to get in contact email info(AT)cornishstannaryparliament.co.uk)
Based on their analysis that the Cornish are effectively prevented from recognition and devolution because of the; unwritten nature of the UKs constitution; lack of a guarantee of equality before the law and the discriminatory nature of the Duchy of Cornwall:-
1) Is a written constitution with ensured legal equality a necessity for the UK?
2) Should the Cornish be recognized as a national minority.
What would I like to see? Well with regards the Duchy of Cornwall there do seem to be more questions than credible answers, so starting there, a full and public inquiry into the Cornish constitution followed by a debate on the future shape of said constitution would seem the least we might expect during this period of supposed constitutional renewal in the UK.
Acknowledging that the Duchy seems to be a fear-inspiring untouchable constitutional can of worms (see Duchy of Cornwall Human Rights Association) and realizing that the government is all mouth and no trousers when it comes to constitutional renewal where can we go with the Unitary Authority?
Peter Facey of Unlock Democracy has suggested that UAs and other local authorities, either individually or in clusters, should be able to request the devolution of powers down from central governments and their quangos. Cornwall is champing at the bit. "Show us the powers!" is all I can say. A conference which brought together the players in the Cornish devolution movement and interested UK democratic reformers might also be an idea if just a little expensive. One question must be asked however and that is why isn't the Cornish Constitutional Convention doing more at this time? Unfortunately the CCC has remained unusually silent throughout the undemocratic process that has resulted in Cornwall going forward to become a UA.
Both the CSP and MK are open to and asking for dialogue. They want to hear from all those interested in bringing power closer to the Cornish public. The petition of 50,000 calling for devolution gives legitimacy to our demands so what can we do to move forward?
Comments
This is very interesting and I can't wait to see the outcome. The question is do the people living in Cornwall feel more English or Cornish.
The argument can be made that Cornwall is more of a region in the same manner that Yorkshire or Surrey are. That there are cultural differences is overstated. One can make this argument about every part of every country round the world. No country is 100% homogenous, although globalisation is a force for cultural standardisation. As a matter of fact, with globalisation people may be finding ways to identify themselves. The EU has been a catalyst for the regionalisation of many member states: since the EU guarantees open markets, trade, funding, etc., smaller "communities" within larger nation-states may now feel emboldened to branch out on their own with the knowledge that there is support from the EU economic structure (in theory at least). For example, Cornwall doesn't have to depend on the larger UK to sell its products when it has some 400m people at its doorstep in the form of the EU.
I believe that this sense of identify-finding has also coincided with the collapse of the family and church. Whereas families gave identity and church a sense of purpose, today the two no longer play as strong a role. Travelling about Cornwall, there are no superficial differences between it and the rest of England and Britain for that fact. However, the question of identity, home rule, etc. needs to be aired and given a good sorting out. This debate will take years to resolve.
To be quite honest, in my own humble opinion, Cornwall, England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales (together with Isle of Man and the Channel Islands) really don't exist the way nationalist/regionalist portend. These are artefacts of countries/tribes that once existed. With the advent of Union, the Celtic fringe has been heavily Anglified and England has been strongly Celtified (for the better for both). Meaning, that in the last 300 years the UK and the countries that make them up have not operated in a vacuum. There has been inward and outward migration, inter-marriage, all sorts of removals, rebellions, invasions, etc., not to mention the influx of former Empire peoples and now other Europeans are moving to Britain. It is really one big blob of people and the nationalists are pouncing about acting as if it were the 1707! But as Wendy Alexander said: Bring it on!
MU says: "Travelling about Cornwall, there are no superficial differences between it and the rest of England and Britain for that fact"
Perhaps there are deep differences you are two smug too see?
For differences ... how about going from NZ to Australia, USA to Canada, Austria to Germany ... etc. Not a lot of easily seen diffrences .. may be these countries had better merge eh MU?
Kernow bys kyken!
Manx Unionist has forgotten a couple of things. Like the IOM not being part of the UK.
England highly Celtified? Not that much. A few bits have a pre-English heritage, and there are a handful of parts with an obvious influence - Lindisfarne and Liverpool, but these are not that representative.
I tend to agree with this -
“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.” (The Guardian, editorial, 8th May 1990)
"For differences ... how about going from NZ to Australia, USA to Canada, Austria to Germany ... etc. Not a lot of easily seen diffrences .. may be these countries had better merge eh MU?"
Kevrenor you are clearly missing the point here. Above you are mentioning differences between countries and as far as I know Cornwall is in England (slogans such as "Kernow bys kyken!" notwithstanding). Now, whether Cornwall remains in England is a different matter; but I am talking about the here and now, not past or future.
Since you mentioned the USA, there are VAST differences in culture, ancestrial backgrounds, religion, and outlook between New York, Texas and California, . However, Texas, NY, and California somehow manage to unite themselves behind the idea that they are all Americans and that united they stand as one.
Let's look at Austria. Between Vienna (and similar cities) and the Tyrolean alps, there are huge differences in culture and language. Each alpine valley speaks its own language or dialect (depending on who you ask). As a matter of fact, the folks in the Austrian alps have more in common with the alpine people in Slovenia, Italy, Germany, and France than with the city folk in Vienna. But do they consider themselves Austrian or Tyrolean?
I mentioned above that every country, no matter size, will ALWAYS have cutural differences and histories within themselves. I toss the same question to the Cornish: are the differences that vast that they can't be reconciled? Going from Cornwall to the rest of the UK, do you feel like a stranger in a strange land? Or do you reckon that Cornwall's a cohesive part of the UK?
Nationalist movements and sentiments normally surge out of fear that their culture will be overtaken. Is that what is going on in Cornwall by the majority or a few?
I don't oppose Cornish independence. But I do oppose independence for the sake of it based on events that happened in the 13th century. So what are the advantages of having a regional assembly/parliament? What are the disadvantages?
"... IOM not being part of the UK"
What are you trying to say here? I don't get an opinion? I am only part Manx; a good portion is also English and Scottish. So since the other 50% of me is from the UK, can I opine on these matters? Is that okay with you? Or is 50% not good enough?
I think you completely misunderstand.
You can be "part Scottish" as in one of your ancestors comes from there, but that doesn't make you more Scottish than a naturalised immigrant, or the children of immigrants that have been born and brought up in Scotland.
I have French ancestry. Doesn't make me French, or make me want to vote in their elections.
Not my business (I'm a Yorkshireman) but I can't help thinking this harking back 500 years and making a great deal out of the role of the Duchy of Cornwall doesn't help. I find the legal case unconvincing and frankly, these days, any mention of royal privileges (or aristocratic privileges) is an embarrassment, at best, to most modern Europeans.
Whereas, there is a strong argument for Cornwall "home rule" in the simple right to self-determination. It's hard to believe that the United Kingdom can last much longer, it's surely near the end of its life. Whatever we move to next I expect to be an interim arrangement. My own view is that the European Union will move to EU regions eventually (I'd estimate within 15-20 years). You may find that you are battling for home rule from the 'South West Region' with its capital in Exeter, before too long (not England!).
Finally, as Cornwall becomes more prosperous, and the infrastructure improves, I would expect the level of immigration into Cornwall to increase considerably. This would include people from the EU and elsewhere. I would have thought it important to have a notion of being "Cornish" that embraces anyone who has decided to make the land their home.
None of this is my business, of course, I'm staying put!
Your right and please note that the first half of the post deals with the Mebyon Kernow campaign which fits your bill of a progressive inclusive campaign for greater self-determination.
The Cornish Democrat
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