Philip Hosking's blog

Perhaps it's time to take stock of the situation in our Cornish Duchy while demands for real change in the UK are still fresh.

Across the Political Spectrum

With three councilors on the Cornwall Council and having beaten Labour in Cornwall's Euro-elections Mebyon Kernow is looking the healthiest it has for years. Can MK build on these successes by harvesting support from a public disillusioned with the London based parties? They are certainly steadfast supporters of radical democratic renewal.

The Cornish Greens in their manifesto -A Fresh Start for Cornwall- have reiterated their call for the "devolution of power to Cornwall including a full Cornish Assembly with regional powers", and support from the prominent Green Party candidate, Peter Tatchell, seems to be unending [1][2].

Even the Tories seem to be speaking Cornish these days. No small affairs considering their power sharing arrangement with a group of independents in the Council that contains many a supporter of Cornish recognition and devolution.

Back in February 2008 I blogged for OurKingdom concerning the Duchy of Cornwall. The article was called Duchy or County - how would a modern Magna Carta look in Cornwall? Over a year later there seems to be a certain effervescence around this Cornish constitutional question. Okay it's not on the same level as the global economic depression, but perhaps an update is in order anyway. Hopefully it will give some of our democratic republicans something to mull over as well.

In February this year an article was published in Cornish World magazine by Cornish law researcher and Notary Public John Kirkhope. In -The Duchy of Cornwall, a very peculiar 'private estate'- Kirkhope lists the array of unusual rights and prerogatives the Duchy has over the territory of Cornwall. In this blog article from Republic, Graham Smith describes one of these rights, namely Bona Vancantia, but it's far from the whole picture. Kirkhope goes into much greater detail listing for example:

Philip Hosking (Cornwall, The Cornish Democrat): Back in August 2007 Our Kingdom published the article -You can't write us out of history- which described the strength of feeling for the Cornish identity coupled with the stubborn refusal of government to give this minority group any form of recognition. This stretches from refusing devolution even when presented with proof of a popular demand to providing a long list of contradictory reasons why the Cornish should not be included in the Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCPNM).

Philip Hosking (Cornwall, The Cornish Democrat): As a response to the article by David of Britology Watch -What are we fighting for? Libertarians and nationalists must make common cause- just some thoughts.

There is much to tempt in your post; a bill of rights, federal government and electoral reform for instance. An England (and Cornwall) wide solution does also need to be found leaving the direction of future reform in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Crown protectorates in the hands of their respective populations. Would the creation of an English parliament guarantee any of these vital developments or as has been suggested merely fossilize power once more in a centralized establishment? Are you suggesting those who pursue constitutional, electoral and civil rights reform should join the Campaign for an English Parliament (CEP) as a means to achieve their goals or are you suggesting something more subtle?

As has been pointed out an English parliament in itself does not guarantee any of the above and much less the dispersal of power away from Westminster. Libertarians who wish to see effective decision making ability devolved down to our communities are unlikely to take up your offer, and as a Cornishman I've yet to hear why an English parliament would be good for me or Cornwall. On the other hand as someone who appreciates the idea of national self determination I would not wish to deny the people of England the choice of an all England body if that is what they wanted.

Philip Hosking (Cornwall, The Cornish Democrat): In light of the heated debate around multiculturalism and following recent racist incidents in our Cornish duchy the letter extract below from the Cornish branch of the Celtic League - An Kesunyans Keltek Kernow - concurs with a number of contributors to OK who like myself have called for intercultural dialogue between regional/national cultures and new minority groups. The Cornish, Scottish, Englishness, Welsh and perhaps English regional identities do not have to be exclusive, let there be a thousand Cornwall's and a thousand ways of being Cornish. In the same manner as Britishness they could be valued and used as the back bones to civic and inclusive societal projects, with the added bonus of course of having no imperial connotations and a lot more historical precedent than the UK, a Kingdom rather than nation.

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.