Politics of Cornwall

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Administrative districts and major settlements of Cornwall

Cornwall is a county in South West England whose politics are influenced by a number of issues that make it distinct from the general political scene in the wider UK, and the political trends of neighbouring counties. Cornwall shares some of the political issues of the other "Celtic nations", in particular Wales, and a notable movement exists seeking greater administrative independence from England, similar to that achieved in Wales. Cornish politics is also defined by its historical relationship between the Liberal Democrats (former Liberal party), the Conservative Party, and marked lack of organised trade unionism and Labour Party support.

The Liberal Democrats and the Conservative Party are the main contenders for political office in Cornwall. The distinct nature of Cornish politics has led to a significant number of office holders from both parties being supportive of greater Cornish autonomy. However with both parties this has never been official national policy. The Labour Party in Cornwall has a history of not supporting issues such as the creation of a Cornish Assembly a position supported by a conference of Cornish Labour Councillors in 2002, similar conferences held by the other two mainstream parties at the time resulted in majority support for the assembly issue.

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[edit] History

Cornwall's politics have partly been dictated by its geography. It is a peninsula, pointing away from London, and its main industries - fishing, farming and various kinds of mining, have been in decline for a long time. However, despite its poor soil, and decreasing mineral wealth, Cornwall is considered picturesque by many - this has led to a fourth industry, domestic tourism, which has declined, due to the expansion of British tourism overseas. However, this attraction has caused a number of housing issues, and Cornwall's GDP still remains low.

The strong association with the Liberal Democrats and the Conservative Party can be traced to historical associations with Liberalism and non-conformist religion, particularly Methodism, in the 19th century and similarly land ownership and the Conservative party in the same period. The Church of England has traditionally had a smaller presence here, than in east English areas.

Growing dissatisfaction with European Union fishing policy including the Common Fisheries Policy has led to a growth of support for United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) within fishing ports such as Newlyn - however the presence of Mebyon Kernow is larger. At a local level the tradition of Independent candidates and councillors is far stronger than outside Cornwall.

Mebyon Kernow was formed in the mid 20th century, initially as a pressure group. Some of its members and supporters were politicians (councillors and MPs) from the three main British political parties, but later on, it became a party in its own right and members of other parties left. Its most famous supporter of the time was the novelist Daphne du Maurier.

1986 saw the death of the charismatic MP David Penhaligon of the (then) Liberal Party. Penhaligon's career looked promising, with some tipping him as a future leader. Even in the 1980s he could foresee that Cornwall needed real jobs and that the county couldn't survive on tourism alone. In a speech he made in support of the Cornish miners at Camborne he said....

“ You need more in an economy than just tourism, icecream and deckchairs. Our mining industry is not a figment of the last decade or the last two decades. It has occupied Cornishmen and it has produced wealth for this century, the previous century and probably the last two thousand years; and what we’re asking the government to do is to recognise the great contribution we have made for the wealth of Britain, and in this time of great trial and tribulation to come to our assistance - that’s what we’re asking our government to do. ”

Cornwall's distinctiveness as a national, as opposed to regional, minority has been periodically recognised by major British papers. For example, a Guardian editorial in 1990 pointed to these differences, and warned that they should be constitutionally recognised:

"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." [1]

On 26 July 2007 the Conservative party appointed Mark Prisk (Member of Parliament for Hertford and Stortford) as Shadow Minister for Cornwall. This was to put the Duchy's concerns "at the heart of Conservative thinking", according to a party statement. Conservative Party leader David Cameron said he wholeheartedly endorsed the appointment and it would ensure that the voice of Cornwall is heard. [2]

[edit] Westminster representation

Cornwall elects five members to Westminster. Since the 2005 election all of these have been Liberal Democrats. The Conservative Party are the second most successful in the county, and have held several seats in the past.

[edit] Local councils

composition of Cornwall County Council following the 2005 elections. Yellow = Liberal Democrats, grey = independents & MK, blue = Conservatives, red = Labour.
composition of Cornwall County Council following the 2005 elections. Yellow = Liberal Democrats, grey = independents & MK, blue = Conservatives, red = Labour.

Local government in Cornwall follows the three tier system typical of English shire counties, while the Isles of Scilly are an administratively separate unitary authority. A county council sits at Truro, while six districts and many parishes administer locally.

[edit] Cornish nationalism

Main articles: Cornish self-government movement, Constitutional status of Cornwall

Two of the main influencing factors in Cornish politics is the disputed position of Cornwall as separate constitutional entity within the UK and the rights of the Cornish people as a minority. [3] These issues affect all of those involved in Cornish politics, even those who are at odds with these ideas. Three UK political parties recognise the cause of Cornish self determination, the Liberal Party, the Cornish section of the Green Party of England and Wales and the Communist Party of Britain.

[edit] Cornish nationalist and/or regionalist organisations

The principal political party in the Cornish Nationalist movement is Mebyon Kernow which labels itself as a 'centre-left, green and decentralist party' and has close association with its sister party Plaid Cymru in Wales, Mebyon Kernow's membership is currently calculated at around 1000 members across Cornwall. In 1979, in the first elections to the European Parliament, Mebyon Kernow were able to attract almost ten percent (over 10,000 votes) of the vote in the Cornwall seat. This reflected a decade of steady growth for the party. MK continues to contest parliamentary seats and also local government seats with more success.

In the 2005 general election, Mebyon Kernow fielded candidates in six of the seven constituencies. Their best result was in the Cornwall North Seat gaining 2.4% of the votes, placing their candidate in fifth place. Their candidates came in fifth place in all the seats contested, apart from Kerrier, where they came in seventh.

In the district elections of 2007 seven Mebyon Kernow district councillors were elected. MK lost one district seat and gained two, a net gain of one. This gave them seven of the 249 seats (2.8% of seats) up for election. Mebyon Kernow got around 5 percent of the total vote in these district elections, putting the party in third position behind the Liberal Democrats and the Conservative Party and ahead of Labour in several seats including Kerrier, Restormel, North Cornwall and Caradon.[4]

Engish Local Elections 2007/Party Councils Councillors
Conservative 165 5,315
Labour 34 1,877
Liberal Democrats 23 2,171
Residents Association 1 67
Green 0 62
British National Party 0 10
Liberal 0 9
Mebyon Kernow 0 7
UK Independence Party 0 5

(Source: BBC local election results May 2007)

Several former Cornish MPs were also members of Mebyon Kernow, including Peter Bessell (Liberal Party), John Pardoe (Liberal Party), David Mudd (Conservative), David Penhaligon (Liberal Party) and currently Andrew George (Liberal Democrats).[5]

The Cornish Nationalist Party was founded as a splinter group from Mebyon Kernow in the 1970s following a split over the ideological path of the Cornish National Movement, The members of the Cornish Nationalist party favouring a more 'right of centre approach' to attracting support. Initially Led by Dr James Whetter, The Cornish Nationalist Party are not currently a registered political party under the Registration of Political Parties Act 1998 and therefore cannot stand for local or Westminster elections.

In addition to political parties, other independent organisations promote the autonomy movement. The Cornish Stannary Parliament is a human rights pressure group which claims to be a revival of the mediaeval Stannary Parliaments, local legislative organisations in the mining regions. It was established in 1974 and had campaigned since then against the government of the United Kingdom's position on the constitutional status of Cornwall. Other groups include TGG (Tyr-Gwyr-Gweryn), Cornwall 2000, Cornish Solidarity who are constitutional and Cornish human rights groups and the Cornish Constitutional Convention which campaigns for a Cornish Assembly.

[edit] Other issues and lobby groups

Within Cornwall there are a growing number of pressure groups/lobbying groups devoted to Cornish issues other than the national question. Local environmental issues feature prominently, notably the Surfers against Sewage group, formed in this region, heavily dependent on the tourist industry.

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) has a local presence, with a branch in Penzance [6]. Some east Cornwall CND activists are members of the Plymouth branch.

There is also a Cornish branch of Greenpeace [7].

[edit] See also

[edit] Current Cornish MPs

[edit] Other Cornish politicians

  • Doris Ansari. (Chairman Cornwall County Council) [8]

List of all Cornwall County Coucillors [9]

[edit] Elections and results

[edit] Parliamentary representation from Cornwall

Further information: Parliamentary representation from Cornwall

[edit] Proposed Cornish Parliamentary constituencies

[edit] Historic Cornish Parliamentary constituencies

[edit] Constitutional status of Cornwall

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Guardian, editorial, 8th May 1990
  2. ^ Mark Prisk appointed Tory Shadow Minister for Cornwall
  3. ^ Cornish demand recognition on the 2011 Census
  4. ^ BBC - 2007 Local Election results
  5. ^ Mebyon Kernow
  6. ^ CND - Local Group Contacts
  7. ^ Greenpeace Active Supporters
  8. ^ Members: Details
  9. ^ Members: Political Groups


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