Cornwall on the Road to Devolution

Given the recent recognition of the Cornish nation the next step should be devolution for Cornwall. It appears the obvious next step, but it will of course only be achieved after a struggle. Remember that it took a long and prolonged fight for the creation of a Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly. However, once won and taking Scotland’s case as an example, there is no going back. Leaving aside the forthcoming referendum on Scottish independence for a moment, there can be no doubt that the overwhelming majority of the Scottish population are very pleased with the results of devolution.

The argument put forward by some that Cornwall does not have a large enough population to have a devolved assembly is not true. There are a number of independent nations that are smaller than Cornwall. Indeed the Isle of Man, which is not actually part of the United Kingdom, is self-governing with a population of just over 80,000. Its parliament Tynwald is the oldest continuous parliament in the world. As the ‘The Party for Cornwall’ Mebyon Kernow point out the ‘decisions that affect people in Cornwall should be taken at a local level where the effect of decisions will be felt’.

The campaign for an assembly for Cornwall is gaining support with the petition to seek this growing by the day. The message from Scotland to Cornwall is that you should go for devolution and our experience is a positive one. So good luck with the campaign for the creation of a Cornish assembly and sign the petition!