Politics of Cornwall

Cornwall's politics have partly been dictated by its geography and history. It is a peninsula, relatively distant from London, and its main industries – fishing, farming, and various kinds of mining - have been in decline for a long time. Cornwall's GDP still remains low. However, Cornwall is attractive to tourists, and to people seeking to move into the area to live. There are therefore tensions in the housing market between the demands of inward migrants to the area and the needs of local people.

Historically, Cornwall was a Brittonic-speaking area separate from the rest of England until about the 10th century and retained much of its cultural distinctiveness in later centuries. Religious non-conformism was strong in Cornwall, and the Church of England was less well supported than some areas to the east. This has continued to inform later Cornish politics, in the form of Liberalism, now represented mainly by the Liberal Democrats 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 Conservative Party is also fairly strong in Cornwall, but for slightly different reasons. They suffered a particularly bad setback in the 1990s. However, they regained three of the six Cornish seats in the 2010 general election. The Labour Party is traditionally much weaker in Cornwall than many other parts of the UK, although it has had some representation locally. This may be partly because there is no major urban center in Cornwall – Plymouth tends to fulfill that role. Cornwall also traditionally elects a number of independent councillors, and is a centre for the rump Liberal Party in the UK.

The distinctive nature of Cornish politics has led to a significant number of officeholders from both the Liberal Democrats and the Conservative Party being supportive of greater Cornish autonomy. However, with both parties this has never been official national policy. 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. 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 a 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]

At a local level the tradition of Independent candidates and councillors is far stronger than most other areas. Mebyon Kernow was formed in 1951, 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. One of Mebyon Kernow's main campaigns is for a Cornish Assembly and in 2001 it presented a petition to 10 Downing Street with 50,000 signatures in favour of the Assembly.[2] This was backed up by Cornwall Council's Feb 2003 MORI poll which showed 55% in favour of an elected, fully devolved regional assembly for Cornwall and 13% against. (Previous result 46% in favour in 2002).

Growing dissatisfaction with European Union fishing policy including the Common Fisheries Policy led to a growth of support for United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) within fishing ports such as Newlyn. On 26 July 2007 the Conservative party-appointed Mark Prisk (Member of Parliament for Hertford and Stortford) "Shadow Minister for Cornwall". This appointment was called "the fictional minister for Cornwall," by a Liberal Democrat MP, as there was no government minister to shadow.[3] The post was not continued following the 2010 election, and no longer exists. 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.[4] However, as the post has been discontinued, this concept remains unproven.

In the June 2016 EU referendum, Cornwall voted to leave the EU, 43.5per cent (140,540) of Cornwall's voters wanted to remain in the EU, while 56.5per cent (182,665) voted to leave.[5]

From the 2010 general election, Cornwall has had six parliamentary constituencies

Following a review by the Boundary Commission for England taking effect at the 2010 general election, Cornwall is divided into six county constituencies to elect MPs to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.

Before the 2010 boundary changes there were five constituencies in Cornwall. In the 2005 general election, all five seats were won by Liberal Democrats. However, at the 2010 general election Liberal Democrat candidates won three seats and Conservative candidates won three seats.

In the 2015 general election all Cornish seats were won by the Conservatives. All retained their seats in the 2017 general election

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

Cornwall Council Electoral Divisions Map

As of 1 April 2009 Cornwall became a unitary authority, with the headquarters of Cornwall Council based in Truro. Before April 2009, Cornwall was a non-metropolitan county that followed the three tier system typical of English shire counties, and had five districts: Penwith, Kerrier, Carrick, Caradon and North Cornwall, and one borough Restormel. Cornwall Council provides a wide range of services to more than half a million residents, has an annual budget of more than £1 billion, and is the biggest employer in Cornwall.[6]

The Isles of Scilly, which are part of the ceremonial county of Cornwall, are not part of the Cornwall unitary authority, as they have their own unitary council.

Two of the major factors in Cornish nationalism are the disputed position of Cornwall as separate constitutional entity within the UK and the rights of the Cornish people as a minority.[13] 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. However, in the 2015 general election, the Liberal party in Cornwall withdrew its candidates, and encouraged its supporters to vote UKIP[14]

An Gof have also expressed Cornish nationalism, though not in political ways as much as violent ones.

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.[19] Some east Cornwall CND activists are members of the Plymouth branch. There is a Cornish branch of Greenpeace.[20] Amnesty International have a local branch.

• Cornwall County Council
• The Cornish Stannary Parliament
• Mebyon Kernow
• Tories to appoint Cornwall Minister
• TGG (Tyr Gwyr Gweryn)
• YouTube – Mark Prisk