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Cornish Assembly THE CORNISH DECLARATION 7TH JULY 2000 " Cornwall is a distinct region. It has a clearly defined economic, administrative and social profile. Cornwall's unique identity reflects its Celt ic character, culture and environment. We declare that the people of Cornwall will be best served in their future governance by a Cornish regional assembly. We therefore commit ourselves to setting up the Cornish Constitutional Convention with the intention of achieving a devolved Cornish Assembly - Senedh Kernow." OVERVIEW In July 2000 Mebyon Kernow launched the Declaration for a Cornish Assembly campaign which some three months later led to the creation of The Cornish Constitutional Convention with the objective of establishing a devolved Assembly for Cornwall . In less than two years, it had won the support of over 50,000 people, which equates to more than 10% of the Cornish electorate. A delegation led by the West Cornwall Liberal Democrat MP Andrew George and representatives of the Cornish Constitutional Convention ( Bert Biscoe, Richard Ford, Dick Cole, David Fieldsend and Andrew Climo Thompson) presented 50,000 declarations to 10 Downing Street on Wednesday 12th December 2001 calling for a Cornish Assembly. This was an opportunity to give the people of Cornwall the chance to demand greater control over their own future. The Convention is a cross-party, cross-sector association with a strong consensus of support both in Cornwall and elsewhere. It is not campaigning for any form of separatism or independence. The aim of the Convention is to establish a form of modern governance which strengthens Cornwall , her role in the affairs of the country, and positively addresses the problems that have arisen from more than a century of growing isolation and loss of confidence. A Scottish Parliament , Welsh Assembly , Northern Ireland Assembly and a London Assembly have been established, but Cornwall remains the only Celtic Nation within the British Isles to have no form of effective Self-government . Labour’s response has been to ignore the overwhelming public support for a Cornish Assembly. Instead, it has constructed a network of bogus unelected and unaccountable bodies such as the South West Regional Assembly and the South West Regional Development Agency , which have taken control over areas such as economic development, housing and strategic planning, further and further away from the communities of Cornwall. In addition, devolved government based on Cornwall would also create the space to allow the current functions of Cornwall Council to be devolved downwards - to councils that are based on local communities. "We, the People of Cornwall, must have a greater say in how we are governed. We need a Cornish Assembly that can set the right democratic priorities for Cornwall and provide a stronger voice for our communities in Britain, in Europe and throughout the wider world." THE LIB DEM CORNISH MANIFESTO 2005 The Liberal Democrats (who control Cornwall and Cornwall Council) support the Cornish Assembly and have called for a Cornish Development Agency . They state that "the SW regional assembly is undemocratic and unaccountable. They believe Cornwall should be able to take decisions about local services locally, in our own elected assembly answerable to local people. Successive Governments have taken power away from Cornwall, giving them instead to unelected Bureaucrats and Quangos in the regions and Whitehall . The result is that local decisions which affect us are taken by people far away, WHO NEVER EVEN VISIT - LET ALONE USE - the local services, and are not answerable to the local community when things go wrong. A Cornish Assembly would be Cornwall's voice, with local knowledge to take decisions on local services. The system would be more effective and accountable" ASSEMBLY FACTS 1. Cornwall Council's Feb 2003 MORI Poll showed 55% in favour of a democratically-elected, fully-devolved regional assembly for Cornwall, (this was an increase from 46% in favour in a 2002 poll). Many English and other nationalities who have settled in Cornwall wish to see an assembly as some of these people identify closely with Cornwall and actually feel ' Cornish '. London , Wales and Scotland have devolved assemblies and are still part of the United Kingdom as well as the Isle Of Man , Jersey and Guernsey - why not Cornwall ? 2. The Cornish Assembly petiion was signed by 50,000 people, which is the largest expression of popular support for devolved power in the whole of the United Kingdom and possibly Europe. The Cornish Assembly could replace the unelected Government of the South West and Cornwall Council with one directly elected Assembly with the power to make real changes for the better of Cornwall. It would be Cornwall's voice, with local knowledge to take decisions on local services. The system would be more effective and accountable by being answerable to local people. 3. The campaign has the support of all five Cornish Lib Dem MP's, Mebyon Kernow , most Independents and Cornwall Council amongst others. 4. In March 2004 a Morgan Stanley Bank survey showed that 44% of the inhabitants of Cornwall believe themselves to be Cornish rather than British or English. 5. Lord Whitty , in the House Of Lords , recognised that Cornwall has a "special case" for Devolution and on a visit to Cornwall John Prescott said "Cornwall has the strongest regional identity in the UK." 6. The argument for territorial devolution starts from the fact that the present system is unable to govern either effectively or equably. Its administration, based in one small corner of England, appears to view the other parts of England (as well as Scotland, Wales and Cornwall) as provinces of an Empire . The devolution which Westminster has so far offered to England is regionalisation: a top-down division into administrative areas with fixed boundaries beyond debate. This is the opposite of regionalism: regions built on people's own sense of identity. It is unlikely that any regions will command widespread support and loyalty unless they have real powers and are accountable to the local and very local communities within them. 7. Alone among the Celtic Nations and regions of Europe , ( Cornwall , Brittany , Galicia , the Irish Republic , the Isle Of Man , Northern Ireland , Scotland and Wales ), Cornwall has no form of effective self-government. Devolution in the UK as a process that has led to the establishment of a Scottish Parliament, Assemblies for Wales and Northern Ireland, a London authority and proposals for administrative devolution within the English regions. This process is incomplete without proposals for a Cornish Assembly. SEE ALSO
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