In January, the members of the unitary authority overwhelmingly backed a motion seeking devolution for Cornwall. Six months on, the UK Government has published its “English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill,” which focuses on regionalisation and combined or mayoral authorities. I am obviously disappointed that there is no new legislation to bring forward a bespoke deal for Cornwall.
I am pleased, however, that Cornwall Councillors have again shown their support for more powers for Cornwall. At the Full Council meeting on 22th July, I tabled a motion which called for a meaningful devolution settlement. It was seconded by Liberal Democrat councillor Rory Gow, with named supporters coming from six of the seven political groups on the Council.
As before, the motion called for a “devolution settlement to properly reflect Cornwall’s national identity and the national minority status of the Cornish.” And following discussion between elected members – including the leader of the Council Cllr Leigh Frost – it was drafted to include a challenge to central government to follow through on the national minority status of the Cornish and “formally recognise Cornwall as one of the five nations of the United Kingdom.”
The motion was passed by 53 votes to 22, with two abstentions. It was supported by all councillors from the Conservative, Green, Labour, Liberal Democrat and Mebyon Kernow groups, and all independent councillors – bar one! Two Reform councillors voted in favour.
It was heartening to see so many people coming together in favour of a tailored democratic settlement for Cornwall. In my initial contribution, I spoke about how councillors undoubtedly had varying views about what form devolution for Cornwall might take and how I looked forward to such discussions. I specifically made it clear that the purpose of the motion was to bring people together by focussing on support for the principle of proper devolution on a Cornwall footprint.
I was very disappointed that the vast majority of Reform councillors voted against more powers for Cornwall.
In my closing remarks, I felt I needed to give a concrete example of how devolution can be an extremely positive thing. I chose to speak about the NHS. I referenced how in Wales, where politicians have significant devolved powers, they have decided that there should be free parking at NHS hospitals. That is not the case in Cornwall, where central government is even in the process of removing Cornwall’s Integrated Care Board. There is now a clustering arrangement with Devon, which is planned to lead to a full merger – taking powers and responsibilities out of Cornwall again. What a contrast!
Article published in the Cornish Guardian (30th July 2025) and the West Briton (31st July 2025).