Westminster politicians have repeatedly promised that Cornwall would receive funding to at least match the level of European structural monies that would have been received if the United Kingdom had not left the EU. The exact wording of the pledge from the previous Conservative Government was that the Shared Prosperity Fund would “at a minimum match the size of EU funds in each nation and in Cornwall, each year.”
Cornwall Council estimated that this should have equated to £100 million each year and there was widespread outrage in 2022 when ministers announced funding of £132 million for the three years between 2022-23 and 2024-25. The leader of the Labour group on the unitary authority, for example, was keen to point out that the funding was less than half of what was expected. She declared that “yet again” the Conservatives had “come up short for Cornwall … over £150m short!”
An additional £47 million of SPF monies were made available for 2025-2026, but Government Minsters have made no announcements about an economic programme for Cornwall to replace the SPF one.
By contrast, it has just been announced that Wales will receive £547 million over the next three years. The press release actually stated that the Local Growth Fund for Wales “replaces money that used to come from the European Union.” This follows the news that Wales also secured £213 million from the Pride in Place programme, from which Cornwall did not get one single penny.
I have also read a recent report about disagreements between the UK and Scottish Governments about how the £1.4 billion “Local Growth Fund” for Scotland would be administered. The story included a statement from a “UK Government spokesman,” who said “local growth funding is designed to fit the needs and circumstances of each nation.”
But how can local growth funding meet the needs and circumstances of the Cornish nation when no such funding has been allocated for expenditure to the west of the Tamar.
When the Conservatives made their announcement about Shared Prosperity Funding in 2022, Labour politicians were not slow in accusing them of short-changing Cornwall. But now that they are in power, Cornish communities are getting even less money from funding programmes.
In 2022, local newspapers including the Cornish Guardian and the West Briton, had campaigning front pages with the headline “Where is our money, Boris.” I guess that there may be a similar front page in the near future saying “Where is our money, Keir.”
Article published in the Cornish Guardian (22nd October 2025) and the West Briton (23rd October 2025).