Miliband pledges "Devolution is for everyone" ... really?

Ed Miliband – writing on The Guardian website – has declared that: “Devolution is for everyone. A no vote will change all of Britain.”

The full statement can be found at:

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/14/scotland-has-shown-change-whole-country

Extracts include the following:

There can be no doubt that this referendum has changed Scotland. But it has not just changed Scotland; it will change Britain, because the thirst for democratic and economic change that has been heard from the people of Scotland will lead to change throughout Britain after 18 September.

…  Scotland has led the way, but devolution is not a project just for Scotland. Further devolution is coming to Wales, and Scotland's example will lead the way in changing how we are governed in England too. That is why we have proposed changing the way we are governed in England, with extensive new devolution to local government from Cornwall to Cumbria.

I have little faith in what will come out of the Labour Party and there are a couple of other points that I would like to say:

Firstly, when the Labour Government was in power, it refused to consider devolution for Cornwall. It ignored the 50,000 individually-signed declarations for a Cornish Assembly delivered to 10 Downing Street in December 2001 and, instead, disgracefully chose to centralise local government in Cornwall in the face of 80% opposition.

And secondly, Milband’s "new" offer is about local government. A few additional powers for local government – which for the record is being destroyed by the Westminster classes – is not enough. We should have more ambition for Cornwall and that must mean a legislative Cornish Assembly.