No to Devonwall Constituency

As the leader of Mebyon Kernow, I have today challenged Cornwall’s six Conservative MPs to use their influence to derail any attempts to create a cross-Tamar “Devonwall” seat.

This follows the announcement from senior Conservatives that they intend to push through a boundary review of parliamentary seats, following rules set out in the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act.

The Conservatives have also confirmed that they intend to ignore the recommendations of the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee that raised serious concerns about the process.

In my statement, I stated:

”The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act, if enacted, would inevitably lead to the creation of a cross-Tamar ‘Devonwall’ seat, but Cornwall’s MPs are in a position to challenge the leadership of their own party on this matter. They can push for the legislation to be revisited and the creation of a cross-Tamar constituency to be prevented.

”It remains my view that the territorial integrity of Cornwall – a historic Celtic nation – must be protected and that our future MPs must serve constituencies that lie entirely within the boundaries of Cornwall (and the Isles of Scilly).

”The Cornish people have been recognised as a “national minority” and it would inconsistent to treat the historic border of Cornwall differently from those of Scotland and Wales, which the Government intends to respect when it comes to the delineation of new constituencies.”

I also challenged the six MPs to “stand up for Cornwall and do what is right for the integrity of our historic nation – not what is helpful to the short-term political advantage of the Tory party.”

Further information

In 2011, the Coalition Government voted through the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act. It sought to reduce the number of parliamentary constituencies across the UK from 650 to 600 and sought to ensure that all seats (unless specifically named) had a population of within 5% of the average constituency size.

A consequence of the legislation is that, if it is not modified, it will lead to a cross-Tamar Devonwall seat.

The Boundary Commission currently plans to formally begin working on the next review in the spring of 2016, with the intention of submitting its final recommendations to central government by the early autumn of 2018.