Making the case for a Cornish Assembly

Cornwall Council is presently undertaking a Governance Review, which is taking place alongside a review into the electoral arrangements for the authority (ie. number of councillors and divisional boundaries), though these changes would not be implemented until 2021.

The Council has also set up a Governance Review External Group (GREG) to feed into the work.

The official Council blurb says:

"The Review is designed to ensure that the authority works in the best possible way and will look at three possible models – the Leader and Cabinet system (as we have currently), the Elected Mayor and Cabinet system, and the Committee system. The Review will also think beyond these to explore whether there is another model that would best suit Cornwall needs, any such model would require Government approval. In considering the different models, the review will also look at the role of local members and how the Council works alongside town and parish councils and other organisations in Cornwall.

"An independent external panel, chaired by Andrew Campbell, Associate Director of the Local Government Association, will gather evidence during four inquiry days."

It is fair to say that I have been a critic of the process but, on Tuesday, and even though this is all about local government, I was invited to explain to the GREG the case for greater democratic reforms and the case for a National Assembly for Cornwall.

The session took 25 minutes and was webcast. I presume it will be archived on the Council website in the near-future and I will keep people informed about the progress with the Review.