Why isn’t Cornwall at the British and Irish Council?

In April 2014, the Westminster Government finally recognised the Cornish people through the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. But since then, the Westminster establishment has failed to act on this recognition of our national status and have actually undertaken action after action which have been detrimental to Cornwall.

On Friday, the British-Irish Council held a Summit meeting in Cathays Park, Cardiff, which was symptomatic of the ongoing lack of recognition of Cornwall.


The full list of delegates was as follows:

UK Government
Secretary of State for Wales, Alun Cairns MP
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, James Brokenshire MP
Minister of State for the Department for Exiting the European Union, David Jones MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Scotland and Northern Ireland, Lord Dunlop

Irish Government
An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny TD
Minster for Foreign Affairs and Trade,Charles Flanagan TD

Welsh Government
First Minister, Carwyn Jones AM

Northern Ireland Executive
First Minister, Arlene Foster MLA
Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness MLA

Scottish Government
First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon MSP
Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop MSP

Isle of Man Government
Chief Minister, Hon Allan Bell CBE MHK

Government of Jersey
Chief Minister, Senator Ian Gorst

Government of Guernsey
Chief Minister Deputy Gavin St Pier

I welcome the ongoing involvement of the Isle of Man (population 85,000), Jersey (population 100,000) and Guernsey (population 63,000), but it shows how the establishment is still blinkered when it comes to the historic nation of Cornwall (population 540,000).

In our campaigns for greater recognition, we must continue to lobby for attendance at the British-Irish Council.