MK welcomes Lords vote against Devonwall

Mebyon Kernow has welcomed the news that the House of Lords has voted to delay the boundary review into parliamentary seats.

Following a debate on Monday, an amendment to the Electoral Registration and Administration Bill to delay the boundary review until 2018, was passed by 300 votes to 231.

This means that a Devonwall constituency will almost certainly not be created in advance of the 2015 General Election.

MK Deputy Leader and Cornwall Councillor Andrew Long has released the following statement on behalf of the Party.

“It is fantastic news that Coalition plans for a Devonwall seat have been sidelined and that the territorial integrity of Cornwall has been protected for the next few years.

“I remain angry at how the Coalition attempted to force a cross-Tamar parliamentary seat on Cornwall – with 95% of their MPs voting in favour of Devonwall.

“And I find it amazing that the collapse of the Boundary Review has happened because of Coalition infighting – not because of the best interests of Cornwall – though this is not how certain local representatives of the Coalition are publicising what happened.

“If the vote in the House of Lords is to mean anything, both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats need to pledge that they will ‘forever’ rule out the possibility of a Devonwall seat.”

Cllr Long has written also written to David Cameron and Nick Clegg to seek assurances that both Coalition partners will commit themselves to respecting the historic border of Cornwall in the future.