Pleased to welcome support of MPs for Cornish tickbox

In today's Cornish Guardian, my article praises Cornish MPs for their support for a Cornish tickbox on the 2021 census, and looks forward at what the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities should mean for Cornwall. The article is as follows:

Cornish 'tick box' is the least we can expect from census

It is more than four years since the Cornish were recognised as a national minority by the UK Government through the Council of Europe. It was a truly landmark decision. But central government has, thus far, failed to treat the Cornish in the same manner as other national minorities, such as the Scots and the Welsh, which it promised in 2014.

An Advisory Committee from the Council of Europe visited the United Kingdom in March 2016 and, last year, published an Opinion which was very critical of how the UK Government and other public bodies were complying with the articles of the relevant Framework Convention with regard to the Cornish,

I am optimistic that this situation will improve in the coming months, and it is to be welcomed that Cornish MP Steve Double has been appointed to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Mr Double himself has issued a serious and forthright statement about bringing his “Cornish credentials” to the organisation, adding that “it was the Council of Europe that granted ethnic minority status to Cornish people,” something he was “keen to ensure we make the most of.”

Cornwall’s MPs have thrown their weight behind the campaign to secure a Cornish tickbox on the next census, and they have secured an adjournment debate in the House of Commons to consider issues relating to Cornish identity and the 2021 census.

This is all very heartening, and I sincerely hope that the actions of local MPs also reflect a sea-change in the thinking of central government as a whole.

For the sake of Cornwall, we need to win those immediate and symbolic battles to (i) secure the tickbox to give us census parity with the other nationalities of the UK, and (ii) to protect Cornwall’s territorial integrity by preventing the creation of a cross-Tamar “Devonwall” parliamentary constituency.

But that can only be the beginning. There is so much to be done to ensure that the Framework Convention is acted upon and Cornwall gains from the national minority status of its people. As far as I am concerned this needs to include:

- Meaningful devolution to a Cornish Assembly, and the acceptance of Cornwall as a distinct national community for all forms of governance, administration and service provision.
- A formal presence for Cornwall at the British and Irish Council, where the other Celtic parts of the British Isles are already represented, along with the governments of Guernsey and Jersey.
- A Cornish Language Act, the return of the funding for our national language, and the enhanced teaching of Cornish.
- A distinct Cornish offering from the BBC, and other media outlets.