So it is official … the Boundary Commission proposal is for a Bideford, Bude and Launceston seat

As we knew would happen, the Boundary Commission has recommended a cross-Tamar constituency. It has been named the “Bideford, Bude and Launceston” constituency and would include land stretching from St Teath and St Breward, to Bude and Launceston.

But the Commission very much blames the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act.

In its report, it makes the following statement:

“If considered alone, the electorate of the County of Cornwall (including the electorate of the Isles of Scilly), at nearly 394,000, would result in an allocation of 5.27 constituencies to the county. While we are sensitive to the strength of feeling about the Cornish border, with its single land border, it is simply not possible to develop a proposal under which five whole constituencies, each with electorates within 5% of the electoral quota, are contained within the county boundary. Therefore we have included the counties of Cornwall and Devon (and the unitary authorities Plymouth and Torbay) in one sub-region, to which we have allocated 17 constituencies. Consequently, our proposals include one constituency that crosses the boundary between these two counties – under the rules within which we work, this is unavoidable.”

The Boundary Commission has also announced that a hearing into the proposals will take place in Truro on 10th and 11th November.

As the Leader of MK, I have released a statement which describes the Devonwall proposal as a “travesty of history, democracy and Cornwall’s very nationhood.” 

My statement can be read in full on the MK website: www.mebyonkernow.org

The Leader of Cornwall Council John Pollard has also confirmed the authority’s total opposition to the creation of a cross border constituency.

He has described it as an “inequitable and unlawful proposal.” His press release makes reference to the “Opposition to Devonwall Constituency” motion discussed at the meeting of Full Council on 17th May, proposed by myself and Andrew Long, and the fact that Cllr Pollard has also written to the new Minister for the Constitution Chris Skidmore.

John also said: “We believe there is a serious legal and constitutional conflict between the provisions of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 (“the Act”), which requires MP’s to represent the same number of electors, and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. The Government’s recognition of the Cornish as a national minority under the Framework Convention in 2014 came after the Act came into force and we are arguing that the Act needs amending to address this conflict “.

It has certainly been a busy morning for me. I have, so far, done interviews with Radio Cornwall, Radio Devon and Pirate FM, and I am lined up to do interviews with ITV Westcountry and BBC Spotlight later today.

Please see yesterday's blog entry for information on how you can campaign against Devonwall.

Join us in opposing the Devonwall seat

The UK Government has commenced a review of parliamentary constituencies and tomorrow (Tuesday 13th September) the Boundary Commission (for England) will announce recommendations which will include a “Devonwall” seat.

Please join Mebyon Kernow and other Cornish organisations in opposing the creation of such a cross-Tamar constituency. The creation of such a seat would be an unprecedented disaster, breaching the very territorial integrity of the historic nation of Cornwall.

Here is some advice on what you can do:

Please demand an amendment to the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act

The Boundary Review process is being driven by the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act, which became law in 2011.

The Act reduces the number of constituencies to 600 and states that, apart from four specific constituencies (Orkney & Shetland, the Western Isles, and two seats for the Isle of Wight), the electorates for individual seats must be within 5% of the averages for “England,” “Wales,” “Scotland” or “Northern Ireland.”

Cornwall is sadly not treated as a national entity by the legislation.

The electorate of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly means we would be entitled to about 5.3 MPs and it is therefore a statistical impossibility for the Boundary Commission to propose five seats for Cornwall and Isles of Scilly.

That is why we need to build a massive campaign to put pressure on central government and Members of Parliament to modify the existing legislation to ensure that Cornish constituencies remain whole and lie entirely within the boundaries of Cornwall (and the Isles of Scilly).

Please lobby the UK Government and Cornwall’s six MPs

Please also join us in writing to the UK Government to demand that the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act be amended.

Please send correspondence to:

Chris Skidmore MP, Minister for the Constitution, Cabinet Office, Whitehall, London, SW1A 2AS and / or chris.skidmore.mp@parliament.uk

Theresa May MP, Prime Minister, 10 Downing Street, London, SW1A 2AA and / or via https://email.number10.gov.uk

Your local Cornish MPs c/o House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA and / or
steve.double.mp@parliament.uk
george.eustice.mp@parliament.uk
scott.mann.mp@parliament.uk
sheryll.murray.mp@parliament.uk
sarah.newton.mp@parliament.uk
derek.thomas.mp@parliament.uk

Please write to the Boundary Commission

Even though the Boundary Commission does not have the power to make recommendations to protect Cornwall’s historic border, we also need to swamp them with letters and other representations showing that a cross-Tamar seat is not appropriate.

Please send correspondence to:

Boundary Commission for England, 35 Great Smith Street, London, SW1P 3BQ and / or information@boundarycommissionengland.gov.uk.

The Boundary Commission has also set up a new website through which people can comment on the proposed new constituencies. This can be found at: www.bce2018.org.uk.

There will be plenty of opportunities to make your views known. There will be an initial 12-week consultation, starting this week, and a public hearing will be held in Cornwall, probably in November. There will then be a secondary consultation on representations received. Once the Boundary Commission has reviewed the evidence it will produce further reports in advance of a further 8-week consultation on its final proposals.

But the key message must be that we request the Boundary Commission supports our calls for the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act to be amended to Keep Cornwall Whole.

And here are some key arguments that you can use in your letters and emails ...

Cornwall is a Celtic nation with its own distinct identity, culture and language –just like Scotland and Wales. The border between Cornwall and England has been in place since the early tenth century and should have been respected by the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act, just as the borders between England & Scotland and England & Wales are reinforced by the legislation. Cornwall also has a unique constitutional position which sets it apart from the rest of the United Kingdom.

Following the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill becoming an Act in 2011, central government bowed to years of pressure and recognised the Cornish as a national minority (April 2014) through the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. Central government stated that: “The decision to recognise the unique identity of the Cornish, now affords them the same status … as the UK’s other Celtic people, the Scots, the Welsh and the Irish.” But the Act is in conflict with the Framework Convention which, as well as protecting the culture and identity of national minorities, also seeks to protect the political integrity of territories associated with such groups.

In the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act, the territories of other national minorities within the United Kingdom (Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) are not breached and it is therefore illogical that the same safeguards should not be applied to Cornwall.

It would also be relatively simple for central government to do amend the Act. Only a few months ago, the Government agreed “emergency” legislation to extend the deadline for people seeking to register to vote in the referendum on the European Union following the failure of the Government’s registration website. The Government could likewise deliver a simple amendment to the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act, to respect the Framework Convention and Keep Cornwall Whole.

Next meeting in St Austell and Newquay Constituency

The next meeting for Mebyon Kernow members in the St Austell & Newquay Constituency has been arranged to take place on the evening of Friday 16th September.

The meeting will take place at ClayTAWC in St Dennis and start at 7.30, and we will be discussing a range of issues including the threat of a Devonwall constituency, local planning matters, the upcoming 2017 elections to the unitary authority and a range of local campaigns.



Anyone from the St Austell & Newquay Constituency, who would be interested in finding more about MK and its local campaigns, can call me on 07791 876607 or email me on dickcole@btinternet.com for more details about the meeting.

Poldark, the Sunday Express and Cornwall's dysfunctional housing market

My article in this week’s Cornish Guardian uses a recent piece in the Sunday Express as my source material. Enjoy ... it will be as follows:

The return of Poldark to our television screens has certainly brought Cornwall back into the homes of millions and millions of people across the UK and the wider world.

The extent and variety of newspaper reports into the series is also quite remarkable though, as a former farm worker, I have decided not to enter into the ongoing technical discussion about the scything undertaken by a bare-chested Aiden Turner / Ross Poldark in series one.

And it is undeniable that the drama has showcased much of Cornwall’s beautiful countryside, though it saddens me that it is being linked to reports in the property pages of Sunday newspapers which frankly distort the reality of modern Cornwall.

I saw one recent article from the Sunday Express that even renamed our homeland as “Poldark land” and went on to wax lyrically about Cornwall’s “golden beaches,” “rugged cliffs” and how the sea was of the “bluest-greenest perfection.”

But everyone quoted in the piece seemed to be an estate agent and these men only wanted to talk about places such as the Camel Estuary, Feock, Mylor, Restronguet Point, St Mawes and Truro – along with expensive restaurants and “other foodie outlets,” properties with sought-after “sea or estuary views,” the lifestyle choices of the affluent and the inevitable boosts to the “second home market.”

From my perspective, the Cornwall imagined by the metropolitan writers of the Sunday Express is very different from the Cornwall in which I live.

The newspaper did acknowledge that Cornwall was also “one of the UK’s poorest regions.” But it was only a tokenistic mention, followed by the less-than-thoughtful comment of “and it’s not always sunny.”

It all reminds me of so many similar articles including one from the Sunday Times in 2013. You may remember that one claimed Cornwall was a “playground for the super-rich,” and it had a lot to say about celebrities, helipads, polo on the beach” and hotel rooms with “the scent of fig electronically pumped into the air.” 

They also renamed Cornwall. Not as “Poldark land” but as the “Champagne Coast,” adding that “with the drive down from London taking just three hours in a Porsche, Cornwall is becoming something of a millionaire’s paradise.”

I refuse to recognise this almost mythical “lifestyle Cornwall.” And I want to see more properly-researched articles from the mainstream media about what Dr Bernard Deacon once described as “life-struggle Cornwall,” the reality in which local people struggle to make ends meet and access affordable housing in a low-wage area that has an economic performance which is only 70% of the UK average.

The Human Rights Act

My article in last week’s Cornish Guardian covered the threat to the Human Rights Act. It was as follows:

The Human Rights Act received Royal Assent in 1998 and came into force in October 2000. An important piece of legislation, it incorporated the rights contained within the European Convention on Human Rights directly into British law.

The Convention itself had been produced in the years immediately following the Second World War by the Council of Europe – the leading human rights body across the continent.

The Council of Europe is backed by 47 different member-states, all of which have signed up the Convention which promotes “human rights, democracy and the rule of law.” It should not be confused with the European Union (presently made up of 28 member-states) and it is my understanding that the referendum vote to leave the EU will not impact on the UK’s membership of the Council.

In my view, the European Convention and the UK’s Human Rights Act are extremely important, safeguarding the rights and freedoms of ordinary people.These include the right to life, the prohibition of torture, protection against slavery, the right to a fair trial, respect for privacy and family life, freedom of thought and religion and belief, the right to free speech and peaceful protest, the protection of property, the right to an education, the right to free elections, and an end to discrimination.

British people should be extremely proud of the UK’s role in bringing this European Convention to fruition. This involved many lawyers from the United Kingdom and the committee which drafted the document was even chaired by David Patrick Maxwell Fyfe, a prominent Conservative politician who, as well as serving as Attorney General and Home Secretary had been one of the prosecuters at the Nuremberg Trials in the late 1940s.

And here in Cornwall, we should not forget that it was through the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities that the UK Government finally recognised the Cornish as a national group, pledging equality with the Welsh and Scottish.

But it is worrying that the Conservative Party is continuing to talk up proposals to replace the Human Rights Act with a weaker and less-encompassing “British Bill of Rights and Responsibilities.”

The independent organisation Liberty is one of many groups campaigning to defend the Human Rights Act which it says “protects all of us – young and old, rich and poor,” and has brought together over one hundred organisations to fight the proposals.

These groups include a wide range of “charities supporting children, older people, carers, victims of trafficking and slavery, disabled people and asylum-seekers and refugees, as well as national groups representing psychiatrists, teachers, football supporters and students.”

I stand with Liberty and believe that we should do our utmost to protect the European Convention and the Human Rights Act.