Nadelik Lowen

As we edge ever closer to the festive break, I would like to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas and a prosperous and healthy New Year.

I would also like to thank all those people who have been supportive of my work throughout 2018. I can assure you all that I am most grateful for the help and encouragement I have received. It is much appreciated.

Nadelik Lowen ha Bledhen Nowydh Da.

My comment on discriminatory census White Paper

As the leader of Mebyon Kernow, I have condemned the publication of a Government White Paper about the 2021 census which states it does not support the provision of a Cornish tickbox. In a statement, I described the announcement as “illogical, prejudicial, disrespectful and just plain wrong.”

“The Cornish are recognised as a national minority through the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, just the same as the Irish, Scots and Welsh.

“It is scandalous that the UK Government and Office of National Statistics consider it acceptable that the Cornish will be the only UK national minority to be denied a tickbox on the 2021 census. This is discriminatory. It is also illogical, prejudicial, disrespectful and just plain wrong.

“But we must not give up. We must redouble our efforts to push for a Cornish tickbox and to pressure the UK Government to do the right thing and to meet its obligations through the Framework Convention.”

Further information

The UK Government has published a White Paper entitled “Help Shape Our Future: The 2021 Census of Population and Housing in England and Wales.” It states that there will not be a Cornish tickbox on the next census.

The document can be accessed at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-2021-census-of-population-and-housing-in-england-and-wales

BAD NEWS: UK GOVERNMENT IS NOT SUPPORTING CORNISH TICKBOX ON 2021 CENSUS

The UK Government has just published a White Paper entitled “Help Shape Our Future: The 2021 Census of Population and Housing in England and Wales.” 

It states that there will not be a Cornish tickbox on the next census and under the heading “National identity” includes the following:

3.115: A question on national identity was asked for the first time in the 2011 Census to complement the question on ethnic group. The question enabled respondents to identify themselves using a range of options including British, English, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish, irrespective of their ethnic group. In considering this topic for the 2021 Census, ONS recognised a medium user need, particularly when considered with the ethnic group, and recommended, at that time, a question on national identity should be included.

3.116: The evidence provided during the topic consultation and further engagement with stakeholders about ethnicity identified requests for a new response option for Cornish. ONS fully recognises the need of the Cornish community for data on the socio-economic, educational, health and housing conditions of those who identify as Cornish. While there is national user need, the main need is local within Cornwall.

3.117: The development of the “search-as-you-type” facility on the online form will be coupled with a strong local marketing and communications campaign, and additional field support will enable all those who wish to self-identify as being of any particular identity, including Cornish, to know how to do so.

3.118: ONS will also for the first time produce an analytical report on the population who identify as Cornish and how their health, housing, work and education differs from those who do not identify as Cornish.

3.119: The evidence from the topic consultation stated a need for a Cornish response option to supplement other data sources, such as the School Census and housing needs survey to understand the impact of policy and deprivation characteristics of the indigenous population and their cultural identity. Complementing this evidence was the recognition in 2014 of Cornish as a National Minority under the European Framework Convention of the Protection of National Minorities. In the 2011 Census, 83,000 usual residents wrote in Cornish as their national identity. Of these, 73,000 lived in Cornwall, comprising approximately 14% of the population. The remaining 10,000 resided elsewhere in England and Wales.

3.120: ONS has met and reviewed the evidence of Cornish stakeholders to understand the need and conducted testing to consider the acceptability of adding regional tick-boxes, including Cornish, to the national identity question. Having reviewed the evidence against the evaluation criteria, ONS has concluded that the need for a Cornish tick-box is very localised and not strong enough to justify its inclusion in the nationwide census, when ONS can gather the data by means of the online and paper write in options.

Cornwall has the lowest economic performance of any nation in the UK

Yesterday, as the Brexit chaos and the Conservative infighting continued to engulf Westminster, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) released its latest GVA (gross value added) figures.

This data shows economic performance across the UK. The latest figures are for the year 2017, and show that Cornwall still has the lowest economic performance of any nation in the United Kingdom.

In 2017, England had a GVA per head (income report) of £27,949, which was 102.8% of the UK average, followed by Scotland with a GVA of £25,685 (94.5%). Doing less well were Northern Ireland and Wales, with GVA figures of £21,237 (78.1%) and £19,705 (72.5%) respectively.

By comparison, the figure for Cornwall was only £18,458, which was 67.9% of the UK average.

Surely such figures once again show that it is time for Westminster MPs to look up from their squabbling and to finally focus on winning a better deal and achieving economic fairness for Cornwall.

My view on Question Time in Penzance ...

My article in last week’s Cornish Guardian gave my views on the recent visit of Question to Penzance. It was as follows:

Last week, the BBC’s Question Time programme – in which politicians and other public figures are quizzed on topical issues – was in Cornwall.

The programme was broadcast from Mount’s Bay School in Penzance but, disrespectfully, not one of the five panellists came from Cornwall or even had a Cornish connection.

There were three Westminster MPs involved in this most recent episode. Representing the Conservatives was Nadhim Zahawi MP (Stratford-upon-Avon) and Labour’s choice was Rebecca Long-Bailey (Salford and Eccles), while Layla Moran (Oxford West and Abingdon) was there for the Liberal Democrats.

The two other panellists were Tim Martin from the Wetherspoon chain of public houses, who I understand lives in Exeter, and the writer Benjamin Zephaniah who presently resides in Lincolnshire.

I don’t think that it would have been too difficult to have some Cornish voices on the programme. Surely, one of Cornwall’s six MPs could have represented the Conservatives and Adam Paynter, the leader of Cornwall Council, could have been the Liberal Democrat’s nominee. I can also think of a number of business people from Cornwall who would have had plenty to say.

The BBC website has a “frequently asked questions” section about Question Time. This includes: “Why doesn’t the panel reflect the region they are in by having local politicians on the panel?” It blandly answers its own question by stating it “is a national programme which must be relevant to audiences across the UK” though it is “broadcast from all round the country to make sure that a broad cross-section of audiences have the chance to take part.”

That claim is crass nonsense. Could you image an episode from Scotland or Wales, without a single representative from those countries? Of course not!

Eight weeks ago, the programme was in Edinburgh and all the panellists had meaningful Scottish connections: Ross Thomson (Conservative MP for Aberdeen South), two members of the Scottish Parliament Kezia Dugdale (Labour) and Mike Russell (Scottish National Party), crime writer Val McDermid from Kirkcaldy and the editor of the Spectator magazine Fraser Nelson, who was actually born in Truro but raised in Nairn.

Likewise, when Question Time was last in Wales, only three weeks ago, the guests included Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts and the general secretary of the Public and Commercial Service Union, Mark Serwotka, who is from Cardiff.

It is my view that the BBC should apologise for the total exclusion of local political voices from the recent Penzance show and give guarantees that, in the future, it will treat Cornwall with the same respect as the other Celtic parts of the United Kingdom.