In his keynote address at MK’s 2023 National Conference in Truro on Sunday, MK leader Cllr Dick Cole couldn’t help but comment on the Labour Party’s failure to support devolution for Cornwall.

He said: “It was disappointing but not surprising that Keir Starmer had nothing specific to say about Cornwall in his Conference speech. After all, it is only months since his party published its ‘A New Britain’ document, which claimed to be about ‘Renewing Our Democracy and Rebuilding Our Economy.’

“155 pages. Scotland – 198 mentions. The adjective Scottish – often in the context of their national parliament – 84 mentions. Wales – 123 mentions. The adjective Welsh – 41 mentions.

“But what about Cornwall. Zero references. Not one single mention.

“When I did the word-search and typed in the first four letters of Cornwall, the computer acknowledged two words. One was ‘corner.’ The other was ‘unicorn.’ To explain. This is a reference to a form of start-up company.

“But it is nonetheless pretty telling that you are more likely to find a unicorn in Labour policy than a commitment to devolution for Cornwall.”