We are pleased to report that councillors on the unitary authority overwhelmingly backed a motion to support devolution on a Cornwall footprint and oppose a South West Peninsula Mayoral Strategic Authority being imposed on Cornwall.
The motion was tabled by MK Cllr Dick Cole and seconded by independent Cllr Peter La Broy. It was backed by 56 councillors. Four councillors opposed the motion and there were 11 abstentions.
The Cornwall Council press statement published after the meeting stated that a “number of members raised concerns that a refusal to even discuss any potential deals could leave Cornwall left-behind in terms of devolution of powers and additional funding, while supporting the desire for a Cornwall-only deal, adding that “speaking after the meeting, Cllr Linda Taylor, leader of Cornwall Council, said: ‘Although there were some disagreements over wording, it is clear that the whole chamber supports securing a Cornwall-only deal for the benefit of our residents’.”
Cllr Cole’s speech at the start of the debate was as follows:
“Since the General Election, it has been positive to see politicians of all shades come together to make the case for more powers for Cornwall.
“I was proud to see all six of our MPs join with Group Leaders from across this Council [Conservative, Independent, Liberal Democrat, Labour and Mebyon Kernow/Green] in signing a letter to the Government seeking greater autonomy for Cornwall.
“Linked to this, we all know that local councils covering many of our larger towns have come together in support of devolution on a Cornwall footprint. And only last week, Cornwall’s businesses came out overwhelmingly in favour of the same.
“The White Paper was published in December and I acknowledge that it did not contain what we had hoped.
“We may be disappointed, but I believe it is vital that we maintain our unity in pushing for a stand-alone devolution deal for Cornwall.
“Colleagues, it is also extremely important that we support the efforts of our six MPs in continuing to support a new devolution settlement that properly reflects Cornwall’s unique position within the UK and the national minority status of the Cornish.
“I am grateful that Perran Moon MP has publicly called for councillors to support this motion. I know that Cllr George will be making a contribution later in this debate and I presume he will outline why we need to stand as one.
“It is my hope that everyone in this Chamber does accept that this motion has not been written to make political mischief. The intention of this statement is actually to bring people together. And it rightly pays tribute to everyone who has been working on this over the last six months.
“It is my perspective that we all want greater powers for Cornwall, though we may have varying views about what form this might take. This motion reflects that.
“It does not, for example, ask you to sign up to Mebyon Kernow’s ‘Towards a Cornish Parliament’ policy document – brilliant though it is!
“The motion expresses support for the principle of devolution on a Cornwall footprint and states that we do not support a ‘South West Peninsula Mayoral Strategic Authority’ being imposed on Cornwall
“I acknowledge that some councillors may be fearful that, if we do not accept being subsumed into a Devonwall set-up, we may end up getting less funding from central government. And it is fair to say that there have been some unfortunate comments of that ilk from the eastern side of the Tamar in recent days.
“But friends, now is not the time to be defeatist.
“At this very early stage in the rolling-out of the programme detailed in the Government’s White Paper, we need to be bold.
“We have yet to even see the timetable for the devolution legislation, which could be amended by MPs, and as democratically elected representatives of Cornwall, now is the time to send a strong message to Westminster of what we actually want for Cornwall.
“Please back this important motion today.”