In the lead-up to the 2021 census, I was heavily involved with the campaign to secure a Cornish nationality tick-box. We repeatedly made the argument that the UK Government had promised to treat the Cornish – who they recognise as a national minority – in the same manner as the Northern Irish, Scottish and Welsh, who were to be allocated tick-boxes. It was very frustrating that we did not succeed. I recall the circularity of responses from the UK Government and…

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It is often estimated that some six million people around the world have Cornish ancestry. Emigration has certainly been a key narrative in the history of Cornwall and its people, and I am sure that the experience of my own family matches that of many others to the west of the Tamar. For example, three of my great-grandparents spent time in the United States of America, before returning home. In the early 1910s, Dick Cole worked in the Homestake Mine in…

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It is less than 12 months since I wrote about the House of Lords. At that time, I described the second chamber as “an anachronism that has no place in a modern democracy,” and I set out my frustration that 38 new peers had been created. I wish to return to this subject as another 34 new peers have just been announced – 25 from the Labour Party, five from the Lib Dems and three from the Conservatives, plus one cross-bencher.…

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The Autumn Budget included the creation of a Kernow Industrial Fund worth £30 million over two years. Cornwall’s MPs have been widely commended for their efforts in making this happen. John Brown, Chief Executive of the Cornwall Chamber of Commerce, was among those making positive comment about this and the launch of a Critical Mineral Strategy. He stated that: “There is a real palpable sense that Cornwall has arrived into the lexicon of Westminster and we have done so not as…

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I am getting increasingly frustrated by the planning process in Cornwall. As I have written before, Westminster has imposed an inappropriate, unsustainable and undeliverable housing target on Cornwall, which means that council officers have taken the view that we no longer have a “five-year land supply.” In this scenario, the Government’s National Planning Policy Framework states that a “tilted balance” comes into play and housing applications should be approved unless “adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the…

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The Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has just confirmed that elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) are to be abolished. I understand that the PCCs will continue in post until May 2028, when the next set of elections would have been held. Labour is describing the introduction of PCCs by David Cameron’s Government in 2012 as a “failed experiment.” They are promising that there will be savings, which will “fund more neighbourhood police on the beat across the country.” One PCC has…

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