Article by Cllr Dick Cole published in the Cornish Guardian newspaper (24th July 2024)

The new Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who is also the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, has been writing to local councils about the possibility of devolution.

In the letter received by Cornwall Council and many other local authorities on 16th July, she wrote that she was “laser focused” on “pushing power out of Whitehall.” She added that she wanted to invite councils “to partner with [her] Government to deliver the most ambitious programme of devolution this country has ever seen,” adding that “for too long, Westminster has hoarded power and held back towns, cities, and villages across the country from achieving their true potential.”

Obviously, devolution programmes in the late 1990s were truly ambitious, delivering the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly of Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly. What is being proposed by Angela Rayner, focusing on local government, is not therefore “the most ambitious … ever.” But we in Cornwall must engage with the new Government and make the best case that we can for Cornwall in this regard.

As one of the five Group Leaders on Cornwall Council, I am pleased to have co-signed a letter to the Prime Minister calling for Cornwall to have a seat on the proposed Council of Nations and Regions. The key argument for this came from Cornwall’s national status.

And following the King’s Speech setting out the legislative programme for the new Government, I have written to all six of Cornwall’s MPs. The Speech included an English Devolution Bill, with a focus on a “new framework for English devolution,” largely through mayoral powers and combined authorities. I have requested that the MPs get behind a re-energised push for meaningful devolution for Cornwall, which could be through a Cornish Devolution Bill.

Cornwall Council has also been working on a “White Paper” setting out a new devolution ask of central government. The leadership of the unitary authority has completed a draft, which will be discussed at a meeting of the Council’s Cabinet today (Wednesday 24th July).

The authors of the document claim the document is “designed to set out proposals as the basis for hopefully starting a discussion with Government.” The Group Leaders have been involved with the process. I have been clear and consistent in my call for a devolution settlement that has greater parity with the fellow Celtic nations of Wales and Scotland. But that, sadly, has not been fully reflected in the draft.

The White Paper can be viewed as part of the Cabinet papers on the Council website and there is a short “window of opportunity” for one and all (16th August) to provide comments.