Article by Cllr Dick Cole published in Cornish Guardian newspaper (6th December 2023)

On Tuesday 28th November, the ten-strong ruling Cabinet on Cornwall Council  voted to proceed with the so-called “level 2 devolution deal.”

As someone who has campaigned for meaningful devolution for Cornwall for my entire adult life, I have to say how desperately disappointed I am at what has been agreed. It does not include the transfer of far-reaching powers from Westminster to Cornwall as has happened in Wales and Scotland. The deal is simply a range of accommodations between central government and Cornwall’s unitary authority. And I was not surprised that the editorial in last week’s Cornish Guardian stated that the deal “doesn’t amount to much.”

The most telling part of the deal is paragraph 23 of the document. It states that “the Government will devolve to Cornwall Council the following functions …” But only one function is listed – adult education and skills. It would mean decisions about an existing budget being taken in Cornwall.

Apart from the funding for Cornish distinctiveness and related matters, which I covered in last week’s column, the remaining accommodations with the unitary authority are quite vague. The document includes 27 pledges for the Government and/or Cornwall Council to “work with” each other or other partners on various matters, 11 pledges to “consider” specific proposals and 11 pledges to “explore” certain initiatives.

There is no guarantee that such “commitments” will lead to anything and some are subject to business cases. The document also references certain projects already happening and which are therefore not dependent upon any deal.

But one thing did please me at last week’s Cabinet meeting. The administration in Truro acknowledges that Cornwall needs deeper devolution. It has committed itself to producing a White Paper, “making the case for much greater autonomy over Cornwall’s political and economic life.” This will involve a cross-party “reference group” made up of the leaders of the five political groups on the authority.

The language in the report about the White Paper is certainly more ambitious and notes that the document would be a ”new and bold vision for a historic national-Cornwall constitutional settlement.” It adds that “the White Paper will give further amplification to Cornwall’s credentials as a nation that can contribute even more to creating a stronger and more sustainable United Kingdom,” which builds on “recent paradiplomacy style agreements signed by the Leader of the Council with the First Minister of Wales and with other Celtic nations and regions.”

I look forward to playing my part in this project and making the case for a devolution settlement that amounts to something really significant.