Article by Cllr Dick Cole published in the Cornish Guardian (17th June 2026) and West Briton newspapers (18th June 2026)

Westminster politics in recent years has been pretty febrile. This was certainly the scenario with the Conservative Party in the period leading up to the 2024 General Election, which was evidenced by considerable internal dissent and regular ministerial resignations.

Only a couple of years on, it seems like the present Labour Government is also within a very unsettled space. There have also been a number of ministerial resignations in recent weeks, and the Prime Minister certainly looks to be under immense pressure from critics within his own party. Dozens and dozens of Labour MPs have written to him expressing a lack of confidence in his leadership.   

This Thursday, the voters of the Makerfield constituency will be going to the polls. The contest was caused by the resignation of a Labour MP, Josh Simons, specifically to facilitate the Mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham, being able to stand for election to Westminster. If he is successful, there is an assumption that he will challenge Keir Starmer for the leadership of the Labour Party and, by association, his position as PM. Indeed, there are numerous media reports that he will “launch an immediate leadership challenge after victory.”

My view that we live in an over-centralised state, that has too much of a focus on London and the South East of England, is well-known. And many supporters of the Manchester Mayor have been regularly making the point that he, as a “regional” politician, would be better placed to be a Prime Minister that serves the whole of the UK.  

So if reports are accurate, and Andy Burnham does become Prime Minister, will this be good for Cornwall? It is not that long ago that he appeared at a “devolution” meeting at a Labour conference, at which he unashamedly called for a metro mayor for Cornwall and Devon.

I remember my frustration that he remained unsighted and oblivious to the calls from Cornwall for “proper devolution … like Scotland and Wales,” as I described it then and on many occasions since. At that time, I did comment that it was a “terrible shame that Cornwall had not achieved devolution” under the Blair/Brown governments – of which Burnham was a part – and I again issued a challenge from MK that Labour back a new and meaningful democratic settlement for Cornwall.

I do not think that Labour is doing enough for Cornwall and I have no evidence that this PM-in-waiting is a convert to the cause of Cornish devolution. Burnham or Starmer – will it make any difference?