Leadership Team
Mebyon Kernow's four-strong leadership team has collective experience of over 75 years on principal authorities in Cornwall.
- Cllr Dick Cole – Party Leader
- Cllr Loveday Jenkin – Deputy Leader
- Cllr Andrew Long – Treasurer
- Michael Bunney – Party Development Officer
Cornwall Councillors
Mebyon Kernow has a group of three councillors on the unitary authority led by Cllr Dick Cole.
Cllr Dick Cole
Cornwall Councillor for ‘St Dennis and St Enoder’
Cllr Dick Cole has been the leader of MK since 1997 and he has been an elected councillor for over 25 years.
He was elected to serve his home parish of St Enoder on Restormel Borough Council in 1999 and, in 2009, stood down from his employment with the Cornwall Archaeological Unit, so that he could stand for election to Cornwall Council. Since the 2021 elections, he has served the larger seat of St Dennis and St Enoder.
In his time as a councillor, he has made 55 successful grant applications for local parish councils and community groups, raising more than one million pounds for local projects.
The Cornwall Live website has also listed Dick at no 3 in its ‘Cornish List’ of those people who ‘lead the way in campaigning on Cornish issues’.
He is a bard of Gorsedh Kernow – Gwythyas an Tir (Guardian of the Land).
Cllr Dr Loveday Jenkin
Cornwall Councillor for ‘Crowan, Sithney and Wendron’
Cllr Loveday Jenkin was the leader of Mebyon Kernow between 1990 and 1997 and she is a respected politican with a long track record of campaigning.
Trained in ecology to post-graduate level, she worked in the environment sector for many years. Loveday was elected onto Kerrier District Council in 1995 and served on the authority for 14 years, rising to a position on the Cabinet.
In a 2011 by-election, she was elected onto Cornwall Council for her home division of Wendron and Crowan. Re-elected in 2013, 2017 and 2021, she now serves the enlarged Crowan, Sithney and Wendron division.
Extremely active in the Cornish language movement, she is also MK’s spokesperson in the language.
She is a bard of Gorsedh Kernow – Myrgh an Tyr (Daughter of the Country).
Cllr Andrew Long
Cornwall Councillor for ‘Callington and St Dominic’
A long-standing member of Callington Town Council, Cllr Andrew Long has served as the Chairman and Portreeve of his home parish.
He was elected onto the Caradon District Council in 2007. Two years later, when the district council was abolished, he was elected onto the unitary authority for his home town. He now represents the larger Callington and St Dominic seat.
Well-known in his local area, he has been active with a large number of organisations, including Callington Football Club which he served for many years as Chairman.
Andrew also assists a community group which does a soup run for homeless people in Plymouth.
He is a bard of Gorsedh Kernow – An Hir a Gelliwick (The Long One from Callington)
Town and Parish Councillors
Mebyon Kernow – The Party for Cornwall has 26 official councillors on a range of local councils stretching across Cornwall.
Honorary Life President
Colin Lawry
An active member of the Party for Cornwall for over 45 years, Colin was chosen as MK’s Honorary President in November 2024.
He holds the record of being MK’s most successful election candidate. He has contested more elections to principal authorities than any other member of MK, winning 75% of his twelve contests. He served on Penwith District Council between 1982 and 2002 and on Cornwall County Council between 1985 and 2001.
He played a leading role in the campaign for a Cornwall-only constituency for the European Parliament, and was also MK’s candidate in the 1989 Euro-elections. In addition, in 2000, he chaired a working group, comprising a wide cross-section of the Cornish movement, which oversaw the production of the first report calling for the Cornish to be recognised as a national minority.
He is a bard of Gorsedh Kernow – Den Lulyn (Man of Newlyn).