23rd September 2014 |
The 'Cornish Question'
Address by John Pollard, Leader Cornwall Council
"I have made it clear, my personal view is that we do not need new layers of government;
Cornwall Council can deliver what an Assembly would if we are given the authority.
This will not be radical enough for some and a step too far for many, BUT unless we agree
and make a strong case we will languish as an authority whose potential has
never been
realised . . ." more |
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20th September 2014 |
Devolution strikes back – but do Cornwall and Yorkshire want more powers
. . .or just more money?
New Statesman
"The poverty levels show that Cornwall is getting a bad deal from being part of the
United Kingdom. If prospectors struck oil off the Falmouth coast tomorrow,
I don't see how anyone could blame the Cornish for rolling out
barbed wire along the banks of the Tamar . . ." more |
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Scottish vote sparks fresh calls for devolution across UK
Daily Express
"The Scottish government has now been promised 'extensive new powers' on tax and
welfare and a final say over the NHS.
Now other parts of the UK, including London, Cornwall and Wales, are expected
to fight their corner in this debate and attempt to wrangle
more freedom from Westminster . . ." more |
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Cornwall must speak with one voice to secure devolution deal
Western Morning News
"As Scotland votes in the referendum, Julian German chairman of the Cornish Constitutional Convention, says devolution for Cornwall and the regions should follow . . ." more |
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Scotland Independence Results: Is an Independent Cornwall On the Cards?
International Business Times
"Campaigners for Cornish devolution have stepped up action to get increased powers
fo
r Cornwall following the result of the Scottish independence referendum . . ." more |
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Campaigners for Cornish devolution determined to win more powers for Cornwall
Irish Independent
"With Scotland saying No to independence, campaigners for Cornish devolution are
determined to win increased powers for Cornwall . . ." more |
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19th September 2014 |
English Parliament no devolution solution
The MJ
"Now is the time to look at devolution of finance and powers to cities, city regions,
combined authorities and county-regions. A different approach for
different
areas
depending on local circumstances . . ." more |
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13th September 2014 |
Yorkshire First
"Yorkshire and the Humber has a similar population to Scotland and an economy almost
double that of Wales, and it's about time it had similar powers . . ." more |
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12th September 2014 |
How the independence referendum energised devolution around the UK
The Guardian
"There is a growing feeling in Cornwall that the Scottish referendum will eventually lead
to greater self-government in the far south-west of Britain . . ." more |
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#indyref : the English regions that want devolution too
Channel 4 News
"It is not just the big cities that are pushing for more powers. Cornwall, whose Celtic
people received "minority rights" status in April, has a population of 547,000.
With a small economy worth £7bn and salaries way below the UK and EU
average, it would like to raise more of the money it spends . . ." more |
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18th August 2014 |
Scottish independence : Is Cornwall more like Scotland than England?
BBC News
"Cornwall is about as far away from Scotland as it is possible to get by land in
the UK and
has a vibrant nationalist identity. But does it share
more with Scotland than England? . . ." more |
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12th August 2014 |
Bill Jamieson : Salmond is ahead in the long game
The Scotsman
"Meanwhile in the far south-west, devolution pressure is mounting.
In January, John Pollard,
leader of Cornwall Council, submitted an outstanding paper to the
Fiscal Devolution
to
Cities and City Regions Inquiry recommending a repatriation of
business
rates
for
the
county, flexibility in business rate setting, more control
over
investment
in
infrastructure and calling for facts and figures in areas
such as the
devolution
of council tax and stamp duty . . ." more |
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28th June 2014 |
Scotland's independence referendum is spurring the desire for
political devolution in England
"Arianna Giovannini and Joanie Willett explore the uneven path of English regionalism,
focusing on two cases : the North East and Cornwall, during and after the New
Labour government. Scotland's referendum has reminded people that
there are alternatives,
and that regional devolution is a possible
solution to a London-centric problem . . ." more |
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24th April 2014 |
Cornish Granted Minority Status within the UK
"Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, today announced that the proud history,
unique culture, and distinctive language of Cornwall will be fully
recognised under
European rules for the protection of national minorities . . ." more |
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24th March 2014 |
Minister signals 'appetite' for Cornwall devolution deal
West Briton
"Speaking to the Western Morning News, Mr Clark signalled his enthusiasm for
their plans. He said: 'Cornwall is a place, from the Government's
point of
view,
where there's been a particular appetite to do a deal with'.
'It's a place that exemplifies par excellence my view that the people that know
best
what is needed for the area are the people who live and work there' . . ." more |
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19th March 2014 |
Devolution's biggest hurdle : Whitehall's culture of contempt
INLOGOV Blog
"Regarding local government, it's hard to know whether the politicians who signed up to
that 2010 decentralisation pledge, or the Ministers subsequently responsible
for implementing it, ever really believed in it – other than as
a
vote-winning slogan . . ." more |
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15th March 2014 |
Achieving Political Decentalisation
Institute for Government
"In recent decades, UK parties of all political persuasions have made commitments to
decentralise power. This is, in many ways, unsurprising. The UK is one of the most
centralised countries of its size in the developed world, and English local
government
has the most circumscribed powers of any
equivalent tier internationally . . ." more |
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11th March 2014 |
OPINION : Cornish Assembly deserves a fair hearing
"Most people 'east of the border' – as well as residents of Cornwall itself – may have been
baffled by Mebyon Kernow's St Piran's Day call for a national assembly . . ." more
Western Morning News 10th March 2014 |
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11th February 2014 |
Gwenno Saunders : This is Cymru Calling
"I see a need for every one of the countries that make up these isles to have the power
to choose their own destiny, we need to move away from a centralised government
that has no interest in what’s happening on the periphery . . ." more |
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7th January 2014 |
I Will Push for Cornish Recognition
"I recently got an email regarding the recognition of the Cornish People within the
Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities from the
Cornwall Branch Celtic League.
This is something on which I have consistently led the campaign in Parliament . . ." more |
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3rd December 2013 |
Chair Julian German's Address to Convention AGM
"The Steering Group has reaffirmed our fundamental tenants that; we are charged
with
advancing progress toward a democratically-elected Assembly for Cornwall,
that we should
be examining real and realistic models of constitutional change
for Cornwall, and we
should be speaking the truth to power
– something
we have always done well . . ." more
Cornwall Council Leader John Pollard's Address to Convention AGM
I have to tell you that I believe that it is by further empowering Cornwall Council
that Cornwall can
take control of its own destiny. Cornwall Council is now
the one representational body that
Cornwall has and that's the way it
should be.
We do not need any further tiers of government
and
we must share our power and responsibility with
the Towns and Parishes . . ." more |
30th November 2013 |
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING & CONFERENCE The Judge's Dining Room : Bodmin Town Council
Shire House Mount Folly
BODMIN PL31 2DQ |
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30th January 2013 |
Cornish Constitutional Convention welcomes MPs vote to defer plans for
Devonwall seat
"Our historic border should not be compromised.
Cornwall is one of the constituent parts of the United Kingdom; other borders are not
crossed
for parliamentary seats and Cornwall should not be the exception. We are
content
that the government wishes to review the number of MPs but Cornwall
has a
strong identity and our
border is one of the oldest in Europe. We were
totally
opposed to a cross border constituency and welcome the fact
that this will not happen at the next General Election." |
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28th August 2012 |
Open Letter to Sarah Newton MP
"I'm suprised that, in preparing your article, you did not contact me or colleagues to clarify
the Convention's position. We welcome constructive discourse, as I am sure you will
recall from your attendance at our pre-election Annual General Meeting and
your participation in the debate that day . . ." more |
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20th August 2012 |
Autonomy not Autocracy - George Eustice and Sarah Newton are Wrong
"Nobody in Cornwall has ever said that the devolution campaign, which focuses on the clear
and easily understood concept of a ‘Cornish Assembly’, seeks separation or divorce
from Britain, or to break the Union - this is rubbish put about by people who don’t want
to think carefully about how good governance works, or how good governance
needs to embrace both history and geography – and feelings . . ." more |
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22nd February 2012 |
Cornwall Council Cabinet Reshuffle
Congratulations to Julian German, whose new Cornwall Council Cabinet post, Localism,
Sustainability and Devolution, offers a real opportunity . . ." more |
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3rd February 2012 |
Cornish Constitutional Convention – the Next Phase
"There are a number of important factors which will affect how we proceed
in the next period . . ." more |
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3rd November 2010 |
Cornish Constitutional Convention Annual General Meeting 2010
10:00 am 20th November 2010
Truro City Council Chamber, Boscawen Street, Truro
Agenda
Chair's Letter to Members
"On November 20th at 10am in Truro City Council Chamber we will hold
our
10th Annual
General Meeting. I think the best way of briefly
reviewing
the year for you is to
describe an incident that occurred a few
weeks ago
at Cornwall Council . . ." more
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23rd July 2010 |
Cornish Constitutional Convention celebrates its 10th aniversary
The First Decade (Part I)
"Somebody from the Campaign for English Regions (based in Newcastle) made a speech
in Launceston. He told the audience that Cornwall would be included in the proposed
South West, and a democratically elected regional assembly would be set up.
He said we had no choice and asked us to join him in
bringing this great project to fruition . . ." more
The First Decade (Part II)
"By 2000 Cornwall was awaking from a long voyage. The triumphs and degradations
of its industrial and inventive past lay silent. The elastoplast of a tourism, founded
on a myth of tranquil decline, was peeling away to reveal unhealed wounds,
and poverty, chronic depression and decay . . ." more |
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14th November 2009 |
Cornish Constitutional Convention Annual General Meeting 2009
Chairman's Report
"The Cornish Assembly is now the mainstream issue in forward-moving Cornish politics.
It is one of those developments that officials and government now
assume will happen . . ." more |
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13th October 2009 |
The Next Push
"The new Cornwall Council unitary authority is a step along the way to secure effective,
efficient, responsive and forward-looking governance for Cornwall, a peripheral,
distinctive and different British region . . ." more |
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14th July 2009 |
Government of Cornwall Bill
introduced by Dan Rogerson MP, North Cornwall
"A Bill to establish and make provision about the Cornish Assembly; to transfer functions
and powers to the Assembly; and for connected purposes . . ." more |
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4th June 2009 |
Minister 'Stands Ready' to give Cornwall more 'Local Empowerment'
Press Release from Andrew George MP
Website link to House of Commons Debate 3rd June 2009 |
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5th March 2009 |
Cornwall: A New Beginning?
"Cornwall must be ambitious and proud. We are an outstanding region in the UK.
So let’s be outstanding in our political ambitions: . . ." more |
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10th May 2008 |
Letter to Blair Thompson, Chair,
Cornwall Strategic Partnership
"I am writing in response to the invitation to advise the process of forming the Sustainable Communities Strategy . . ." more |
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1st December 2007 |
Council Leader Whalley hints at new partnership and new role for Convention
“There is something inevitable about the journey to a Cornish Assembly!”
“We are at the beginning of a process, and we have a strategy to achieve our long term ambition to ensure that decisions about Cornwall, which affect Cornwall and shape Cornwall, are made in Cornwall. The Government is beginning to see the light . . ." more |
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26th July 2007 |
The Cornish Unitary – A reflection on new challenges
(Cornish World and West Briton)
"Let's get the collective brain in gear – it's time to step across the unitary stone and head for the Assembly on the other bank, via the Cornish dispersed city region . . ." more |
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17th July 2007 |
HM Treasury Press Release
Government Review empowers regions and localities to spread
economic opportunity to all
"The Government is today launching the review of sub-national economic development and regeneration, setting out bold plans to ensure that every area of the country has the
opportunity to benefit from rising prosperity . . ." more |
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17th July 2007 |
HM Treasury Publication
Review of Sub-National
Economic Development and Regeneration
"The economic trends of globalisation and technological change will make it
increasingly
important that places can respond quickly and flexibly to economic
change if they are to
increase prosperity and tackle effectively concentrations of
disadvantage . . ." more (835kb) |
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21st June 2007 |
Submission to Local Government Review
"
I am writing on behalf of the Cornish Constitutional Convention to offer its view of the ‘One Cornwall' bid and options for Cornwall . . ." more |
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6th February 2007 |
Resolved by Cornwall Council 23rd January 2007
"Proposition: Without prejudice to the submissions made by Cornwall County Council or the district councils,
the Leader and CEO of Cornwall County Council convene an urgent meeting
of Leaders and
CEOs of all Cornish principal authorities to propose an agreement to
submit
a joint outline proposition for further discussion with her to
the Secretary of State to include: . . ." more |
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30th January 2007 |
A Good Start to 2007
"I am writing following the meeting at Cornwall Council on 23rd January at which the Council decided to submit a bid to the Local Government Review . . ." more |
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23rd January 2007 |
Letter to Ruth Kelly MP, Secretary of State DCLG
"If we are to achieve the best for the people of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, and if we are to
fulfil our potential in a creative and sustainable way, then we need to perceive of Cornwall
& the
Isles of Scilly as a rural and peripheral equivalent of a city region – a dispersed, rural city . . ." more |
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28th December 2006 |
Western Morning News
Why did 30000 people march through the streets of Hayle?
"As we snooze away Christmas meals bureaucratic wheels are turning which may reorganise
local government in Cornwall . . ." more |
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29th November 2006 |
Towards the Cornish Governance Proposition
Objective: Best value governance of public sector services delivery...building on
existing assets, including the LAA and Strategic Partnerships . . . more |
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26th November 2006 |
Regional Spaces, Spaces of Regionalism:
Territory, Insurgent Politics
and the English Question
Presentation slides (6.3 Mb pdf) of article by Martin Jones and Gordon MacLeod from
Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, Volume 29, Issue 4,
pp 433-452
Full text available from Blackwell Synergy |
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26th October 2006 |
Cornish Convention welcomes new white paper
Historic opportunity – time to set aside differences and be inclusive
"We welcome publication of the white paper. The invitation to present a proposition
for the future management and delivery of public services in Cornwall
(and the Isles of Scilly, if it wishes to participate)
is unique and historic . . ." more |
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30th June 2006 |
The Cornish Proposition
letter to Tim Jones, Acting Leader, Restormel Borough Council |
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United Council Backs Campaign For Cornish Assembly
"Restormel Borough Council has thrown its full weight behind the campaign for a
Cornish Assembly and agreed to take a pro-active role . . ." more |
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29th June 2006 |
Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly - Framing the proposition
letter to Rt Hon Ruth Kelly MP, Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government |
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21st June 2006 |
Why Britain should pay homage to Catalonia
Simon Jenkins in The Guardian
download printable version (pdf) |
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19th June 2006 |
Letter to Dr Phyllis Starkey MP, chair of ODPM Select Committee,
sent
following the session of the committee at which Convention Chair Bert Biscoe
gave evidence in June 2006 |
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26th May 2006 |
Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly – a new model for the future
letter to Rt Hon Ruth Kelly MP, Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government |
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13th March 2006 |
Cornwall County Council - Lyons Commission Resolution
"There is keen interest in Cornwall in reforming the governance of
public service delivery . . ." more |
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9th March 2006 |
CORNISH ASSEMBLY CAMPAIGN MAKES RADICAL PROPOSAL
TO GOVERNMENT’S LYONS COMMISSION
"It’s time to ask, what would an assembly actually do?. . ." more
Read the Convention's Introduction and Submission to the Lyons Commission
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