Cornwall granted minority status within the UK

Later today the, Liberal Democrat, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, will confirm that the proud history, unique culture, and distinctive language of Cornwall will be fully recognised under European rules for the protection of national minorities. 

The decision to recognise the unique identity of the Cornish, now affords them the same status under the European Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities as the UK’s other Celtic people, the Scots, the Welsh and the Irish. For the first time the government has recognised the distinctive culture and history of the Cornish.

Speaking on a visit to Bodmin, Cornwall, Danny Alexander is expected to say: "Cornish people have a proud history and a distinct identity. I am delighted that we have been able to officially recognise this and afford the Cornish people the same status as other minorities in the UK."

Today’s announcement builds on the government’s continued commitment to Cornwall and the Cornish language. The Cornish language has already been recognised under European rules for minority languages. In March this year, the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced that the Government would be investing a further £120,000 into the Cornish Language Partnership (MAGA) to promote and develop the language.

Welcoming the news the Liberal Democrat Communities Minister Stephen Williams commented: "This is a great day for the people of Cornwall who have long campaigned for the distinctiveness and identity of the Cornish people to be recognised officially. The Cornish and Welsh are the oldest peoples on this island and as a proud Welshman I look forward to seeing Saint Piran's Flag flying with extra Celtic pride on March 5 next year.”

Mebyon Kernow – the Party for Cornwall has welcomed the Government’s announcement. Speaking on behalf of Mebyon Kernow, Party Leader Cllr Dick Cole said: “This is a fantastic announcement for Cornwall. I am absolutely delighted that the Government has recognised the Cornish people as a National Minority and it is great to see that all the Celtic peoples of these Islands – the Cornish, Irish, Scottish and Welsh – are now afforded equal protection under the Framework Convention." 

Concluding Councillor Cole said: "People have been campaigning on this issue for over fifteen years and I would like to pay a heartfelt tribute to everyone who played a part in the long running fight to secure National Minority status."

Cameron says "money is no object" - really?

By Mebyon Kernow leader Dick Cole

My column in this week’s Cornish Guardian focused on the Government response to the devastating storms and floods that have hit Cornwall and elsewhere. It was as follows: 

Last week, David Cameron insisted that, when it comes to dealing with the recent storms and the flooding, "money is no object."

His exact words were: "Nothing is more important than dealing with these floods. Money is no object in this relief effort. Whatever money is needed for it, it will be spent. We will take whatever steps are necessary.”

It is to be welcomed that central government has allocated an additional £130 million to deal with the damage caused by the bad weather.

And the speed with which repairs are being carried out on the damaged railway line at Dawlish must also be welcomed, with the Prime Minister promising investigations into further rail improvements.

The announcement of changes to the Bellwin scheme (which partially recompenses councils after they have carried out emergency repairs following exceptional weather) will also mean extra resources to local authorities, though much of the detail is still quite sketchy.

There certainly appears to be a willingness to cover “costs incurred during the current emergency response and recovery,” but there is less certainty about the level of Government support for capital works to repair structural damage in the long-term.

Indeed, less than 24 hours after the Prime Minister pledged "money is no object," sources from Number 10 stated that his comments “did not mean extra money would be found.” They stated that, instead, “Whitehall departments would be expected to find money … from their existing budgets.” His Transport Secretary said that there would be no "blank cheque.”

It is my view that central government needs to clear up this uncertainty as a matter of urgency, and to put its money where its mouth is.

Further to this, in my column last week, I was extremely critical of the Government’s failure prior to the floods to invest in rail improvements for Cornwalland the wider South West.

Following on from my comments, my attention was drawn to a report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (North). The thinktank has calculated the regional impact of central government’s planned expenditure spending on large-scale transport projects. It showed that Londoners are receiving public investment in transport of £2,596 per head while, by comparison, in the North East of England it is only £5 per person. In the South West, the investment is just £17.58 per head.

Such inequity in investment simply cannot be allowed to continue.