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Why is Cornwall - a region of England - included in a course on devolution?
In 2015, Cornwall became the first rural council in England to sign a devolution deal with the UK Government. A movement continues to press for the County of Cornwall to have increased powers; some even hope for full independence...
Cornish Pride
Does someone from California think that their identity as a Californian is more important than their identity as an American? Depends on the Californian, of course. Within a big country like the United States, it makes sense that people from different regions have different identities. Even though the UK is very small when compared to the US, you now know about the incredibly long history of humans in Great Britain - and with that history comes a lot of identity politics. Watch this video to learn why Cornwall, even though technically a county in England rather than a separate nation like Scotland, is part of the devolution story.
Devolution in England?
In the 1990s, devolution focused on the three non-English nations within the United Kingdom: Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. But Westminster’s transfer of powers to newly made governments in those areas increased interest in subnational control across the country - and created a blueprint for further localisation. Read about Cornwall’s becoming the first English county to hold devolved powers in this BBC article.
Since county devolution began in 2015, Cornwall has continued to see a strong movement for expanded local power. Over the past few years, Cornwall and Westminster have been in negotiations about a much broader devolution package. Interestingly, though, it’s not really Westminster who halted the plans...read more in this recent news piece.
Environmental Policy in Cornwall
Cornwall’s partial devolution does not include the large range of powers over environmental policy that Scotland’s devolution status has, but the Council does have a good bit of control over (1) how local funding is spent and (2) which environmental agendas to encourage.
The county very explicitly highlights environmental issues in its rhetoric; in fact, the first paragraph of the recently proposed deal pointed to nature as a key reason for why Cornwall is seeking devolution: “...Cornwall enjoys a beautiful natural environment with 422 miles of coastline and a vibrant culture and heritage of creativity and innovation. This history and the geography of Cornwall, surrounded on three sides by the sea, fuels a strong sense of place and fosters a proud distinctive identity...”
Browse the pages below, curated by the Cornish Council, to get a sense of how the local government frames environmental concerns and goals.
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