Cornish Nationalist Party


The Cornish Nationalist Party is a political party founded in 1975. It initially campaigned for independence for Cornwall but later supported devolved powers under central UK control.
The CNP should not be confused other Cornish nationalist parties, including Mebyon Kernow from which the CNP split in 1975, or the similarly named Cornish National Party, which split from MK in 1969.

History

The party was formed on 28 May 1975 by people who left Mebyon Kernow, Cornwall's main nationalist party, and was first led by James Whetter.
The split with Mebyon Kernow was based on two main debates. First was whether to be a centre-left party, appealing to the electorate on a social democratic line, or whether to appeal emotionally on a centre-right cultural line. At the time, the same debate was occurring in most political parties campaigning for autonomy from the United Kingdom, including the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru. Second was whether to embrace devolution as a first step to full independence or for independence to be "all or nothing".
The CNP represented a more right-wing outlook based on the belief that cultural arguments were more likely to win votes than economic ones. The CNP worked to preserve the Celtic identity of Cornwall, and encouraged links with Cornish people overseas and with other regions with distinct identities. It also gave support to the Cornish language and commemorated Thomas Flamank, a leader of the Cornish Rebellion in 1497, at an annual ceremony at Bodmin on 27 June each year. It also worked to improve Cornwall's economy.
Since the death of founder James Whetter in 2018, the CNP has been led by Androw Hawke.

Electoral and campaign activity

Throughout its history, the CNP has been sporadically registered with the Electoral Commission, fielding candidates for some elections but not others. When not participating in elections it has often continued to act as a campaign group or pressure group, although its visibility and influence within Cornwall is negligible.
It stood for national elections twice, in 1979 and 1983. In April 2009, a news story reported that the party had re-formed following a conference in Bodmin; however, it did not contest any elections that year.
A newspaper article and a revamp of the party website in October 2014 state that the party planned to contest elections once more. The reformed party was registered with the Electoral Commission in 2014, but ceased to be registered in 2017.

Indian office

In 1983 the party opened an office in India. The Indian office was established by Gagan Narayan Dua and published a periodical entitled Cornish India.

Publications

Whetter was the founder and editor of the CNP quarterly journal, The Cornish Banner, within the actions of the Roseland Institute.

Elections and results

At the 1984 European Parliament election, the CNP was affiliated to the now defunct.
The CNP had one parish councillor, leader Androw Hawke who was elected to Polperro Community Council for the second time on 4 May 2017.

Policy

Original policies

The Policy Statement of the CNP was published in 1975. The 1977 Programme of the Cornish Nationalist Party was laid out under multiple key points.
;World and continental government
;Celtic confederation
;The Cornish state
;Democratic government
;Legal system
;Language
;Mass communication
;Social organisation and welfare
;Housing
;Economy
;Transport and communication
;Energy
;Environment and ecology
;Sport
;Culture and recreation
;Religion
;Youth
;Defence
;Foreign policy and ambassadorial recognition

Other policies

Other policies have included:
  • Better job prospects for Cornish people.
  • Reduction of unemployment to an acceptable level.
  • The protection of the self-employed and small businesses in Cornwall.
  • Cheaper housing and priority for Cornish people.
  • The Cornish state will have control over the number and nature of immigrants.
  • The establishment of a Cornish economic department to aid the basic industries of farming, fishing, china clay and mining and secondary industries developing from these.
  • Improved transport facilities in Cornwall with greater scope for private enterprise to operate.
  • Existing medical and welfare services for Cornish people will be developed and improved.
  • Protection of Cornish natural resources, including offshore resources.
  • Courses on Cornish language and history should be made available in schools for those who want them.
  • The rule of law will be upheld by the Cornish state and the judiciary will be separate from the legislative and executive functions of the state.
More recent policies include:
  • A far greater say in government for Cornish people and the decentralisation of considerable powers to a Cornish nation within a united Europe - special links being established with our Celtic brothers and sisters in Scotland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Wales and Brittany.
  • Calling for more legislative powers to be given to Cornwall Council. The authority should effectively become the Cornish government, with town and parish councils acting as local government.
  • Cornwall council should have a reduction in councillors, with standardisation of electoral areas and constituencies in throughout Cornwall.
  • The Westminster government should appoint a Minister for Cornwall and confirm there will be no further plans to have any parliamentary constituency covering part of Cornwall and Devon.
  • John Le Bretton, vice-chairman of the party, stated: "The CNP supports the retention of Cornwall Council as a Cornwall-wide authority running Cornish affairs and we call for the British government in Westminster to devolve powers to the council so that decisions affecting Cornwall can be made in Cornwall".

    Image

The CNP has had image problems, having been seen as similarly styled to nativist and far-right parties, the British National Party and National Front. During the 1970s, the party magazine The Cornish Banner / An Baner Kernewek published letters sympathetic to the NF and critical of "Zionist" politicians.
In around 1976, CNP formed a controversial uniformed wing, for which it received criticism from members of the Celtic League and MK. The group, known as the "Greenshirts", was led by the CNP Youth Movement leader and public relations officer Wallace Simmons. Simmons also founded the Cornish Front, which supported the NF. A notable political difference is that CNP and Cornish Front were sympathetic to Irish republicanism while the NF was largely supportive of Ulster loyalism, though there were exceptions within the NF, including former leading figure Patrick Harrington who is of Irish Catholic heritage.