Politics of Cornwall


Cornwall is administered as a county of South West England whose politics are influenced by a number of issues that make it distinct from the general political scene in the wider United Kingdom, and the political trends of neighbouring counties. Its position on the geographical periphery of the island of Great Britain is also a factor.
Cornwall shares some of the political issues of the other Celtic nations, in particular Wales, and a notable movement exists seeking greater powers of self-government within the UK, similar to that achieved in Wales. Cornish politics is also defined by its historical relationship between the Liberal Democrats, and the Conservative Party.
Cornwall's politics have partly been dictated by its geography and history. It sits on a peninsula in the South West of England, and its county town, Truro, is from the UK Parliament in London. Its main industries - fishing, farming, and various kinds of mining - have been in decline for a long time. In 2013, the gross value added of the county was the fourth lowest of any ceremonial county in England. However, Cornwall is attractive to tourists, and to people seeking to move into the area to live. There are therefore tensions in the housing market between the demands of inward migrants to the area and the needs of local people.

History

Historically, Cornwall was a Brittonic-speaking area separate from the rest of England until about the 10th century and retained much of its cultural distinctiveness in later centuries. Religious non-conformism was strong in Cornwall, and the Church of England was less well supported than some areas to the east. This has continued to inform later Cornish politics, in the form of Liberalism, now represented mainly by the Liberal Democrats can be traced to historical associations with Liberalism and non-conformist religion, particularly Methodism, in the 19th century and similarly land ownership and the Conservative party in the same period. The Conservative Party is also fairly strong in Cornwall, but for slightly different reasons. They suffered a particularly bad setback in the 1990s. However, they regained three of the six Cornish seats in the 2010 general election. The Labour Party is traditionally much weaker in Cornwall than many other parts of the UK, although it has had some representation locally. This may be partly because there is no major urban centre in Cornwall – Plymouth tends to fulfil that role. Cornwall also traditionally elects a number of independent councillors, and is a centre for the rump Liberal Party in the UK.
1986 saw the death of the MP David Penhaligon of the Liberal Party. Penhaligon's career looked promising, with some tipping him as a future leader. In a speech he made in support of the Cornish miners at Camborne, he said:
Cornwall's distinctiveness as a national, as opposed to a regional, minority has been periodically recognised by major British papers. For example, a Guardian editorial in 1990 pointed to these differences, and warned that they should be constitutionally recognised:
The Cornish nationalist party Mebyon Kernow was formed in 1951, initially as a pressure group. Some of its members and supporters were politicians from the three main British political parties, but later on, it became a party in its own right and members of other parties left. Its most famous supporter of the time was the novelist Daphne du Maurier. One of Mebyon Kernow's main campaigns is for a Cornish Assembly and in 2001 it presented a petition to 10 Downing Street with 50,000 signatures in favour of the Assembly.
Growing dissatisfaction with European Union fishing policy including the Common Fisheries Policy led to a growth of support for United Kingdom Independence Party within fishing ports such as Newlyn. On 26 July 2007 the Conservative party-appointed Mark Prisk "Shadow Minister for Cornwall". This appointment was called "the fictional minister for Cornwall," by a Liberal Democrat MP, as there was no government minister to shadow. The post was not continued following the 2010 election, and no longer exists. This was to put the Duchy's concerns "at the heart of Conservative thinking", according to a party statement. Conservative Party leader David Cameron said he wholeheartedly endorsed the appointment and it would ensure that the voice of Cornwall is heard. However, as the post has been discontinued, this concept remains unproven.
In the June 2016 EU referendum, Cornwall voted to leave the EU. 43.5 per cent of Cornwall's voters wanted to remain in the EU, while 56.5 per cent voted to leave.

Parliamentary representation

Following a review by the Boundary Commission for England taking effect at the 2010 general election, Cornwall is divided into six county constituencies to elect MPs to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.
Before the 2010 boundary changes there were five constituencies in Cornwall. In the 2005 general election, all five seats were won by Liberal Democrats. However, at the 2010 general election Liberal Democrat candidates won three seats and Conservative candidates won three seats.
In the 2015 general election all Cornish seats were won by the Conservatives. All retained their seats in the 2017 general election.
In the 2019 election, all six MPs were conservative.
In the 2024 United Kingdom general election, the Conservatives were wiped out.

Current Cornish MPs

  • Camborne & Redruth: Perran Moon
  • North Cornwall: Ben Maguire
  • South East Cornwall: Anna Gelderd
  • St Austell & Newquay: Noah Law
  • St Ives: Andrew George
  • Truro & Falmouth: Jayne Kirkham
Political PartySouth East CornwallNorth Cornwall St Austell & NewquayTruro & FalmouthCamborne & RedruthSt Ives TotalPercentage
Labour15,6702,95815,95820,78319,3602,78877,51726.43%
Conservative13,75914,13713,48812,63211,55411,24776,81726.19%
Liberal Democrats8,28424,0944,8056,5524,11325,03372,88124.85%
Reform UK9,3118,4449,2126,1638,9526,49248,57416.56%
Green Party of England & Wales1,9991,3352,3373,4702,8401,79713,7784.7%
Other Parties/ Independent Candidates2632779326649667493,7401.27%
Total Valid Votes49,28651,24546,73250,26447,78548,106293,307100%

MPs 2019-2024

  • Camborne & Redruth: George Eustice
  • North Cornwall: Scott Mann
  • South East Cornwall: Sheryll Murray
  • St Austell & Newquay: Steve Double
  • St Ives: Derek Thomas
  • Truro & Falmouth: '''Cherilyn Mackrory'''

    Local government

On 1 April 2009, most of the ceremonial county of Cornwall became a unitary authority, with the headquarters of Cornwall Council based in Truro. Before then, Cornwall was a non-metropolitan county that followed the three tier system typical of English shire counties, and had five districts: Penwith, Kerrier, Carrick, Caradon and North Cornwall, and one borough Restormel. Cornwall Council provides a wide range of services to more than half a million residents, has an annual budget of more than £1 billion, and is the biggest employer in Cornwall.
The Isles of Scilly, which are part of the ceremonial county of Cornwall, are not part of the Cornwall unitary authority, as they have their own unitary council.

Cornwall Council election results, 4 June 2009

Elections for the new unitary Cornwall Council were held on 4 June 2009, and 123 members were elected, replacing the previous 82 councillors of Cornwall County Council and also another 249 on the six district councils. At the 2009 elections, the Liberal Democrats lost overall control of Cornwall, with no single party gaining overall control of the new council. Although the Conservatives now have the largest number of elected members, they do not have a majority. The Conservatives received 34% of the vote and won 50 seats, followed by the Liberal Democrats on 28% winning 38 seats, the Independents 23% and 32 seats, and Mebyon Kernow 4% and three seats. The turnout was 41%. Labour, the Green Party, UKIP and the BNP failed to secure any seats in Cornwall.

Cornwall Council election results, May 2013

The council remained as "no overall control", with the Independent politicians becoming the largest grouping on the council through a modest gain of councillors from the previous election. The Liberal Democrats remained the second largest party after losing 2 councillors and the Conservatives slipped to third after losing over a third of their councillors. The Labour Party, UKIP, and the Green Party all gained seats, with UKIP and the Greens entering Cornwall Council for the first time. Mebyon Kernow had 6 councillors prior to the election, having added 2 since the 2009 election, their total following the election was reduced to 4.

Cornwall Council election results, May 2017

The Conservative Party became the largest group on Cornwall Council, with 46 seats achieving 35% of the overall vote. The Liberal Democrats became the second largest party, with 37 seats, with the Independents in third place with 30. Liberal Democrat 38 seats Independent 30 seats Labour 5 seats Mebyon Kernow 4 seats Green 0 seats UKIP 0 seats Other 0 seats