Still flying the flag for Cornish identity
IT was 70 years ago that a small group of people gathered in a Cornish hotel to form a new political party to campaign for greater self-government for Cornwall.
On that day, Mebyon Kernow (MK) was born and over the last seven decades the party has continued to fight for Cornwall and its people. Dick Cole, leader of MK and figurehead of the party for more than 30 years, said that the party grew from a renewed interest in Cornish culture which has continued to this day.
“It is fair to say that there was a renaissance of Cornish culture and identity in the early 20th century,” he said. “There were people who were corresponding in Cornish and there was a growing awareness of Cornish identity.”
Early in 1951, that first meeting to create what would become MK was held, when 13 men and women came together at the Oates Temperance Hotel in Redruth. While MK was initially founded on the basis of protecting Cornish identity and culture, it was a political body in that it had a commitment to self-governance g – a guiding principle which remains to this day.
Today, the party continues to campaign on a variety of issues, including the continuing call for a Cornish Assembly and for more devolution to Cornwall. MK is also lobbying on environmental issues.
For Dick, the continuing struggle is to make sure that Cornwall’s voice is heard. One of the key successes for MK and the Cornish in recent years was the acceptance of the Cornish as a national minority under the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. Yet, despite this affording the Cornish the same protection as other Celtic nations such as Wales and Scotland, the UK government has been criticised for failing to provide support, funding and protections which it is required to do.
Dick said: “We made progress with the minority status, that clearly is a massive change, but the UK government has failed to follow through on what it is meant to do. It is very, very frustrating. We want Cornwall to have more power so we have more say about issues that affect everything from environment to culture to planning.
“We hear talk about devolution, but then we have MPs talking about the Great South West, which would see Cornwall be merged into a region and no longer recognised.” However, it is not all doom and gloom. Dick says he has great optimism for the future and thinks that MK and the Cornish can grow stronger.
One key factor has been the growth in Cornish identity, with more people than ever before recognising themselves as Cornish and wanting to embrace their history and culture. “There is a great strength in Cornish identity,” Dick added. “That has grown over time and that support has transferred into the political arena. More people can see the benefits of Cornwall ll h having i it its own assembly and more control over its future.
“I am very optimistic that we will make good progress in the next few years and Cornwall will make progress with devolution. That is the positivity that we need to drive us forward.”