In 1994 in response to the Local Government Review, the Cornish Social and Economic Research Group published a report ‘Empowering Cornwall – the best government for the region and its communities’ This was a critique of the review itself and created an alternative perspective with a set of proposals. With the current proposals for devolution the report can be regarded as an important contribution to any debate.
The context has obviously changed since 1994. A Labour government from 1997 to 2010, followed by Conservative and Liberal Democrat then Conservative. Now a Labour government again. Austerity has impacted on society and Cornwall has recorded more unsustainable population and housing growth. Climate breakdown continues with periods of drought then long periods of rain with flooding. Both agriculture and the environment have suffered accordingly.
Another major difference is that the UK is no longer a member of the European Union presenting a range of challenges whether in terms of trade or common regulations. Cornwall now has a unitary authority which means that with the end of the districts, there are fewer councillors to deal with issues at both a local and Cornish level.
The next set of posts will take a look at elements of the paper ‘Empowering Cornwall…’
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