Earlier this week I was honoured to lead a debate in
Parliament on the Cornish national identity and the 2021 census.
As a proud Cornishman I have been clear that speaking up for
Cornwall will always be my priority in Parliament and this debate provided
another opportunity to do just that.
The Cornish national identity is not a whim or some notion
based on a romantic view of the past, but instead one that reflects our deep
and lasting history as a separate people with a clearly defined culture.
In 2014 the Government announced that the Cornish would be
classified under the European Framework convention for the protection of
national minorities under the Council of Europe. A body that I have been
honoured to recently be appointed to by the Prime Minister.
The Government has been very supportive of Cornwall in
recent times. We are seeing record levels of investment in our transport
infrastructure and Cornwall remains the only rural county to have been given a
devolution deal. However, when it comes to the specific matter of recognition
of the Cornish as a people there is still a great deal to do.
Sadly, despite the recognition afforded by the European
framework convention, and embraced in words by the UK Government, the Government
has been criticised by the Council of Europe for not doing enough to address
the cultural needs of Communities in Cornwall. There have been warm words but
little action.
In their report one of the key proposals they make to
address this shortcoming is that a Cornish tick box for national identity be
included in the 2021 census.
In the 2001 Census the Scottish were identified for the
first time on the Census form, along with the English and Northern Irish. In
2011 a Welsh option was added.
Can you imagine the outrage today if the Scottish or Welsh
were omitted on the next census?
The Government in its own statement in April 2014 stated
that the Cornish would now be offered the same recognition as our Celtic
cousins. And yet on this simplest and most basic of things – the ability to
declare yourself as Cornish in the census, the Government is failing the
Cornish.
The point has been made that there is the option under
‘other’ in the census to write in Cornish as a nationality. In 2011 a
staggering 73000 Cornish men and women chose to do so. That 73,000 represents
14% of residents of Cornwall. This is the same percentage of Welsh residents
who wrote in Welsh under the other option in the 2001 census. The inclusion of
a specific tick box for Welsh increased the percentage of people identifying as
Welsh from 14 to 66% in 2011. I am convinced that if a tick box is provided we
would see a similar increase in the percentage of people choosing Cornish as
their identity.
As it stands currently, the Cornish are the only nationality
recognised by the Government under the framework convention not to be
recognised in the census. No other group can make that claim.
In this way the Cornish case is unique. No one else can make
the case we can for inclusion. Monday’s debate was an important one in
highlighting this issue on a national level. I will continue to do all I can to
press the case for positive change and ensure that Cornish people, one and all,
are given tangible recognition in the future.
