Gorsedh Kernow 13.9.16

updated 14.9.16, 20.9.16, additions at end in italics 26.10.16

Gorsedh Kernow says “Gwithewgh Kernow Kowal! – Keep Kernow Whole!”

Merv Davey, Telynor an Weryn, Bardh Meur Kernow

The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 stated that the number of seats in the UK parliament should be reduced from 650to 600.

The Boundary Commission has therefore recommended a cross border “Devonwall” constituency to be put into place for the next general election in 2020. This political vandalism threatens to destroythe territorial integrity of Cornwall and a border that has been in place for a thousand years. It is a denial of Cornwall’s distinctive history and cultural identity and blatantly ignores the U.K. Government’s recognition of the Cornish under the 2014 Framework Convention for National Minorities.

The Boundary Commission’s hands are tied by the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011. This specifies a maximum/minimum electorate for each constituency. Cornwall’s electorate is too small for 6 MPs and fractionally too large for 5. The legislation does allow for special cases (Orkney & Shetland, the Western Isles, and two seats for the Isle of Wight), to be made but Cornwall is not deemed to be a special case or even a national entity by the legislation. This is a Government decision and not one the Boundary Commission can make.

The electorate of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly means we would be entitled to about 5.3 MPs and it is therefore a statistical impossibility for the Boundary Commission to propose five seats for Cornwall and Isles of Scilly.
That is why we need to build a massive campaign to put pressure on central government and Members of Parliament to modify the existing legislation to ensure that Cornish constituencies remain whole and lie entirely within the boundaries of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

The threat to Cornwall’s integrity and identity cannot be understated. We urge everyone who cares for Cornwall, both Cornish born and Cornish of heart to write, in their own words, to Chris Skidmore MP, Cabinet Minister responsible for the Act, asking for an amendment to the legislation allowing Cornwall to be recognised as a special case. They should also write to their own local MP and to the Boundary Commission requesting that that Cornwall’s integrity is respected by the Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries.

Write a letteror send an email to the Government:

Chris Skidmore MP, Minister for the Constitution, Cabinet Office, Whitehall, London, SW1A 2AS

oremail

Write a letter or send an email to your MP:

(name of your MP), House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA

Or it is simple to contact your MP online: enter your postcode and complete the message box.

Cornish MPs:

Write a letter to the Boundary Commission

Boundary Commission for England, 35 Great Smith Street, London, SW1P 3BQ.

You can also contact the Boundary Commission through their website:

NB You cannot cut and paste into “” or “ ” you need to re-type in your own words.

Summary of Cornwall’s Case

  1. Cornwall has devolved Local Government through the Devolution Deal, recently agreed with HM Government and our democracy will be seriously inhibited if this does not coincide with Parliamentary Constituency boundaries.
  1. The Cornish are recognised as a National Minority under the European Framework Convention. This was endorsed by the UK Government in 2014. The Government’s announcement made clear the similarity between Cornwall, Wales and Scotland in terms of National Minority status. Neither Wales nor Scotland have cross border constituencies and Cornwall’s border should be similarly respected.
  1. The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 was in place before the UK Government agreed that the Cornish be recognised by the Framework Convention for National Minorities in 2014. The FCNM therefore must take precedence.
  1. Cornwall has a distinct history and cultural identity and an officially recognised Celtic language that sets it alongside Wales and Scotland.
  1. The border was set between Cornwall and Devon/England in the 10th Century and was reinforced by successive monarchs from the Norman Conquest through to modern times.
  1. The Duchy of Cornwall is unique within the UK and affords special constitutional status to Cornwall that sets it apart from England.
  2. The determination of the current UK Government to create this cross-border “Devonwall” constituency is in defiance of legally binding Charters and Framework Conventions, ancient and modern, British and European.
  1. The proposed Devonwall includesBude, Stratton, Poundstock, Tintagel, Camelford, St Teath, Altarnun and Launceston with Bideford, Broadheath and Holsworthy to form “Bideford, Bude and Launceston CC”. The link to the map of this proposed constituency is

For fuller information about the Review please see

  1. Here is the link to Gorsedh Kernow’s press release “Keep Kernow Whole” issued 4th September 2016
  1. Here is the link to the Grand Bard’s full speech “Gwithyewgh Kernow Kowal!/Keep Kernow Whole!” in Kernewek and English as you may wish to use some Kernewek in your letter
  1. Here is the link on the GK website to the Grand Bard’s open letter to Chris Skidmore MP, Minister for the Constitution
  1. Historical notes by Craig Weatherhill

The border at the left (eastern) bank of the River Tamar has been in place since c.930 AD, fixed by treaty between Athelstan, king of a newly created England, and Huwal, king of an already ancient Cornwall. That this arrangement was taken seriously thereafter, and at the very highest level, is confirmed by Cornish exemption from English legislature from the reign of Cnut to that of Henry I (1016 to 1135).

The border at the River Tamaris apparent in the construction of the Earldom of Cornwall and subsequently written into the Duchy of Cornwall Charters of 1337-8. In these the same border position at the east bank of the Tamar was not only maintained but enshrined in law for perpetuity. The Tamar Bridge Act 1998 confirms that the border remains legally observed, and intact at law, to this day.

“The whole territorial interest and dominion of the Crown in and over the entirety of Cornwall is vested in the Duke of Cornwall”- confirmed by the High Court in 1855 and again in 2013. Therefore, the current ruler and quasi-sovereign of Cornwall is not Queen Elizabeth II, but Charles, Duke of Cornwall and Prince of Wales. Cornwall is thus the only part of the entire United Kingdom whose de jure Head of State is not the Monarch. The proposed cross-border constituency would consist of two halves, each having separate Heads of State. Each half would also have separate High Sheriffs, the Devonian one appointed by the Monarch, and the Cornish one appointed by the Duke of Cornwall.

Peculiar and unique laws, established over centuries and mostly referring to the Duchy and the Stannaries are applicable and fully extant in the Cornish half, but not in the Devonian part of the proposed constituency. Those include ‘bona vacantia’, right of wreck, ownership of the foreshore and waterways and many more besides. Moreover, the ‘owner absolute’ of the soil in the Cornish half is the Duke of Cornwall but, in the Devonian half (and the remainder of the UK), the absolute ownership of the soil is vested in the Crown. Cornwall’s constitutional status is, in learned legal opinions, “unique” and “in a category of its own.”

The Cornish half of the proposed constituency is territory inhabited by a legally protected national minority people: the Cornish. The Devonian half is not. The Cornish half is also territory housing a legally protected minority language: Cornish. The Devonian half is not. No future Member of Parliament can possibly be expected to deal with this efficiently and correctly, let alone understand it to the sufficiency of knowledge that the subject demands.

The High Sheriff is the Returning Officer (RO) for "county" parliamentary elections, but that role is usually delegated by him to an Acting Returning Officer (ARO).But in the cross-border constituency, we have two High Sheriffs, one appointed by the Crown; the other appointed by the Duchy. Which RO and ARO will get priority?

If it's Devon's, then part of the Duchy of Cornwall gets swallowed into the jurisdiction of the Crown. If Cornwall's gets the priority, then Crown jurisdiction will be effectively transferred to the Duchy.Neither can be covered simply by an Act of Parliament, and will involve far deeper legalities because either scenario breaches the Duchy of Cornwall Charters.

Neither Crown nor Duchy is likely to accept either and is likely to lead to a protracted legal wrangling between the two jurisdictions.The most famous occasion in which that happened was a row over ownership of Cornwall's foreshore, which took 4 years to sort out (and the Duchy won).

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13. An analysis of the Boundary Commissions statement and calculations by Gareth Parry 20th September 2016

“If considered alone, the electorate of the County of Cornwall (including the electorate of the Isles of Scilly), at nearly 394,000, would result in an allocation of 5.27 constituencies to the county. While we are sensitive to the strength of feeling about the Cornish border, with its single land border, it is simply not possible to develop a proposal under which five whole constituencies, each with electorates within 5% of the electoral quota, are contained within the county boundary.”

Whilst mathematically correct, the analysis below demonstrates that this is far from the clear cut case suggested. In fact the Commission case is based on the tiniest of margins. It would be scandalous if Cornwall was broken up on the basis such small margins.

The 5% rule implies that the electorate in the constituencies should be between 71,031 and 78, 507.

The electorate of Cornwall is 392,223 and that of the Isle of Scilly is 1,651. A total of 393,874.

The Commission’s figure of 5.27 is based on the assumption that there are 74,739 electors in each constituency. However, we are permitted under the rules specified to have up to 78,507 electors in each constituency. If that were the case the allocation would be 5.02, which is very close to the target of 5.0 constituencies.

So suppose we do have 5 constituencies of 78,507 electors.

The total number of electors permitted would be 392,535. The actual number of electors is 393,874 which is only 1,339 more or 269 more per constituency or 0.3% above the target number.

If this extremely small additional number were permitted, Cornwall would remain whole with 5 constituencies. Or, to put it another way, the boundary commission are imposing Devonwall on the basis of just 269 electors in a constituency of 78,507!

We can look at this another way. Consider Cornwall on its own (without the Isles of Scilly). The electorate is 392,223. This is less than the 392,535 which the Commission state is within acceptable limits. And 5 constituencies would have 78,445 electors, 62 less than the maximum allowed under the Commission rules. Cornwall alone with 5 constituencies satisfies the Commission’s rules.

The fact that the tiny population of the Isles of Scilly is sufficient for the Commission to argue that the historic Cornwall-Devon boundary be moved highlights the weakness of the Commission’s case. It would be perfectly reasonable to make the case that one Cornish constituency should be permitted to exceed the maximum to include the Isle of Scilly. All 4 other constituencies would be less than the maximum permitted.

Gareth Parry

Emeritus Professor Gareth Parry FREng, F.Inst.Phys

14. Copy of letter from Jerry Jefferies, Seythir

11 October 2016

Just sent the following email to my MP (Steve Double):

Dear Mr Double,
Further to my recent email in which I expressed my concerns about the recommendation forthe formation of a ‘Devonwall’ constituency including North Cornwall, in reply to which you stated that you were, yourself, ‘concerned’ by the proposal, I’d like to draw your attention to Early Day Motion 487 by Jonathon Edwards of Plaid Cymru.

The body of the motion states:

’That this House notes that the Boundary Commission for England's Review of Parliamentary Constituencies has recommended the creation of a cross-Tamar Devonwall seat which would link parts of Cornwall with land in the neighbouring English county of Devon; recalls that the Boundary Commission has made this recommendation because the review is being guided by the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act (the Act), which was agreed in 2011 and did not recognise Cornwall as a distinct political unit; further notes that in 2014 the Government recognised the Cornish as a national minority through the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and announced that, The decision to recognise the unique identity of the Cornish, now affords them the same status... as the UK's other Celtic people, the Scots, the Welsh and the Irish; believes that the Act and the creation of a Devonwall seat are in conflict with the Framework Convention; and therefore calls for an amendment to the Act so that future parliamentary constituencies for Cornwall lie entirely within the historic boundaries of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

Since you are someone who has postured himself a ‘proud Cornishman’ and stated his ‘concern’ over this matter, I assume we can confidently expect to see your own signature added to this motion very soon.

Yours sincerely,

15. Copies of letters from Rod Lyon, Tewennow

Chris Skidmore MP,

Minister for the Constitution,

Cabinet Office, Whitehall, London.

SW1A 2AS

Dear Minister Skidmore,

Proposed Cross-Border Cornwall/Devon Parliamentary Constituency

I write to express my considerable concern as to the proposed creation by the Boundaries Commission of a new cross-border Parliamentary Constituency, which totally ignores the long established natural border between Cornwall and neighbouring Devon - a border established in AD 936 by the Wessex King Athelstan, who, when he had defeated the Cornish in battle, established this permanent, geographical border on the eastern bank of the River Tamar. The removal of this historic border totally disregards Cornwall’s distinct identity, language and constitutional status which are officially recognised by the UK Government under the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCPNM) and the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages (ECRML).

The UK Government’s acceptance of the Cornish under the FCPNM was declared on April 14th 2014, and its ratification of Cornish as a Regional and Minority Language was on March 27th 2001. In addition, Cornwall is distinct in that it is a Duchy and as such has different rights to Devon in many respects, including foreshore rights, Bona Vacantia, or the right to claim the estates of people who die intestate in Cornwall, and the right to veto Westminster legislation which can be exercised also through the Stannary Parliament, which the Duke of Cornwall is able to call.

In addition, with Cornwall’s distinctive identity, it will not be possible for any Member of Parliament ‘representing’ such a cross-border constituency to fulfil both the individual needs of Cornwall at the same time as those of neighbouring Devon. The creation of any Cornwall/Devon cross-border legislative area is above all in total contravention of the FCPNM referred to above and in which it is clearly stated that Cornwall has the same rights as Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

The relevant Articles in this Document are as follows:

Article 5.2. Without prejudice to measures taken in pursuance of their general integration policy, the Parties shall refrain from policies or practices aimed at assimilation of persons belonging to national minorities against their will and shall protect those persons from any action aimed at such assimilation.

Article 16. The Parties shall refrain from measures which alter the proportion of the population in areas inhabited by persons belonging to national minorities and are aimed at restricting the rights and freedoms flowing from the principles enshrined in the present framework Convention.

Article 21. Nothing in the present framework Convention shall be interpreted as implying any right to engage in any activity or perform any act contrary to the fundamental principles of international law and in particular of the sovereign equality, territorial integrity and political independence of States.

I refer also to European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages mentioned above where, in Part II, Article 7.1(b), it states: “…respect for the geographical area of each regional or minority language in order to ensure that existing or new administrative divisions do not constitute an obstacle to the promotion of the regional or minority language in question.” (The bold type in the above extracts are mine).

It is appreciated that the Boundaries Commission has no power to alter legislation of this nature, and so I call upon the Government to honour its obligation in its agreement to the foregoing Documents and ensure that Cornwall’s historic border remains intact and that it shall not be crossed by any joint Parliamentary Constituency or other governing body – a simple procedure easy to carry out, as was demonstrated by the agreement of legislation in connection with registration to vote in the recent European Union referendum.

Yours faithfully, R. Lyon

c.c. Council of Europe

The Boundaries Commission

Derek Thomas MP; George Eustace MP; Scott Mann MP; Sarah Newton M; Steve Double MP

Sherryl Murray MP

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TO: Mr. Marco Leidekker,

Head of Secretariat,

The Council of Europe –Agora Building,

F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex

France.

Dear Sir,

Boundary Commission for England

Proposed Cross-Border Cornwall/Devon Parliamentary Constituency

Please find attached my letter to the Minister for the Constitution, Chris Skidmore, in respect of the proposed Parliamentary Constituency boundary change.

The proposal to significantly alter the historic and geographical border between Cornwall and Devon, England, for the purpose of a new cross-border parliamentary constituency, is considered to be in total contravention of The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCPNM) and TheEuropean Charter for Regional and Minority Languages(ECRML), both of which have been ratified and agreed to by the UK Government.