Cornish self-government movement
Most Cornish nationalists advocate either
greater autonomy within England, or a split
to become the United Kingdom’s fifth home
nation.
The Cornish Flag
The Cornish self-government movement
(sometimes referred to as Cornish national-
ism) is a social movement which seeks great-
er autonomy for the area of Cornwall.[1] The
movement’s advocates argue that Cornwall is
not merely a county of England (which is its
current administrative status) but a duchy
and a distinctive nation which has never been
formally incorporated into England via an Act
of Union.[2] Supporters of Cornish self-gov-
ernment who assert that Cornwall
is, or
ought to be, a separate legal entity from Eng-
land do not necessarily mean to advocate full
independence from the United Kingdom,[3]
but rather seek official recognition for Corn-
wall as one of the constituent countries or
home nations of the UK.
Some supporters of Cornish self-govern-
ment question the legitimacy of English rule
in Cornwall, due to the failure of the former
Parliament of England to ever pass an Act of
Union, although their claims are not gener-
ally recognised within the United Kingdom
(or
sometimes within Cornwall
itself).
However, many
see
some degree
of
autonomy as a stepping stone towards this,
and are supportive of the Cornish Assembly
Campaign.[4]
Political parties and
pressure groups
• Mebyon Kernow is the key political party
advocating greater Cornish home rule.
Since 2004 Mebyon Kernow has been a
member of the Europe-wide political
group, the European Free Alliance
(alongside the Scottish National Party and
Plaid Cymru - Party of Wales), which has
five Members of the European Parliament
(two from the SNP, one from Plaid Cymru,
one from the Republican Left of Catalonia
and one Latvian MEP), and is part of the
Greens/EFA group. Mebyon Kernow has
not contested European Parliament
elections itself. [2]
• Cornish Constitutional Convention is a
cross-party advisory group that has been
instrumental in moulding opinion in both
From Wikiped