Devonwall. Could it unlock useful powers or could it spell disaster for ‘brand Cornwall’?
In his latest opinion piece, CEO of Coastline Housing Allister Young enters the contentious devolution debate.
I’m dabbling in politics again this week. Which might be foolish…
Just before Christmas the government published its plans to reorganise local government and the way the country is run. A key part of the proposals is ‘devolution’, a process where central government in London will pass powers and responsibilities to local areas to have more control. This might sound like something a bit abstract, something that won’t impact too much on your life. After all, ‘councils’ are just about collecting bins and fixing potholes aren’t they?
I’d argue it’s much more important than that. The UK is one of the most centralised countries in Europe, and research suggests this could hold back economic growth and prosperity, because decisions take longer to be made, and are made without enough knowledge of local situations. A good example for us would be funding for affordable housing. It’s overseen by Homes England, a national body, to a set of national rules that are applied across the country. But different parts of the country have different housing markets, with different needs, and might benefit from different, more local, solutions.
Despite how important devolution might be, it probably wouldn’t have hit the news in Cornwall if it wasn’t for one very important part of what the government is proposing. The government has said that devolution needs to happen in all parts of England, and that each devolution area needs to have a population of at least 1.5 million people. Now, Cornwall, despite what some people might want, is part of England. And our population is about 580,000. Oh dear. Devon has a similar problem. Which is why some people, mainly in Devon it seems, have come up with a solution of Cornwall and Devon coming together to have a mayor and create something called ‘Devonwall’.
This has caused a lot of excitement in the world of politics and business in Cornwall. Cornwall Council has said it doesn’t want ‘Devonwall’ because it wants to “protect Cornwall’s national minority status and unique economic and social situation”. Cornwall’s business leaders are worried about it because they think it might damage ‘brand Cornwall’. At the heart of all of this seems to be a desire to protect Cornwall’s identity, the idea of ‘Cornishness’.
I find this concept of identify very interesting. It might be because I’m from Northern Ireland. I grew up there during ‘The Troubles’ (a funny name for a conflict that lasted for about 30 years and in which 3,500 people were killed). It felt like every night on the news you were hearing about someone getting killed, or a bomb going off. And the concept of ‘identity’ was a crucial thing that the Good Friday Agreement had to solve to bring (sort of) peace to Northern Ireland. The solution? If you were born in Northern Ireland you got to choose whether you were Irish, or British, or both.
The question Cornwall’s leaders need to answer seems to be: if they have to choose, which is more important? The Cornish identity? Or more powers and prosperity for people in Cornwall? Although first of all I’d say they need to try and figure out if that is a false choice - are the two things are mutually exclusive? Is it possible that ‘Devonwall’ could exist, with a Mayor for Cornwall and Devon, and for Cornwall still to be seen as distinct and different from Devon? It’s a question that is a very difficult one for Cornwall Council, and for Cornwall’s MPS. Because they worry how they can possibly balance what the government wants them to do, with what they think people in Cornwall want.
My view? I think teaming up with Devon could unlock useful powers and more local decision making (it would certainly bring some changes that could make building new affordable homes easier). I think that even though Devon and Cornwall are very different places, that our people and businesses are so intertwined that we would benefit from working more closely together. And I don’t think a mayor for Cornwall and Devon would make much difference to how people in Cornwall see themselves, or how the rest of the world sees Cornwall.
What do you think?