Cornish nationalism
A charter ruled that each future Duke of Cornwall would be the eldest surviving son of the monarch and thus also the male heir to the throne.
On 17 May 2000 The Guardian reported that the CSP claimed that the Duchy had levied an excess tax on tin production in Cornwall for five hundred years, and requested repayment within 120 days.
The CSP argued that their action demonstrated how Cornwall was treated separately from England in the past, and thus should have special status today.
[11] The Guardian went on to point out that the (then) Duke of Cornwall himself, Charles the Prince of Wales is in effect trustee and cannot sell off the Duchy's assets thus he would have difficulty in paying the bill.
[13] The Italian scholar Polydore Vergil in his famous Anglica Historia, published in 1535, wrote that: 'the whole Countrie of Britain ...is divided into iiii partes; whereof the one is inhabited of Englishmen, the other of Scottes, the third of Wallshemen, [and] the fowerthe of Cornishe people, which all differ emonge them selves, either in tongue, ...in manners, or ells in lawes and ordinaunces.
'[14] Writing in 1616, Arthur Hopton stated:'England is ...divided into 3 great Provinces, or Countries ...every of them speaking a several and different language, as English, Welsh and Cornish.
For example, Lodovico Falier, an Italian diplomat at the Court of Henry VIII, said, "The language of the English, Welsh and Cornish men is so different that they do not understand each other."
He went on to give the alleged 'national characteristics' of the three peoples, saying for example 'the Cornishman is poor, rough and boorish'[14] Another notable example is Gaspard de Coligny Châtillon – the French Ambassador in London – who wrote saying that England was not a united whole as it 'contains Wales and Cornwall, natural enemies of the rest of England, and speaking a different language.
The failure of Irish home rule caused Gladstone's Liberal party to revise and make more relevant its devolution policy by advocating the idea of 'home rule all round' applying to Scotland and Wales but opening the door for Cornish Liberals to use cultural themes for political purposes.
[16] In April 1889, Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, the Marquis of Salisbury (who served three times as Prime Minister) at a meeting of the Primrose League in Bristol, spoke on the state of the Union.
This was a cross-party movement representing many political voices and positions in Cornwall, from Mebyon Kernow and Cornish Solidarity to the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives.
[citation needed] However, in 2015, the Conservative party won all six seats in Cornwall, removing the Lib Dems supporters from office.
"[29] In October 2007 the then Lib Dem MP Andrew George stated in a press release, "Just because the Government has approached the whole Regional Devolution agenda in entirely the wrong way, does not mean to say that the project itself should be ditched.
Cornish MP Andrew George said in July 2007 I'm optimistic that the Minister's announcement will give us the future prospects to build a strong consensus, demonstrate Cornwall's distinctiveness from the Government zone for the South West and then draw up plans so that we can decide matters for ourselves locally rather than being told by unelected quangos in Bristol and elsewhere."
In December 2007, Cornwall County Council Leader David Whalley stated "There is something inevitable about the journey to a Cornish Assembly.
We are also moving forward in creating a Cornish Development Agency – we are confident that strategic planning powers will come back to us after the SW regional assembly goes.
[32] In 2008 Cornish Liberal Democrat councillors agreed plans to create a Unitary authority for the region, abolishing the six district councils.
Westminster ruled out any extra powers for Cornwall and the South West Regional Development Agency remained in place until 2009.
There have in fact been suggestions that powers could be taken from the new Cornish unitary authority as it may struggle to cope with the extra workload inherited from the district councils.
Prior to the 2013 local elections Mebyon Kernow held six seats on the council, having gained two due to defections from other parties, and winning one in a by-election.
[54][55] It remained silent until 2007, when it made a statement that "any attempts from hereon to fly the hated and oppressive Flag of St George, which we know as the blood banner in our country, will result in direct action by our organisation".
It made headlines when it threatened to burn down two restaurants in Padstow and Newquay belonging to Rick Stein and Jamie Oliver respectively, whom the group called "English newcomers".
[56][57] The group claimed it had funding from "other Celtic Nations" and the United States, and appeared to be an amalgamation of the Cornish Liberation Army and An Gof.
