Mebyon Kernow
Encyclopedia
Mebyon Kernow is a left-of-centre political party in Cornwall
, United Kingdom
. It primarily campaigns for devolution to Cornwall in the form of a Cornish Assembly
, as well as social democracy
and environmental protection
.
MK was formed as a pressure group in 1951, and contained as members activists and politicians from a number of political parties. Its first leader was Helena Charles
. Its first election win came in 1953, with its members running as independents. In the 1970s it became a fully-fledged political party, and since then it has fielded candidates in elections to Westminster
and the European Parliament
, as well as local government in Cornwall.
The party is a member of the European Free Alliance
and has close links with Plaid Cymru
and the Scottish National Party
. It currently has five elected councillors in Cornwall Council and 20 town and parish councillors. Dick Cole is the current leader.
" claiming;
Three months later the Cornish Constitutional Convention was held with the objective of establishing a devolved Assembly. In less than two years, it had collected signatures from over 50,000 people, of whom 41 650 were resident in Cornwall, which is about 10 percent of the total Cornish electorate. A delegation led by the West Cornwall Liberal Democrat
MP Andrew George and representatives of the Convention (Bert Biscoe, Richard Ford, Dick Cole, David Fieldsend and Andrew Climo
) presented the declaration to 10 Downing Street
on Wednesday 12 December 2001.
Cornwall is part of the South West Regional Assembly
and the South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) administrate economic development, housing and strategic planning. The claim that the SW area covered is an artificially imposed large region and not natural. Mebyon Kernow wants to break up the SWRDA into small county areas and implement a Cornish Regional Development Agency.
In 2011, MK issued a statement saying it "accused the Conservative / Liberal Democrat Coalition of treating Cornwall with absolute contempt" as a result of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill, which seeks to equalise the size of constituencies. An amendment to the bill by Lord Teverson
that would have ensured that "all parts of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly
must be included in constituencies that are wholly in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly" was defeated by 250 to 221 votes in the House of Lords
with 95% of the aforementioned parties rejecting it. This was despite promises during the election in 2010 of both parties saying they would "stand up for Cornwall. But Cameron
and Clegg
have devised this Bill which will breach the territorial integrity of Cornwall." Mr Cameron replied to concerns about the "Devonwall
" constituency by stating that "It's the Tamar
, not the Amazon, for Heaven's sake"; a move that was read in the press as indicative of his plan not to oppose the merger of the constituencies in Devon and Cornwall.
Protests were planned in Saltash
, by the historical boundary between Devon
and Cornwall since the 10th century. Adam Killeya, the mayor of Saltash and the convenor of the Keep Cornwall Whole campaign, said that of the border that it was "ancient and distinctive" and most people wanted to continue with that status. However the campaign was unsuccessful, and the change may go ahead.
. Helena Charles
was elected the organisation's first chair. At the first meeting, MK adopted the following objectives:
By September 1951 they had officially come to a stance of supporting self-government for Cornwall, in what they hoped at the time would be a federal United Kingdom. MK won its first seat at local level on the Redruth-Camborne Urban Council in 1953. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, MK was in essence a political pressure group rather than a true political party, with members being able to join other political parties as well. However, by the 1970s the group developed into a more coherent and unified organisation. During this decade, MK began contesting Westminster
parliamentary seats as well as local government ones. On 28 May, 1975 James Whetter
left MK to form the Cornish Nationalist Party
which was campaigning for full Cornish independence
.
They currently describe their philosophy as based on being: "Cornish, Green, Left of Centre, Decentralist." Mebyon Kernow is a member of the European Free Alliance
and although it did not contest European Parliament elections in 2004
or 1999, it has six candidates for the 2009 Euro elections. The party has close links with Plaid Cymru
(their partner in the EFA) including a twinning arrangement with Plaid's Blaenau Gwent
branch, and to a lesser extent with the SNP
.
Daphne du Maurier
, the well known novelist, was at one point a member of Mebyon Kernow, as was Andrew George, the Liberal Democrat
MP; he still remains sympathetic to many Cornish issues, but is no longer a member since they became a political party.
MK had an electoral partnership with the Greens
in the 2005 Westminster elections
. The party did not contest the St Ives constituency to make room for the Green Party candidate and, in return, the Greens did not stand against MK in any of the other four Cornish constituencies. MK has announced it will contest every seat in Cornwall at the next general election.
In 2009, three Mebyon Kernow candidates were elected to the newly formed Cornwall Council. Andrew Long for Callington, Stuart Cullimore for Camborne south and Dick Cole was elected to represent St Enoder
. In 2010 an independent councillor, Neil Plummer, joined the MK group.
In August 2008 MK deputy leader, Conan Jenkin, expressed Mebyon Kernow's support for a proposed legal challenge by Cornwall 2000
over the UK Government's exclusion of the Cornish
from the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities
. Cornwall 2000 need to show that they have exhausted all domestic legal avenues by having the case summarily dismissed by the High Court
, the Appeal Court
and the House of Lords
, before the case can be put to the European Court of Human Rights
. Mebyon Kernow have requested the support of all of its members for this legal action. However the fund failed to meet the required target of £100,000 by the end of December 2008, having received just over £33,000 in pledges, and the plan was abandoned.
Council for 24 years; defended their seat on North Cornwall
District Council; three seats on Kerrier
District Council, where they lost one seat; and two on Restormel
Borough Council. The results put Mebyon Kernow in third position behind the Liberal Democrats and the Conservative Party and ahead of Labour in several seats including Kerrier, Restormel, North Cornwall and Caradon. The total MK vote in the May 2007 local elections was over 10,000 votes across Cornwall. In June 2008 Mebyon Kernow's representation on Caradon increased to 3 following the defection of Glenn Renshaw (Saltash Essa) from the Lib Dems and Chris Thomas (Callington) from the Independent group, to join the party.
In the Town Council elections MK maintained groups of five councillors on both Camborne
Town Council and Penzance
Town Council, with three new councillors also elected to Truro
City Council and is also represented on town councils in Callington, Liskeard
and Penryn
.
In June 2011 Mebyon Kernow lost one of its Truro City councillors, and prior General Election Candidate, Loic Rich, who moved to the Conservative group. Mr Rich gave as his reason; "I found it very frustrating being in a party that, along with the opposition parties, seemed to be in deliberate denial of the UK's economic and social needs." . That loss was made up for in November 2011 when a Liberal Democrat
councillor on St Austell
town council, Derek Collins, defected to MK, claiming that his former party had 'failed Cornwall'.
District Council, along with one in Restormel
(the party leader Dick Cole) and, until his death in 2005, John Bolitho
in North Cornwall
. One of the MK councillors in Kerrier, Loveday Jenkin, joined the district council government in 2005 becoming the first MK councillor in such a position.
2009 Cornwall Council elections
In April 2009 MK leader Dick Cole announced his resignation from his job as an archaeologist with the new Cornwall Council in order to become full-time leader of Mebyon Kernow and to stand for election to the Council. He had previously worked for Cornwall County Council
for 14 years, but it is not permitted for employees of Councils to stand for election to a local authority they work for.
On 12 May 2009, Dick Cole announced that thirty-three candidates would be standing for the party at the Cornwall Council elections
on 4 June 2009. This was the largest number of candidates that the party had ever fielded in a round of elections to a principal council or councils. Under the new arrangements, 123 members were to be elected to the new unitary
Cornwall Council, in the place of the 82 councillors on the outgoing Cornwall County Council and another 249 on the six district councils within its area, all abolished.
Cornwall Council provides a wide range of services to more than half a million residents, has an annual budget of more than £1 billion, and is the biggest employer in Cornwall.
Having contested thirty-three of the 123 seats on the authority, Mebyon Kernow won three, or 2.4 per cent of the total.
|}
Andrew Long was elected to represent Callington with 54% of the votes. Stuart Cullimore was elected to represent Camborne
South with 28% of the votes and Dick Cole was elected to represent St Enoder
with 78% of the votes
2010 UK elections
In the 2010 general election, Mebyon Kernow fielded candidates in each of the six constituencies in Cornwall. Their best result was in the St Austell and Newquay seat, where they came fourth, with 4.2% of the votes, up 4% from the previous election. Like many minor parties, MK did not qualify for a televised election broadcast
as they did not meet the qualification (standing candidates in a minimum of 89 English seats). The other main parties spent more on their election campaigns. MK also blamed bad results on a tactical voting campaign by the Liberal Democrats, whereby voters in Cornwall were urged to vote Lib-Dem to stop the Conservatives from getting in.
In the other seats contested they achieved;
Overall they gained 1.9% of votes cast. All Mebyon Kernow candidates lost their deposits.
Several former Cornish MPs have also been ex-members of Mebyon Kernow, including Peter Bessell
(Liberal Party
), John Pardoe
(Liberal Party), David Mudd
(Conservative
), David Penhaligon
(Liberal Party) and currently Andrew George (Liberal Democrats
)
, Mebyon Kernow's candidate Richard Jenkin
was able to attract almost ten percent of the vote in the Cornwall seat. Mebyon Kernow now campaigns for Cornwall in the South West England
constituency.
2009 European Parliament elections
In April 2009 Mebyon Kernow announced that its list of candidates for the
‘South West Region’
seat in the European Parliament will comprise their six prospective parliamentary candidates for Westminster. The candidates are:- Dick Cole (St Austell and Newquay), Conan Jenkin (Truro and Falmouth), Loveday Jenkin (Camborne and Redruth), Simon Reed (St Ives), Glenn Renshaw (South East Cornwall), Joanie Willett (North Cornwall). Mebyon Kernow has also committed itself to continuing the fight for a Cornwall only Euro-constituency that would give Cornwall a voice at the heart of Europe.
Mebyon Kernow polled 14,922 votes in the 2009 European elections (11,534 votes in Cornwall, no seats, 7 percent of the vote in Cornwall) putting them ahead of the Labour Party in Cornwall. In many places in Mid and West Cornwall, MK polled over 10%. This was in a constituency which included Gibraltar
, Bristol, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Mebyon Kernow was not allowed a party political broadcast, but managed to outpoll a number of parties which had been allowed one, including Labour, NO2EU, and Libertas
.
Kernow X was established in 2007 and emerged from MK Bagas Yowynk (MK - Youth Group/MK - BY) - a group set up by Martin Sanders in 1999 and led by Rhisiart Tal-e-bot. The name "Kernow X" was chosen following a discussion between MK - BY and Cymru X
members at a conference in Mallorca
in 2007. In that year MK activists were seeking a more dynamic, structured and attractive organisation to represent a growing number of politically minded young people in Cornwall who had recently joined MK. The organisation is open to anyone under the age of 30 who agree with the aims of the group, as set out in the constitution of Kernow X.
Kernow X is run by a leadership team who are elected on an annual basis at the organisation's General Assembly.
Over the last two years Kernow X has been negotiating its position within MK, with the aim of becoming more independent from the Party. Discussions have been held between the Leadership Team of Kernow X and MK to forge a new relationship between the two organisations. Representatives from Kernow X have taken an increasingly active part in the European Free Alliance Youth
(EFAY) over the last five years, which has involved jointly organising a range of European projects together. In 2007 one of its members was elected to Truro City Council. In addition, Kernow X has also organised social events for their members and other young people in Cornwall, given talks about their role at conferences in other nations and encourage young people to get more involved in the election process. Kernow X is currently involved in jointly organising a round table event at the European Parliament in Strasbourg with EFAY, a Cornish Heritage (Ertach Kernewek) awareness campaign and a campaign exchange programme for the upcoming elections.
There have been link-ups with other political youth movements in Europe including Cymru X
(Wales), Jeunes de l'UDB (Brittany) and Young Scots for Independence
(YSI) (Scotland).
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It primarily campaigns for devolution to Cornwall in the form of a Cornish Assembly
Cornish Assembly
The Cornish Assembly is a proposed devolved regional assembly for Cornwall in the United Kingdom along the lines of the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly.-Overview:...
, as well as social democracy
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
and environmental protection
Environmental protection
Environmental protection is a practice of protecting the environment, on individual, organizational or governmental level, for the benefit of the natural environment and humans. Due to the pressures of population and our technology the biophysical environment is being degraded, sometimes permanently...
.
MK was formed as a pressure group in 1951, and contained as members activists and politicians from a number of political parties. Its first leader was Helena Charles
Helena Charles
Helena Charles , was a Cornish humanitarian, cultural activist and poet.She was a member of Gorseth Kernow under the Bardic name of Maghteth Boudycca...
. Its first election win came in 1953, with its members running as independents. In the 1970s it became a fully-fledged political party, and since then it has fielded candidates in elections to Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
and the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
, as well as local government in Cornwall.
The party is a member of the European Free Alliance
European Free Alliance
The European Free Alliance is a European political party. It consists of various national-level political parties in Europe which advocate either full political independence , or some form of devolution or self-governance for their country or region...
and has close links with Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru
' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...
and the Scottish National Party
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
. It currently has five elected councillors in Cornwall Council and 20 town and parish councillors. Dick Cole is the current leader.
Platform
In July 2000 Mebyon Kernow issued the "Declaration for a Cornish AssemblyCornish Assembly
The Cornish Assembly is a proposed devolved regional assembly for Cornwall in the United Kingdom along the lines of the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly.-Overview:...
" claiming;
Three months later the Cornish Constitutional Convention was held with the objective of establishing a devolved Assembly. In less than two years, it had collected signatures from over 50,000 people, of whom 41 650 were resident in Cornwall, which is about 10 percent of the total Cornish electorate. A delegation led by the West Cornwall Liberal Democrat
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
MP Andrew George and representatives of the Convention (Bert Biscoe, Richard Ford, Dick Cole, David Fieldsend and Andrew Climo
Andrew Climo
Andrew Climo is a Cornwall-based, British author, community activist and business strategist. He is Chief Executive and founder of Community Leaders CIC, a community development agency...
) presented the declaration to 10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street, colloquially known in the United Kingdom as "Number 10", is the headquarters of Her Majesty's Government and the official residence and office of the First Lord of the Treasury, who is now always the Prime Minister....
on Wednesday 12 December 2001.
Cornwall is part of the South West Regional Assembly
Regional Assemblies in England
The Regional Assemblies of England were a group of indirectly elected regional bodies established originally under the name Regional Chambers by the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998. They were abolished on 31 March 2010 and replaced by Local Authority Leaders’ Boards...
and the South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) administrate economic development, housing and strategic planning. The claim that the SW area covered is an artificially imposed large region and not natural. Mebyon Kernow wants to break up the SWRDA into small county areas and implement a Cornish Regional Development Agency.
In 2011, MK issued a statement saying it "accused the Conservative / Liberal Democrat Coalition of treating Cornwall with absolute contempt" as a result of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill, which seeks to equalise the size of constituencies. An amendment to the bill by Lord Teverson
Robin Teverson, Baron Teverson
Robin Teverson, Baron Teverson is a Liberal Democrat Whip and currently Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Energy and Climate Change .The son of Crofton Teverson, he was educated at Exeter University...
that would have ensured that "all parts of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...
must be included in constituencies that are wholly in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly" was defeated by 250 to 221 votes in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
with 95% of the aforementioned parties rejecting it. This was despite promises during the election in 2010 of both parties saying they would "stand up for Cornwall. But Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
and Clegg
Nick Clegg
Nicholas William Peter "Nick" Clegg is a British Liberal Democrat politician who is currently the Deputy Prime Minister, Lord President of the Council and Minister for Constitutional and Political Reform in the coalition government of which David Cameron is the Prime Minister...
have devised this Bill which will breach the territorial integrity of Cornwall." Mr Cameron replied to concerns about the "Devonwall
Devonwall (possible UK Parliament constituency)
Devonwall is a jocular name used in 2010 for a possible constituency that would combine parts of Devon and Cornwall and would be represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
" constituency by stating that "It's the Tamar
River Tamar
The Tamar is a river in South West England, that forms most of the border between Devon and Cornwall . It is one of several British rivers whose ancient name is assumed to be derived from a prehistoric river word apparently meaning "dark flowing" and which it shares with the River Thames.The...
, not the Amazon, for Heaven's sake"; a move that was read in the press as indicative of his plan not to oppose the merger of the constituencies in Devon and Cornwall.
Protests were planned in Saltash
Saltash
Saltash is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a population of 14,964. It lies in the south east of Cornwall, facing Plymouth over the River Tamar. It was in the Caradon district until March 2009 and is known as "the gateway to Cornwall". Saltash means ash tree by...
, by the historical boundary between Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
and Cornwall since the 10th century. Adam Killeya, the mayor of Saltash and the convenor of the Keep Cornwall Whole campaign, said that of the border that it was "ancient and distinctive" and most people wanted to continue with that status. However the campaign was unsuccessful, and the change may go ahead.
History
MK was founded as a pressure group on 6 January 1951 at a meeting held in RedruthRedruth
Redruth is a town and civil parish traditionally in the Penwith Hundred in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It has a population of 12,352. Redruth lies approximately at the junction of the A393 and A3047 roads, on the route of the old London to Land's End trunk road , and is approximately west of...
. Helena Charles
Helena Charles
Helena Charles , was a Cornish humanitarian, cultural activist and poet.She was a member of Gorseth Kernow under the Bardic name of Maghteth Boudycca...
was elected the organisation's first chair. At the first meeting, MK adopted the following objectives:
- To study local conditions and attempt to remedy any that may be prejudicial to the best interests of Cornwall by the creation of public opinion or other means.
- To foster the Cornish LanguageCornish languageCornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
and Literature. - To encourage the study of Cornish historyHistory of CornwallThe history of Cornwall begins with the pre-Roman inhabitants, including speakers of a Celtic language that would develop into Brythonic and Cornish. Cornwall was part of the territory of the tribe of the Dumnonii. After a period of Roman rule, Cornwall reverted to rule by independent...
from a CornishCornish peopleThe Cornish are a people associated with Cornwall, a county and Duchy in the south-west of the United Kingdom that is seen in some respects as distinct from England, having more in common with the other Celtic parts of the United Kingdom such as Wales, as well as with other Celtic nations in Europe...
point of view. - By self knowledge to further the acceptance of the idea of the CeltCeltThe Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
ic character of CornwallCornwallCornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, one of the six Celtic nationsCeltic nationsThe Celtic nations are territories in North-West Europe in which that area's own Celtic languages and some cultural traits have survived.The term "nation" is used in its original sense to mean a people who share a common traditional identity and culture and are identified with a traditional...
. - To publish pamphlets, broadsheets, articles and letters in the Press whenever possible, putting forward the foregoing aims.
- To arrange concerts and entertainments with a Cornish-Celtic flavour through which these aims can be further advanced.
- To cooperate with all societies concerned with preserving the character of Cornwall.
By September 1951 they had officially come to a stance of supporting self-government for Cornwall, in what they hoped at the time would be a federal United Kingdom. MK won its first seat at local level on the Redruth-Camborne Urban Council in 1953. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, MK was in essence a political pressure group rather than a true political party, with members being able to join other political parties as well. However, by the 1970s the group developed into a more coherent and unified organisation. During this decade, MK began contesting Westminster
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
parliamentary seats as well as local government ones. On 28 May, 1975 James Whetter
James Whetter
James C. A. Whetter is a noted Cornish historian and editor of The Cornish Banner , a Cornish journal. His books include The History of Glasney College Padstow: Tabb House, 1988; Cornwall in the Seventeenth Century. Padstow: Lodenek Press, 1974; and The History of Falmouth Redruth: Dyllansow...
left MK to form the Cornish Nationalist Party
Cornish Nationalist Party
The Cornish Nationalist Party , , is an unregistered political party in the United Kingdom, led by Dr James Whetter and campaigning for independence for Cornwall. It was formed by people who left Mebyon Kernow on 28 May 1975. The party ceased to exist in 2005, although it claimed to have reformed...
which was campaigning for full Cornish independence
Cornish self-government movement
Cornish nationalism is an umbrella term that refers to a cultural, political and social movement based in Cornwall, the most southwestern part of the island of Great Britain, which has for centuries been administered as part of England, within the United Kingdom...
.
They currently describe their philosophy as based on being: "Cornish, Green, Left of Centre, Decentralist." Mebyon Kernow is a member of the European Free Alliance
European Free Alliance
The European Free Alliance is a European political party. It consists of various national-level political parties in Europe which advocate either full political independence , or some form of devolution or self-governance for their country or region...
and although it did not contest European Parliament elections in 2004
European Parliament election, 2004 (UK)
The European Parliament election, 2004 was the UK part of the European Parliament election, 2004. It was held on 10 June. It was the first European election to be held in the United Kingdom using postal-only voting in four areas. It coincided with local and London elections.The Conservative Party...
or 1999, it has six candidates for the 2009 Euro elections. The party has close links with Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru
' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...
(their partner in the EFA) including a twinning arrangement with Plaid's Blaenau Gwent
Blaenau Gwent
Blaenau Gwent is a county borough in South Wales, sharing its name with a parliamentary constituency. It borders the unitary authority areas of Monmouthshire and Torfaen to the east, Caerphilly to the west and Powys to the north. Its main towns are Abertillery, Brynmawr, Ebbw Vale and...
branch, and to a lesser extent with the SNP
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
.
Daphne du Maurier
Daphne du Maurier
Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning DBE was a British author and playwright.Many of her works have been adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca and Jamaica Inn and the short stories "The Birds" and "Don't Look Now". The first three were directed by Alfred Hitchcock.Her elder sister was...
, the well known novelist, was at one point a member of Mebyon Kernow, as was Andrew George, the Liberal Democrat
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
MP; he still remains sympathetic to many Cornish issues, but is no longer a member since they became a political party.
MK had an electoral partnership with the Greens
Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales is a political party in England and Wales which follows the traditions of Green politics and maintains a strong commitment to social progressivism. It is the largest Green party in the United Kingdom, containing within it various regional divisions including...
in the 2005 Westminster elections
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
. The party did not contest the St Ives constituency to make room for the Green Party candidate and, in return, the Greens did not stand against MK in any of the other four Cornish constituencies. MK has announced it will contest every seat in Cornwall at the next general election.
In 2009, three Mebyon Kernow candidates were elected to the newly formed Cornwall Council. Andrew Long for Callington, Stuart Cullimore for Camborne south and Dick Cole was elected to represent St Enoder
St Enoder
St. Enoder is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The village is situated five miles southeast of Newquay.The nearest village is Summercourt half-a-mile to the south and other settlements include Fraddon, Penhale, Indian Queens and Trevarren.The parish church is 15th century...
. In 2010 an independent councillor, Neil Plummer, joined the MK group.
In August 2008 MK deputy leader, Conan Jenkin, expressed Mebyon Kernow's support for a proposed legal challenge by Cornwall 2000
Cornwall 2000
Cornwall 2000 is a Cornish nationalist pressure group based in Bodmin, Cornwall, United Kingdom. The group was formed by John Angarrack, who has authored revisionist books on the history of Cornwall and has participated in the Cornish nationalist scene. The organisation is headquartered at John...
over the UK Government's exclusion of the Cornish
Cornish people
The Cornish are a people associated with Cornwall, a county and Duchy in the south-west of the United Kingdom that is seen in some respects as distinct from England, having more in common with the other Celtic parts of the United Kingdom such as Wales, as well as with other Celtic nations in Europe...
from the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities
Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities
The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities was signed on February 1995 by 22 member States of the Council of Europe ....
. Cornwall 2000 need to show that they have exhausted all domestic legal avenues by having the case summarily dismissed by the High Court
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
, the Appeal Court
Court of Appeal of England and Wales
The Court of Appeal of England and Wales is the second most senior court in the English legal system, with only the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom above it...
and the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
, before the case can be put to the European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
. Mebyon Kernow have requested the support of all of its members for this legal action. However the fund failed to meet the required target of £100,000 by the end of December 2008, having received just over £33,000 in pledges, and the plan was abandoned.
Party leaders
- Helena CharlesHelena CharlesHelena Charles , was a Cornish humanitarian, cultural activist and poet.She was a member of Gorseth Kernow under the Bardic name of Maghteth Boudycca...
(1951–1959) - Major Cecil Beer (1959–1970)
- Len Truran (1970–1973)
- Richard JenkinRichard JenkinRichard Garfield Jenkin , was a Cornish politician who was involved with Cornish nationalism projects as one of the founder members of the Cornish political party Mebyon Kernow. and a Grand Bard of the Gorseth Kernow ....
(1973–1991) - Loveday Jenkin (1991–1997)
- Dick Cole (1997–present)
Cornwall Council
| Councillor | Ward | First elected |
|---|---|---|
| Dick Cole | St Enoder St Enoder St. Enoder is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The village is situated five miles southeast of Newquay.The nearest village is Summercourt half-a-mile to the south and other settlements include Fraddon, Penhale, Indian Queens and Trevarren.The parish church is 15th century... |
2009 Cornwall Council election, 2009 Elections to Cornwall Council, the Unitary Authority for Cornwall took place on 4 June 2009, the same day as other United Kingdom local elections, 2009.... (new unitary council) |
| Stuart Cullimore | Camborne Camborne Camborne is a town and civil parish in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is at the western edge of a conurbation comprising Camborne, Pool and Redruth.... South |
2009 Cornwall Council election, 2009 Elections to Cornwall Council, the Unitary Authority for Cornwall took place on 4 June 2009, the same day as other United Kingdom local elections, 2009.... (new unitary council) |
| Loveday Jenkin | Wendron Wendron Wendron is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated three miles north of Helston.The Revd G. H. Doble served for almost twenty years as the Vicar of Wendron . Langdon recorded the existence of eight stone crosses in the parish, including two at Merther Uny... |
2011 (by-election) |
| Andrew Long | Callington | 2009 Cornwall Council election, 2009 Elections to Cornwall Council, the Unitary Authority for Cornwall took place on 4 June 2009, the same day as other United Kingdom local elections, 2009.... (new unitary council) |
| Neil Plummer | Stithians Stithians Stithians is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It lies in the centre of the triangle bounded by Redruth, Helston and Falmouth. Its population is 2,004.... |
defected from Independent group in 2010 |
Town and parish councils
| Councillor | Council | First elected |
|---|---|---|
| Eileen Carter | Perranzabuloe Perranzabuloe Perranzabuloe is a coastal civil parish and a hamlet in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The hamlet is situated just over a mile south of the principal settlement of the parish, Perranporth; the hamlet is also seven miles south-southwest of Newquay... |
|
| Mike Champion | Camborne Camborne Camborne is a town and civil parish in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is at the western edge of a conurbation comprising Camborne, Pool and Redruth.... |
2007 |
| Dick Cole | St Enoder St Enoder St. Enoder is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The village is situated five miles southeast of Newquay.The nearest village is Summercourt half-a-mile to the south and other settlements include Fraddon, Penhale, Indian Queens and Trevarren.The parish church is 15th century... |
1999 |
| Derek Collins | St Austell St Austell St Austell is a civil parish and a major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the south coast approximately ten miles south of Bodmin and 30 miles west of the border with Devon at Saltash... |
defected from Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the... in 2011 |
| Helen Cullimore | Camborne Camborne Camborne is a town and civil parish in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is at the western edge of a conurbation comprising Camborne, Pool and Redruth.... |
2002 |
| Stuart Cullimore | Camborne Camborne Camborne is a town and civil parish in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is at the western edge of a conurbation comprising Camborne, Pool and Redruth.... |
2000 |
| Charlotte Evans | Constantine Constantine Constantine most commonly refers to one of the following:*Constantine , a given name and surname*Constantine I, Roman Emperor from 306 to 337, commonly known as Constantine the GreatIt may also refer to:- People :Roman/Byzantine Emperors... |
|
| Mike Hall | Redruth Redruth Redruth is a town and civil parish traditionally in the Penwith Hundred in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It has a population of 12,352. Redruth lies approximately at the junction of the A393 and A3047 roads, on the route of the old London to Land's End trunk road , and is approximately west of... |
|
| Roger Holmes | Liskeard Liskeard Liskeard is an ancient stannary and market town and civil parish in south east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.Liskeard is situated approximately 20 miles west of Plymouth, west of the River Tamar and the border with Devon, and 12 miles east of Bodmin... |
|
| Conan Jenkin | Truro Truro Truro is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The city is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population recorded in the 2001 census of 17,431. Truro urban statistical area, which includes parts of surrounding parishes, has a 2001 census... |
|
| Loveday Jenkin | Crowan Crowan Crowan is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately three-and-a-half miles south of Camborne. The River Hayle rises near Crowan and flows through the village and the railway branch to Helston passed nearby. Crowan has a population of 2,375... |
|
| Chris Lawrence | Carn Brea Carn Brea Carn Brea is a civil parish and hilltop site in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The hilltop site is situated approximately one mile southwest of Redruth.-Neolithic settlement:... |
|
| Andrew Long | Callington | |
| Matt Luke | Treverbyn Treverbyn Treverbyn is a civil parish and village in mid-Cornwall, United Kingdom.The church of St Peter is modern as the medieval chapel was closed at the time of the Reformation. The parish was formed from part of St Austell parish in 1847... |
|
| Phil Rendle | Penzance Penzance Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London... |
|
| Stephen Richardson | Illogan Illogan Illogan is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated two miles northwest of Redruth.Originally a rural area supporting itself by farming and agriculture, Illogan shared in the general leap into prosperity brought about by the mining boom, which was experienced by the... |
|
| John Rowe | Carn Brea Carn Brea Carn Brea is a civil parish and hilltop site in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The hilltop site is situated approximately one mile southwest of Redruth.-Neolithic settlement:... |
|
| Alan Sanders | Camborne Camborne Camborne is a town and civil parish in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is at the western edge of a conurbation comprising Camborne, Pool and Redruth.... |
1999 |
| Rob Stott | St Columb Major St Columb Major St Columb Major is a civil parish and town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Often referred to locally as St Columb, it is situated approximately seven miles southwest of Wadebridge and six miles east of Newquay... |
|
| Chris Thomas | Callington |
Town and parish councils
In May 2007, Mebyon Kernow achieved its best-ever round of election results in Cornwall’s district and town and parish councils. There were 225 district council seats up for election and MK put up 24 candidates. MK won seven district council seats, a net gain of one; seventeen town/city council seats and four parish council places, a net gain of one town/parish seat. MK polled about 5 percent of the total votes cast in the district council elections. The seats won included their first seat on CaradonCaradon
Caradon was a local government district in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It contained five towns: Callington, Liskeard, Looe, Saltash and Torpoint, and over 80 villages and hamlets within 41 civil parishes...
Council for 24 years; defended their seat on North Cornwall
North Cornwall
North Cornwall was the largest of the six local government districts of Cornwall, United Kingdom. Its council was based in Wadebridge . Other towns in the district included Bude, Bodmin, Launceston, Padstow, and Camelford....
District Council; three seats on Kerrier
Kerrier
Kerrier was a local government district in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It was the most southerly district in the United Kingdom, other than the Isles of Scilly. Its council was based in Camborne ....
District Council, where they lost one seat; and two on Restormel
Restormel
Restormel was a borough of Cornwall, United Kingdom, one of the six administrative divisions that made up the county. Its council was based in St Austell . Other towns included Newquay....
Borough Council. The results put Mebyon Kernow in third position behind the Liberal Democrats and the Conservative Party and ahead of Labour in several seats including Kerrier, Restormel, North Cornwall and Caradon. The total MK vote in the May 2007 local elections was over 10,000 votes across Cornwall. In June 2008 Mebyon Kernow's representation on Caradon increased to 3 following the defection of Glenn Renshaw (Saltash Essa) from the Lib Dems and Chris Thomas (Callington) from the Independent group, to join the party.
In the Town Council elections MK maintained groups of five councillors on both Camborne
Camborne
Camborne is a town and civil parish in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is at the western edge of a conurbation comprising Camborne, Pool and Redruth....
Town Council and Penzance
Penzance
Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...
Town Council, with three new councillors also elected to Truro
Truro
Truro is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The city is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population recorded in the 2001 census of 17,431. Truro urban statistical area, which includes parts of surrounding parishes, has a 2001 census...
City Council and is also represented on town councils in Callington, Liskeard
Liskeard
Liskeard is an ancient stannary and market town and civil parish in south east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.Liskeard is situated approximately 20 miles west of Plymouth, west of the River Tamar and the border with Devon, and 12 miles east of Bodmin...
and Penryn
Penryn, Cornwall
Penryn is a civil parish and town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the Penryn River about one mile northwest of Falmouth...
.
In June 2011 Mebyon Kernow lost one of its Truro City councillors, and prior General Election Candidate, Loic Rich, who moved to the Conservative group. Mr Rich gave as his reason; "I found it very frustrating being in a party that, along with the opposition parties, seemed to be in deliberate denial of the UK's economic and social needs." . That loss was made up for in November 2011 when a Liberal Democrat
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
councillor on St Austell
St Austell
St Austell is a civil parish and a major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the south coast approximately ten miles south of Bodmin and 30 miles west of the border with Devon at Saltash...
town council, Derek Collins, defected to MK, claiming that his former party had 'failed Cornwall'.
Cornwall Council
From 2004 until the district councils were abolished in 2009, there were four MK councillors on KerrierKerrier
Kerrier was a local government district in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It was the most southerly district in the United Kingdom, other than the Isles of Scilly. Its council was based in Camborne ....
District Council, along with one in Restormel
Restormel
Restormel was a borough of Cornwall, United Kingdom, one of the six administrative divisions that made up the county. Its council was based in St Austell . Other towns included Newquay....
(the party leader Dick Cole) and, until his death in 2005, John Bolitho
John Bolitho
John Bolitho was born in Bude in Cornwall, and spent his working life in the Royal Navy, the theatre and television , and business.He was the Grand Bard of the Gorseth Kernow between 2000-2003 with the bardic name of "Jowan an...
in North Cornwall
North Cornwall
North Cornwall was the largest of the six local government districts of Cornwall, United Kingdom. Its council was based in Wadebridge . Other towns in the district included Bude, Bodmin, Launceston, Padstow, and Camelford....
. One of the MK councillors in Kerrier, Loveday Jenkin, joined the district council government in 2005 becoming the first MK councillor in such a position.
2009 Cornwall Council elections
In April 2009 MK leader Dick Cole announced his resignation from his job as an archaeologist with the new Cornwall Council in order to become full-time leader of Mebyon Kernow and to stand for election to the Council. He had previously worked for Cornwall County Council
Cornwall County Council
Cornwall Council is the unitary authority for Cornwall, in England, United Kingdom. The council, and its predecessor Cornwall County Council, has a tradition of large groups of independents, having been controlled by independents in the 1970s and 1980s...
for 14 years, but it is not permitted for employees of Councils to stand for election to a local authority they work for.
On 12 May 2009, Dick Cole announced that thirty-three candidates would be standing for the party at the Cornwall Council elections
Cornwall Council election, 2009
Elections to Cornwall Council, the Unitary Authority for Cornwall took place on 4 June 2009, the same day as other United Kingdom local elections, 2009....
on 4 June 2009. This was the largest number of candidates that the party had ever fielded in a round of elections to a principal council or councils. Under the new arrangements, 123 members were to be elected to the new unitary
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
Cornwall Council, in the place of the 82 councillors on the outgoing Cornwall County Council and another 249 on the six district councils within its area, all abolished.
Cornwall Council provides a wide range of services to more than half a million residents, has an annual budget of more than £1 billion, and is the biggest employer in Cornwall.
Having contested thirty-three of the 123 seats on the authority, Mebyon Kernow won three, or 2.4 per cent of the total.
|}
Andrew Long was elected to represent Callington with 54% of the votes. Stuart Cullimore was elected to represent Camborne
Camborne
Camborne is a town and civil parish in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is at the western edge of a conurbation comprising Camborne, Pool and Redruth....
South with 28% of the votes and Dick Cole was elected to represent St Enoder
St Enoder
St. Enoder is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The village is situated five miles southeast of Newquay.The nearest village is Summercourt half-a-mile to the south and other settlements include Fraddon, Penhale, Indian Queens and Trevarren.The parish church is 15th century...
with 78% of the votes
UK general elections
| Election | Votes cast | Share of Vote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 General election United Kingdom general election, 1983 The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945... |
1,151 | 1.2 | 2 candidates |
| 1997 General election United Kingdom general election, 1997 The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general... |
1,906 | 0.8 | 4 candidates |
| 2001 General election United Kingdom general election, 2001 The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats... |
3,199 | 1.3 | 3 candidates |
| 2005 General election United Kingdom general election, 2005 The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160.... |
3,552 | 1.7 | 4 candidates |
| 2010 General election | 5,379 | 1.9 | 6 candidates |
2010 UK elections
In the 2010 general election, Mebyon Kernow fielded candidates in each of the six constituencies in Cornwall. Their best result was in the St Austell and Newquay seat, where they came fourth, with 4.2% of the votes, up 4% from the previous election. Like many minor parties, MK did not qualify for a televised election broadcast
Party political broadcast
A party political broadcast is a short television or radio broadcast made by a political party....
as they did not meet the qualification (standing candidates in a minimum of 89 English seats). The other main parties spent more on their election campaigns. MK also blamed bad results on a tactical voting campaign by the Liberal Democrats, whereby voters in Cornwall were urged to vote Lib-Dem to stop the Conservatives from getting in.
In the other seats contested they achieved;
- North Cornwall: 5th place, (last) 1.1% of votes, -2.1%
- South Cornwall: 6th place (last) 1.3% of votes, -0.4%
- Truro and Falmouth: 5th place (out of 6 candidates)2.1% of votes, -0.4%
- Camborne and Redruth: 5th place (out of 6 candidates) 1.4% of votes +1.4%
- St Ives 7th (last) 0.8% of votes, +0.8%
Overall they gained 1.9% of votes cast. All Mebyon Kernow candidates lost their deposits.
Several former Cornish MPs have also been ex-members of Mebyon Kernow, including Peter Bessell
Peter Bessell
Peter Joseph Bessell was a British Liberal Party politician, and Member of Parliament for Bodmin in Cornwall from 1964 to 1970....
(Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
), John Pardoe
John Pardoe
John Wentworth Pardoe is a retired British businessman and Liberal Party politician.-Education:Educated at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, he was active in the famous Footlights Society; one critic of their 1955 revue panned future comedian Jonathan Miller whilst predicting a bold comedic...
(Liberal Party), David Mudd
David Mudd
William David Mudd , known as David Mudd, is a British politician.He was Conservative MP for Falmouth and Camborne from 1970 until 1992, when he stood down. It was considered a surprise when he decided to stand in his old constituency in the 2005 general election as an independent candidate...
(Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
), David Penhaligon
David Penhaligon
David Charles Penhaligon was a British politician from Cornwall who was a Liberal Member of Parliament from October 1974 until his death...
(Liberal Party) and currently Andrew George (Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
)
European Parliament elections
In 1979, in the first elections to the European ParliamentEuropean Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
, Mebyon Kernow's candidate Richard Jenkin
Richard Jenkin
Richard Garfield Jenkin , was a Cornish politician who was involved with Cornish nationalism projects as one of the founder members of the Cornish political party Mebyon Kernow. and a Grand Bard of the Gorseth Kernow ....
was able to attract almost ten percent of the vote in the Cornwall seat. Mebyon Kernow now campaigns for Cornwall in the South West England
South West England (European Parliament constituency)
South West England is a constituency of the European Parliament. For 2009 it elects 6 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation, reduced from 7 in 2004.-Boundaries:...
constituency.
| Year | Percentage of vote (number of votes) | Seats won | Constituency contested |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 European Parliament election, 1979 The 1979 European elections were parliamentary elections held across all 9 European Community member states. They were the first European elections to be held, allowing citizens to elect 410 MEPs to the European Parliament, and also the first international election in history.Seats in the... |
5.9% (10,205) | 0 | Single-seat Cornwall and Plymouth Cornwall and Plymouth (European Parliament constituency) Cornwall and Plymouth was a European Parliament constituency covering Cornwall and Plymouth in England.Prior to its uniform adoption of proportional representation in 1999, the United Kingdom used first-past-the-post for the European elections in England, Scotland and Wales... |
| 1989 European Parliament election, 1989 The 1989 European Parliamentary Election was a European election held across the 12 European Community member states in June 1989. It was third European election but the first time that Spain and Portugal voted at the same time as the other members... |
1.9% (4,224) | 0 | Single-seat Cornwall and Plymouth Cornwall and Plymouth (European Parliament constituency) Cornwall and Plymouth was a European Parliament constituency covering Cornwall and Plymouth in England.Prior to its uniform adoption of proportional representation in 1999, the United Kingdom used first-past-the-post for the European elections in England, Scotland and Wales... |
| 1994 European Parliament election, 1994 The 1994 European Parliamentary Election was a European election held across the 12 European Union member states in June 1994.This election saw the merge of the European People's Party and European Democrats, an increase in the overall number of seats and a fall in overall turnout to... |
1.5% (3,315) | 0 | Single-seat Cornwall and West Plymouth Cornwall and West Plymouth (European Parliament constituency) Cornwall and West Plymouth was a European Parliament constituency covering Cornwall and Plymouth in England. With Somerset and North Devon, it was one of the first two seats to elect a Liberal Democrat Member of the European Parliament.... |
| 2009 European Parliament election, 2009 Elections to the European Parliament were held in the 27 member states of the European Union between 4 and 7 June 2009. A total of 736 Members of the European Parliament were elected to represent some 500 million Europeans, making these the biggest trans-national elections in history... |
1.0% (7% in Cornwall) (14,922) | 0 | Six-seat South West England South West England South West England is one of the regions of England defined by the Government of the United Kingdom for statistical and other purposes. It is the largest such region in area, covering and comprising Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. ... (only campaigned in Cornwall) |
2009 European Parliament elections
In April 2009 Mebyon Kernow announced that its list of candidates for the
‘South West Region’
South West England (European Parliament constituency)
South West England is a constituency of the European Parliament. For 2009 it elects 6 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation, reduced from 7 in 2004.-Boundaries:...
seat in the European Parliament will comprise their six prospective parliamentary candidates for Westminster. The candidates are:- Dick Cole (St Austell and Newquay), Conan Jenkin (Truro and Falmouth), Loveday Jenkin (Camborne and Redruth), Simon Reed (St Ives), Glenn Renshaw (South East Cornwall), Joanie Willett (North Cornwall). Mebyon Kernow has also committed itself to continuing the fight for a Cornwall only Euro-constituency that would give Cornwall a voice at the heart of Europe.
Mebyon Kernow polled 14,922 votes in the 2009 European elections (11,534 votes in Cornwall, no seats, 7 percent of the vote in Cornwall) putting them ahead of the Labour Party in Cornwall. In many places in Mid and West Cornwall, MK polled over 10%. This was in a constituency which included Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
, Bristol, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Mebyon Kernow was not allowed a party political broadcast, but managed to outpoll a number of parties which had been allowed one, including Labour, NO2EU, and Libertas
Libertas United Kingdom
Libertas UK may refer to three political parties in the United Kingdom: one formed by an associate of the United Kingdom Independence Party and two affiliated to Declan Ganley's Libertas Party Limited...
.
Youth group
Kernow X is the youth group of MK.Kernow X was established in 2007 and emerged from MK Bagas Yowynk (MK - Youth Group/MK - BY) - a group set up by Martin Sanders in 1999 and led by Rhisiart Tal-e-bot. The name "Kernow X" was chosen following a discussion between MK - BY and Cymru X
Cymru X
CymruX is the youth wing of Plaid Cymru, a political party in Wales.-Origins:CymruX was founded in 2005 to merge Plaid Cymru's two existing movements in to one new youth movement. The student federation 'the ffed' and the youth movement were merged to create a brand new youth organisation...
members at a conference in Mallorca
Mallorca
Majorca or Mallorca is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea, one of the Balearic Islands.The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Cabrera Archipelago is administratively grouped with Majorca...
in 2007. In that year MK activists were seeking a more dynamic, structured and attractive organisation to represent a growing number of politically minded young people in Cornwall who had recently joined MK. The organisation is open to anyone under the age of 30 who agree with the aims of the group, as set out in the constitution of Kernow X.
Kernow X is run by a leadership team who are elected on an annual basis at the organisation's General Assembly.
Over the last two years Kernow X has been negotiating its position within MK, with the aim of becoming more independent from the Party. Discussions have been held between the Leadership Team of Kernow X and MK to forge a new relationship between the two organisations. Representatives from Kernow X have taken an increasingly active part in the European Free Alliance Youth
European Free Alliance Youth
European Free Alliance Youth is a youth organisation made up of members who belong to organisations, movements or political parties that safeguard and promote the cultural, linguistic and national diversity of Europe...
(EFAY) over the last five years, which has involved jointly organising a range of European projects together. In 2007 one of its members was elected to Truro City Council. In addition, Kernow X has also organised social events for their members and other young people in Cornwall, given talks about their role at conferences in other nations and encourage young people to get more involved in the election process. Kernow X is currently involved in jointly organising a round table event at the European Parliament in Strasbourg with EFAY, a Cornish Heritage (Ertach Kernewek) awareness campaign and a campaign exchange programme for the upcoming elections.
There have been link-ups with other political youth movements in Europe including Cymru X
Cymru X
CymruX is the youth wing of Plaid Cymru, a political party in Wales.-Origins:CymruX was founded in 2005 to merge Plaid Cymru's two existing movements in to one new youth movement. The student federation 'the ffed' and the youth movement were merged to create a brand new youth organisation...
(Wales), Jeunes de l'UDB (Brittany) and Young Scots for Independence
Young Scots for Independence
Young Scots for Independence is the youth wing of the Scottish National Party . It is not to be confused with Federation of Student Nationalists, which is for those in higher education, and whose membership is not restricted by age, unlike the YSI.The YSI is autonomous from the SNP and as such is...
(YSI) (Scotland).
See also
- Cornish nationalism
- List of topics related to Cornwall
- Cornish Nationalist PartyCornish Nationalist PartyThe Cornish Nationalist Party , , is an unregistered political party in the United Kingdom, led by Dr James Whetter and campaigning for independence for Cornwall. It was formed by people who left Mebyon Kernow on 28 May 1975. The party ceased to exist in 2005, although it claimed to have reformed...
, an early splinter of MK (1975), often conflated with it. - Plaid CymruPlaid Cymru' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...
- Scottish National PartyScottish National PartyThe Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
- Union Démocratique BretonneUnion Démocratique BretonneThe Breton Democratic Union is the main autonomist and regionalist party in Brittany and Loire-Atlantique. It advocates devolution for Brittany as well as the promotion of the Breton language and its associated culture....
External links
- Mebyon Kernow — official website
- Kernow X