"I would say that 90% of English are not interested in local assemblies.
The North East had their chance and turned it down. "
I've already explained that the English don't want England to be divided into about 8 or 9 different pieces. They want ONE Parliament for ALL of England.
The Government didn't spilt Scotland and Wales up and give Parliaments to Scotland's different regions.
The English, like any other nationality, want their own independence and their own parliament.
"Nobody can deny it's Celtic origins, but even so is it viable for just one single County to stake a claim for a separate Assembly? I mean, it's entire population is less than half that of the city of Birmingham. "
Why does everyone seem to be in favour of giving Scotland, Wales, and even Cornwall their own parliaments, but not in favour of one for England, which is 80% of the population?
Also, if we give a Parliament to Cornwall, then why not give Parliaments to ALL of England's counties?
"I see what you're getting at about the relatively small Cornish population of only 500,000, but for example try telling the people from the Duchy of Luxembourg that they don't exist ! "
Luxembourg is a country, that isn't a part of any other.
Cornwall, on the other hand, is a part of England and the UK, and just because it is a duchy does not mean it has to have its own Parliament or be independent. The Duchy of Cornwall itself insists that Cornwall IS a part of England.
Cornwall isn't the only Duchy in the UK. There are LOADS of them. Edinburgh and Lancaster are also Duchies, so should the UK government give Edinburgh and Lancaster their own Parliaments?
Also, look at other EU nations. Has Britanny been given its own parliament by the French government? What about Corsica, where there is also a big nationalist movement. What about Sicily, where most people want independence from Italy?
"Thanks, Anon...that will strengthen still further Cornwall's case for Independence and Self Government. If they stay within the EU there will be no need for customs and passport controls on the Tamar Bridge at Saltash! "
I should hope not. The people of Cornwall and other English counties would find it very annoying if they have to show their passports just to cross from Cornwall to Devon or vice versa.
It's also ironic when people talk about "Cornish independence" because it is, in fact, the OLDEST county in England.
Adam, Kernow existed as a nation within the British Isles far before England or the Anglo Saxons were established and as far as most Cornish are concerned, Cornwall is a Celtic Nation just like Wales and Scotland. When the Anglo-Saxons invaded Britain those Celts who weren't exterminated or enslaved by the Germanic barbarians took refuge in the western peninsulas of Britain and France.
I think you are getting confused about the "Duchy of Cornwall " - The office of Duke was set as a body of governance over the territory of Cornwall in order to replace the office of Earl.. However today the Duchy is at pains to describe itself as a selection of private estates, essentially a private business and that it was created to provide an income for the heir apparent to the English throne. In contrast to every English and Welsh county the High Sheriff of Cornwall is appointed by the Duke of Cornwall not by the Crown. The sheriff in English counties carries the Queen's writ, (her authority), in Cornwall the Sheriff carries the Duke's writ. The Duke has the right to the estates of all those who die without heirs (intestate) in the whole of Cornwall, outside of Cornwall such estates go to the Crown. This is known as Bona Vacantia and applies to treasure trove as well. The Duke has right of wreck on all ships wrecked on Cornish shores, but in England this is the right of the Crown. Unlike a truly private estate the Duke does not have to pay income tax on Duchy profits including profits from the above rights over the territory of Cornwall. The Duchy is a Crown body (a body of governance) and chooses to pay what are described as voluntary "tax" contributions. This is due in large part to the Duchy having its own Exchequer and therefore not being integrated into that of the Crown.
Here are some other interesting facts about The Duchy of Cornwall:- In 1855-58 Sir George Harrison, Attorney General to the Duchy of Cornwall, successfully argued in parliament that all of Cornwall was a Duchy, it was extraterritorial to England and the Duke is its head of state. In 1969-71 The Kilbrandon Report into the British constitution concluded Cornwall should be referred to as a Duchy not a county. In 1997 Andrew George Lib-Dem MP attempted to asked questions about the Duchy in parliament but was stopped by an injunction.
There is no reason why England should not have it's own independence and parliament as you desire and Cornwall it's own Assembly such as the other British Celtic nations.
<<I should hope not. The people of Cornwall and other English counties would find it very annoying if they have to show their passports just to cross from Cornwall to Devon or vice versa>>
ADAM:
Just my wee bit of a joke.
Hey, from tomorrow Cornwall will have a new Duchess.... Camilla, Princess of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, but she will use the latter title. Maybe she will take up the fight for Kernow.....as the Duke Charlie boy hasn't done much in that direction. Maybe the both of them will learn Cornish..I reckon they should, don't you?
Une nouvelle duchesse ? Quelle chance ! Félicitations aux Cornouaillais.
It's official ! Long live the Duchess of Cornwall, the Cornish Assembly and the Cornish Language !
"Maybe she will take up the fight for Kernow"
Will she?
Also, what "fight" are you talking about?
She comes from Essex, so rather than fighting for a Cornish parliament she might fight for an Essex parliament.
Wow.....Camilla is an Essex Girl! Does Charlie know that?
Can you imagine an Essex Parliament!.....all those Essex Boys and Essex Girls...rampant Estuary!
<<Also, what "fight" are you talking about?>>
ADAM: Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. The Essex Girl takes up the Title on her betrothal...she should take up the responsibility of the "fight" for the Cornish Language and Celtic heritage. That's what I'm talking about.
It's funny how the English royal family just gives away Celtic areas as little gifts - "Duke of Cornwall", "Prince of Wales". The recipients of these titles have no interest in the culture or language of those areas and rarely go there.
<<Also, what "fight" are you talking about?>>
This was posted on cornwall24 and sums up Kernow's "fight" and nationalisms.
"I see Chinese nationalists have been protesting against Japanese revisionist history of Japanese war crimes in China. Good on them for that and I think the we could learn from such direct action in our fight to get a true recounting of our history. However did these Chinese nationalists while protesting spare a thought for the histories and cultures of the Tibetans, Uigyurs and countless other national minorities that are constantly under threat from central government in Beijing and the Han Chinese majority?
I think this shows the different forms of nationalism that can exist.
There is the nationalism of large powerful majorities often linked to patriotism for the central government (largely if not totally dominated by the ethnic majority). This nationalism is often promoted from the top down by rulers to aid their lot. It looks to absorb or destroy internal minorities, looks with suspicion and hostility to neighbouring peoples and states and is often imperialistically aggressive. This nationalism results in the loss of languages and cultural diversity and has much in common with fascism and National Socialism. It can also be exhibited by the most leftist of governments such as the USSR where Russians dominated all others, (before you say it I know Stalin was Georgian).
You will become like us or die! We deserve more land! Might is right! We are the law! Only our national identity truly exists or deserves to! And only we can suffer injustice at the hands of others!
Then there is the nationalism of the minority groups struggling to preserve their identity in the face of a hostile or at best ignorant, uncaring majority. This nationalism is a reaction (conservative in its own way) to aggression and it is defensive; rarely imperialistic or aggressive to neighbours. In its own way it seeks to preserve cultural diversity and heritage. This nationalism is often a grass roots affair springing up from the common people. It sadly can also be xenophobic and if successful turn into the beast from above but it does not have to.
We are not you and we want the right not to be you! We want to preserve our identity because it is of value to us! We want to have some form of governance over ourselves.
The big political parties in the UK often play on English or British national sentiment to their benefit yet describe quite wrongly Mebyon Kernow or Plied Cymru as lunatic xenophobic backward looking nationalists, totally failing to address any of the legitimate issues raised. They do this confident in the knowledge that the majority public is largely ignorant, uncaring or hostile to national minorities.
To many in the UK ‘nationalism’ has become a dirty word associated with racism and extremism; well if you think like that you are mistaken the situation is much more complex. It is enough to say that there is huge variety encapsulated within the term nationalism and I have tried to explore this above."
In Cornwall there is:
The Cornish Nationalist Party
Mebyon Kernow
Then the other groups would be.
Cornish Constitutional Convention
The Cornish Stannary parliament
Tyr-Gwyr-Gweryn
Cornish Solidarity
Cornwall 2000 and Charterwatch
Cornish Heritage
Agan Tavas
Breton was spoken in Galicia for centuries like in Brittany (LIKE IN ENGLAND! England is a Celtic country too!!!). Many people like me are learning our medieval celtic language, that is breton.
Ireland is as celtic as Galicia is.
A celtic nation is that speaking a Celtic language... I think that means: Those in Ireland having Gaelic as mother tongue are part of the "irish nation"... those having English are just "Germanics"...or just "English", isn't it?. How did you make "Gaelic" the first official language of Ireland (if it is a minority language spoken in lost shires) and when Irish people have their own dialect of English? (like the Scots). The Spanish we speak in Galicia is "standard Spanish", we haven't obtained a dialect as mother tongue.
So, why Ireland is more important than Galicia speaking about "celtism"?
Do not think the Celtic heritage belongs to 6 little regions in Europe... the Celtic heritage belongs to humanity!