Three years ago, there was jubilation, outbreaks of song and poetry readings – in the local tongue, of course – when the Cornish people were officially recognised as a national minority.

But since those joyous days, the British government has not been doing enough to address the cultural needs of communities in the far south-west of Britain, according to the Council of Europe.

The council’s advisory committee monitoring the protection of national minorities has criticised UK ministers for cutting funding for the Cornish language, and suggested they work harder to devolve power and raise the profile of Cornish life.

On the language issue the committee was particularly scathing. “The advisory committee was disconcerted to learn that the UK government decided to cut all funding for the Cornish language,” it said. “The committee strongly regrets a decision which is considered to have a major impact on the continued revitalisation of the language.”

Dick Cole, leader of the Cornish nationalist party Mebyon Kernow, said the UK government was failing to fulfil its obligations to the people of Cornwall Photograph: Jim Wileman for the Guardian

In its opinion report, the first since the Cornish were afforded minority status in April 2014, committee members suggested some organisations did not always understand the difference between culture in Cornwall and a distinct “Cornish culture”.

Dick Cole, leader of the Cornish nationalist party Mebyon Kernow, said the UK government was failing to fulfil its obligations to the people of Cornwall. “The government signed up to the framework [which protects national minorities] but have failed to deliver on it,” he told the Guardian.

Cole said the recognition of the Cornish as a national minority was a historical one, but he said the committee’s report showed the Cornish were not being treated in the same manner as the likes of Scottish or Welsh citizens.

He backed recommendations in the report such as there being a tick box on the next census for people to be able to record their nationality as Cornish and for Cornwall to have some sort of voice on the British Irish Council.

Cole said: “The opinion shows a great deal of empathy and understanding for the situation in Cornwall, for which we are grateful. We would challenge Cornwall’s MPs and the UK government to show due respect to Cornish culture and identity by supporting all the recommendations contained within the opinion, wholeheartedly and without reservation.”

Cornwall council, run by an independent/Lib Dem coalition, said the report exposed central government failings.

It said: “The opinion report raises serious concerns over the way in which the UK government is currently meeting its legal obligations, particularly with regard to support for the Cornish language.”

The council said the government had recognised the Cornish language as a British minority language but had cut the £150,000 a year it had provided to support its development.

In addition, the council criticised the government for “discriminating” against Cornwall by not sharing the report with it ahead of publication – although it had sent it on to the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. “We are disappointed by this further evidence of discrimination,” it said.



Though it has cut the ring-fenced £150,000 budget for the language, the government said other funds could be used by the council to support Cornish if it wished.

A spokesperson said: “We’re supporting the development of Cornish culture and heritage, including with more than £800,000 funding since 2010. This complements Cornwall’s core spending powers of £1.7bn over the next four years, which they’re able to spend on local priorities.”



The report was not all doom and gloom. It said that there were some positive things happening around national identity such as the growth of St Piran’s Day, held in honour of Cornwall’s patron saint on 5 March every year.

Merv Davey, the grand bard of Cornwall, said the UK government was intent on framing Cornwall’s distinctive culture as “provincial and irrelevant”. He said: “They want to deny us recognition and insist we should submit to inclusion in an artificial south-west region. The Council of Europe is not about provincialism, and the recommendations for Cornwall are part of a wider global initiative to protect national minorities from being marginalised. Note that the Council of Europe is not the EU. It was set up by Churchill and the allies after the war to protect national minorities like the Cornish.”