Council leader slammed for 'totally bonkers' Cornwall nationalist comment
Cornwall Council's leader has been slammed by a political rival for "totally bonkers" comments she made on the national stage about the council's decision to pursue a Cornwall-only devolution deal with the Government. Independent councillor Julian German claims that Tory Linda Taylor described Cornwall as now being in a "nationalist wonderland", something he says is outrageous.
Last Tuesday (January 21) a meeting of the full council voted on a motion by Mebyon Kernow leader Dick Cole that it should stick with its stance to stand alone if and when it comes to any changes to the local government structure as suggested in Labour's English Devolution White Paper.
Councillors voted by 54 for and 4 against, with 11 abstentions, to "not countenance" any cross-border combined Devonwall-style deals with political neighbours in Plymouth or Torbay. They also agreed to once again call for a "meaningful" devolution settlement for Cornwall, which properly reflects the Duchy's national identity and the national minority status of the Cornish.
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Conservative council leader Linda Taylor was one of those who abstained from the vote. Three days after the debate, Cllr Taylor represented Cornwall at a County Councils Network leaders' meeting. All county councils and other unitary authorities, like Cornwall, are represented at the event.
Former leader of Cornwall Council Julian German was also present at the online meeting as he is vice-chair of the network's Independent group.
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"It was all about devolution and local government reforms," said Cllr German. "Later on in the meeting Linda came in and said, 'You might see some pigs flying if I tell you what's happening in Cornwall'. I just couldn't believe that a council leader who had just had a democratic vote was so dismissive of her council and indeed her group. It wasn't a slim vote.
"She said a bit about what was going on and described Cornwall as now being in a 'nationalist wonderland'. It's totally bonkers and misses the point."
Cllr Taylor survived a bid to oust her as leader in November with 43 councillors voting in favour of her staying, 32 wanting her out and 5 abstentions.
"We had the vote of confidence and said about her listening more broadly," Cllr German told CornwallLive. "Now she's got her own group and most of the rest of the council saying, 'this is the council's policy position, we want a Cornwall-only region' and then she's off in a meeting of council leaders from around the country dissing it. I don't think it's on.
"It's outrageous - it's not the sort of behaviour that Cornwall should be seeing from its leader."
Cllr Taylor has not responded to our request for a comment. She said during the devolution debate last week she would put all her confidence in Cornwall's MPs "that they are really going to hold the Government to account and I really hope we are going to be hearing significant decision-making about Cornwall within the next six to nine months because I don't think we can afford to wait any longer to see what the intention is for the future of Cornwall".
She and a number of other councillors made it clear that they were wary of dismissing out of hand talks with other authorities, even if Cornwall ultimately decided to go it alone.
On the day of the devolution motion, the council's Conservative administration lost its ruling majority after Cllr Mike McLening defected to the Independent group.
UPDATE
Cllr Taylor finally responded four days after a request for comment and only following publication.
She said: "The comments on Cornwall Live attributed to me at a private meeting misrepresent the reality of the situation that Cornwall faces. Both this administration and myself have been resolute in the pursuit of a Cornwall only devolution deal from the very start of this Council and it was just over a year ago that I signed a further bespoke deal with the previous government on just those terms.
"The announcement by the Minister of State just before Christmas and the subsequent government statements have caused widespread disquiet not only through Cornwall but also the wider political South West. This was the background of a recent informal debate at a County Council Network online meeting."
She added: "It is clear to me that the leadership of the Labour government is intent on forcing through a Cornwall and Devon Mayoral Authority by direct mandate unless our MPs step up to the mark and tell their own government that they will not support it - and I have been forceful in saying just that.
"I fear that otherwise Cornwall and Devon will either be directed to form such an authority or be economically starved into submission. The government will say that is the nature of our geography and 'take it or leave it' but that is not the position of Cornwall Council and it is not my position.
"It is unfortunate that stories sourced from informal meetings without context and detail are used as trivial political currency when there is so much at stake for all of us in Cornwall."