S Devolution Deal: Towards a More Sustainable Governance?
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The Political Quarterly, Vol. 87, No. 4, October–December 2016 Cornwall’s Devolution Deal: Towards a More Sustainable Governance? JOANIE WILLETT Abstract This article considers the devolution deal signed by Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly in the summer of 2015. It asks if the deal constitutes a more sustainable approach to governance, concluding that while there are some factors that help to enhance sustainability, other areas urgently require more attention. These claims are made through an analysis of a model of sustainability which emphasises the importance of networks and feedback loops envisaging civil society as an adaptive organism. This helps to show that although power is significantly dispersed in some aspects of the ‘Cornwall Deal’, this latter does little to alter the highly centralised nature of governance across England, or provide spaces where local actors can feed back into central policy. Keywords: Cornwall, English devolution, decentralisation, sustainable governance, local government, resilience Devolution was brought sharply back onto Introduction the political agenda over the time of the ALTHOUGH Scotland, Wales and Northern Ire- Scottish Independence Referendum in 2014, land have had devolved governance since and resulted in the launch of a devolution 1997, England remains one of the most Bill (now the Cities and Local Government highly centralised nations in Europe. This Devolution Act 2016). The aim of the Act is has been an ongoing trend for several dec- to ‘confer additional functions to combined ades. During the 1990s many of the func- authorities’, making provisions for the estab- tions of local authorities were transferred to lishment of directly elected mayors for these new regional tiers of governance, such as authorities, and the creation of sub-national Government Offices for the English Regions, transport bodies.1 To date, a number of Regional Development Agencies and un- devolution deals have been agreed, with elected Regional Chambers. These bodies Greater Manchester, Sheffield city-region and were abolished by the Conservative–Liberal Cornwall at the forefront. Other local author- Democrat Coalition government elected in ities have also submitted bids, and are cur- 2010, and many of their functions were rently exploring how they might develop transferred to central government through and their own deals.2 the Department of Communities and Local This article will focus on Cornwall’s devo- Government, the Department for Work and lution deal, with the aim of assessing Pensions and the Department for Trade and whether this represents a shift towards a Industry. This has removed communities more sustainable system of governance. It from governance decisions and rendered will be argued that Cornwall’s deal does lit- them less able to make the changes to their tle to address the overly hierarchical, top- localities that they would like to see. In addi- down and centralised nature of English tion, local strategic planning has had to governance, and that this compromises its fall in line with central targets and policy, sustainability. I begin by looking at the his- further limiting what local authorities and tory of decentralisation campaigns in Corn- communities may do in an increasingly hier- wall, before considering decentralisation and archical, top-down system. devolution in more depth and presenting the © The Author 2016. The Political Quarterly © The Political Quarterly Publishing Co. Ltd. 2016 582 Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA concept of sustainability that I will use. disadvantaged regions. The campaign to Then, I set out what can be achieved by make Cornwall a NUTS 2 region for statisti- Cornwall’s deal. Drawing on these analyses, cal purposes (and so access structural fund- I will conclude with a critical reflection on ing) began in the early 1990s. Identity the extent to which Cornwall’s devolution provided a crucial part of this campaign’s deal is likely to lead to a more sustainable success, and represented a significant break system of governance. with previous institutional discourse.7 Since then, Cornish identity has played an Cornish political decentralisation important role in local political life, operat- ing as a movement (or set of movements) and identity based on an emancipatory politics that seeks Political decentralisation has been an emo- to challenge perceived central neglect and a tive topic in Cornwall for decades, with a civic definition of Cornish identity that incor- major petition of 50,000 signatures in 20013 porates newcomers to the region.8 At the and a Private Members Bill in 2009 by then same time, the emphasis of attempts to ame- MP Dan Rogerson both calling for a Cornish liorate regional economic inequalities has Assembly. Polls4 have reaffirmed support for shifted from tackling particular economic decentralised governance. Much of the ratio- sectors to dealing with the competitiveness nale for the 2008 transition to a unitary of regions. Identity forms a large part of this authority was grounded in claims that this competitiveness, whereby the way in which would move Cornwall closer to having its regions are perceived, imagined and gov- own directly elected devolved body. Cornish erned can be conceived as playing an impor- persistence in campaigning for a Cornish tant role in their ongoing reputation.9 This Assembly comes from two key factors. First, moves beyond simplistic branding to reputa- it is based on a very strong sense of Cornish tion development and management. The identity, with a distinct language, flag and images, symbolisms, ideas and beliefs that other symbolisms of nationhood. Cornish underpin authentic, lived, regional identity cultural distinctiveness underpins a set of have a function in differentiating one region shared experiences that are perceived as ‘dif- and its products from others. Cornwall has ferent’ from England as a cultural and politi- built on the strength and mobilisation of its cal entity.5 Second, it is rooted in a feeling of identity. The food and drink sector in partic- economic and political inequality with ular has been quick to trade on reinterpreta- the rest of the UK. Cornwall has been one of tions of traditional symbols, which have the poorest parts of the country for many proliferated as a consequence, with positive decades, and many believe that Cornwall’s feedback loops for the development and poverty has been exacerbated by central gov- growth of local identity. Moreover, Cornwall ernment’s neglect.6 It is only relatively Council’s most recent economic strategy is a recently that governance in Cornwall has cultural and economic strategy, focusing on embraced Cornish identity. In the past, (and fusing) the interplay between the two.10 Cornwall County Council was frequently Cornish identity is still far from uncon- charged with trying to deny Cornish identity tested amongst the various institutions through institutional combination with involved in governance in Cornwall, neighbouring Devon, and by developing although it has become much more accepted policies that fostered a homogenous British over recent years. Some individuals and identity at the expense of Cornishness. groups retain an older scepticism towards This began to shift from the early 1990s, identity-based narratives, while others use it when the ability to draw on a strong cultural to pursue a range of agendas. Appeals to identity helped to make some key changes. Cornish identity can be interpreted by some The catalyst for this was the campaign for as indicative of a navel-gazing parochialism Objective 1 funds. For complex reasons, that does the region more harm than good. Cornwall was unable to qualify for EU struc- For others, a strong attachment to place is a tural funding, designed to provide invest- condition which the various organisations ment in social and physical infrastructure involved in Cornish governance networks in order to improve the fortunes of need to use and exploit more frequently. C ORNWALL’ S D EVOLUTION D EAL 583 © The Author 2016. The Political Quarterly © The Political Quarterly Publishing Co. Ltd. 2016 The Political Quarterly, Vol. 87, No. 4 Many in this latter camp are situated within Association (LGA) was more forthright in what we might call the Cornish Cultural the language that it uses. In a document Movement, and are also involved in main- entitled English Devolution: Local Solutions for taining language and traditional practices, a Successful Nation, the LGA makes the case seeing these as key components of Cornish- for a range of measures that regions need in ness. Because of this history, there can seem order to develop a successful system of gov- to be a tendency for discussions about ernance in the twenty-first century. Echoing political decentralisation of any type to be contemporary regional development, these characterised in terms of an inaccurate mis- include improving the competitiveness of depiction of cultural campaigners. Some- regions through better integration of service times onlookers interpret political decentrali- provision, tailoring structures to the local sation, devolution and a Cornish Assembly environment and devolution of budgets and as a move towards Cornish independence, taxation to local areas. which no group in Cornwall is actually The crucial factor in the LGA’s support of actively calling for. What has been clear devolution to regions in England seems to throughout this process is the extent to be the projected efficiency savings to be which identity has been important for initiat- gained from localised governance systems. ing, mobilising, sustaining and developing Moreover, although they use the language of the devolution campaign in Cornwall. It has devolution, this is a very different model also been evident that Cornish devolution from that of the UK’s first devolved nations. can have a polarising effect, with some crit- Scotland and Wales, for instance, have their ics suspicious that while Cornish cultural own Parliament and Assembly respectively, identity might be a good marketing tool, with political and legislative powers attached Cornish political identity may be indicative of to these.