The Political Quarterly, Vol. 87, No. 4, October–December 2016

Cornwall’s Deal: Towards a More Sustainable Governance?

JOANIE WILLETT

Abstract This article considers the devolution deal signed by 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 , 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 , and Northern Ire- 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 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 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 , 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.

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© 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. The devolution proposals outlined parochialism. by the LGA refer to the cascade of power from the centre to the region, with regards English regional devolution or to ‘freedoms and flexibilities’ only around delivery, with no legislative or extra powers decentralisation? of taxation. There is no mechanism for The debates about devolution in Cornwall, devolved English regions to create their own and a Cornish Assembly, are so familiar and policy agendas, to develop legislation to widespread that locally it is easily forgotten address local issues or to feed policy require- that this current round of devolution deals is ments back to central government. Neither linked up to an England-wide agenda.11 do the proposals free English devolved Indeed, in some of their consultations on the regions from central policy and strategy and Case for Cornwall12 (that is, Cornwall’s for- the requirement to create Local Plans which mal requests for more powers from central are in accordance with national, rather than government put forward in summer 2015), local, priorities. Moreover, unlike Scotland the formally framed its and Wales, there is to be no new democrati- asks as being ‘on the trajectory towards a cally elected decision-making arena (such as Cornish Assembly’. Both critics and propo- an Assembly or a Parliament), which raises nents focused on the Cornish Assembly questions about how accountable devolved debate, with little or no reference to other regions will be under these changes. Indeed, deals being sought in different regions. a forthcoming boundary review in Cornwall Despite this, the Case for Cornwall was pre- is widely expected to dramatically reduce sented to the public as a means of creating the number of Council members of the Uni- greater sustainability for the governance of tary Authority. the region, enabling policy tools which It is noteworthy that bodies calling for a would best support Cornwall’s needs. Cornish Assembly are split in their assess- The view for a sustainable Cornwall pre- ment of Cornwall’s deal. While some claim sented in the document is one that ‘is pros- that it improves Cornwall’s case for an perous, resilient and resourceful; where Assembly in the future, others argue that the communities are strong, and the most vul- earlier Case for Cornwall was lacking in nerable protected’. The Local Government ambition, and that the eventual deal does

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The Political Quarterly, Vol. 87, No. 4 © The Author 2016. The Political Quarterly © The Political Quarterly Publishing Co. Ltd. 2016 not amount to significant decentralisation, develop and deliver essential services, and a let alone devolution. Moreover, the wide- strong vision for how local economies, busi- spread use of the word ‘devolution’ by cen- nesses and communities can be better con- tral government is misleading, implying as it nected in order to provide sufficient does a significant shift in power from the employment and enable businesses to flour- centre to the regions which, in practice, is ish. This can provide the fuel for regions not not on the table. The assumption of both the just to sustain themselves, but also to grow, Cornwall deal and the LGA seems to be that develop and adapt confidently to local and the dispersal of political power from the cen- global challenges. Finally, sustainable gover- tre to the regions will enable more sustain- nance needs the ability to enable regions to able service delivery. In the following creatively try new approaches, breaking free analysis I will consider the extent to which from unhelpful patterns that damage local Cornwall’s devolution deal constitutes any communities and economies. Fostering new real kind of devolution, and evaluate claims relationships is one way to do this, and the to sustainability, starting with an assessment Cornwall devolution deal needs to better of what this latter means. connect together politics, society, and the economy. The sustainable region A sustainable system of governance should The Cornwall devolution deal be flexible and responsive enough to reflect In this section I will set out the main and adapt to changing conditions. The cur- achievements of Cornwall’s devolution rent system of territorial governance across deal. Later, I will explore these develop- England, with its sites of power increasingly ments in terms of sustainability, consider- centralised in Westminster, is vulnerable to ing the role of power and connectivity, disconnect with the public, communities, and the extent of political devolution localities and regions. While decisions might achieved at this time. be the rational best choice for the UK as a The Cornwall devolution deal13 was whole, they may fail to respond to the lived signed in July 2015 by Cornwall Council, realities of ordinary people in their localities, HM Government, Cornwall and Isles of which might be far removed from the views Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and and perceptions of the central government. Kernow Clinical Commissioning Group. Moreover, highly centralised policies under- Unlike other areas, Cornwall’s deal is not mine the local identities which are essential based on a city-region scale but is a county mobilising factors to community develop- deal; furthermore, it does not include a ment. Conflict can also happen when com- requirement for a directly elected mayor. munities feel unable to make the changes This is because existing governance arrange- that they wish to see, because their plans ments in the area follow the territorial conflict with a central agenda that they feel boundaries of Cornwall, whereas other unable to influence. regions often have a complex patchwork of We can imagine the current English devo- layers of interlocking and overlapping struc- lution agenda as an attempt to address these tures and authorities. For example, Cornwall hierarchies, dispersing power across regions is served by a single NHS Trust (Royal and localities, enabling them to have a Cornwall Hospitals), a single Clinical Com- greater say in decisions that affect their com- missioning Group (NHS Kernow), a single munities. If this is to be effective, we need to LEP (Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Local see strong feedback loops developing Enterprise Partnership) and a single Unitary between all parts of the body politic, from Authority with a Leader/Cabinet model individuals to political elites. This would (Cornwall Council). Within this group, Royal help to foster democratic renewal and Cornwall Hospitals is the only body that greater civil society engagement. We will does not have a leading role in any part of also need to see support in terms of the deal, and will not act as an accountable resources, such as adequate funding to body.

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© The Author 2016. The Political Quarterly © The Political Quarterly Publishing Co. Ltd. 2016 The Political Quarterly, Vol. 87, No. 4 The LEP (which is essentially a partner- not shift responsibility for European Struc- ship between local authorities and busi- tural Funding to Cornwall, it allows Cornish nesses, and is not directly elected) has a decision-makers to select projects to be leading role over large areas in the deal, funded. What the deal does not enable is for especially the aspects that touch on the econ- Cornwall to interact directly with the Euro- omy. This means that there is no clear line of pean Commission with regard to the negoti- accountability for the deal as a whole, and ations over structural funding and the shape large parts of it are outside the remit of of the Single Programming Document which democratically elected bodies. It is notable sets out the agenda for Structural Fund here that unlike, for example, Welsh devolu- priorities. This places UK Structural Fund tion, no singular organisation acts as a cen- recipients in a uniquely centralised position tral accountable body. Instead the devolution in relation to the EU, demonstrating the deal is a partnership of three organisations, highly centralised nature of British politics. only one of which is democratically elected. However, Cornwall is given back some of Elected representatives will play a role in the the powers of delivery which it had previ- scrutiny function of Cornwall’s governance, ously, but lost in the post-2010 austerity alongside business representatives, although centralisation. the number of elected representatives of Other policy areas enable tighter network- Cornwall Council as a whole is expected to ing, interlinking and feedback loops between be significantly reduced. labour market needs and training provision, The deal sets out ten policy areas. Key as well as a Growth Hub to provide better measures include ‘Efficiency Making in the support for businesses to innovate and grow, Public Estate’, an initiative to ameliorate under the umbrella of Integrated Local and government and local public sector joint National Business Support Services. The working, improving efficiency where public Growth Hub involves significant local addi- assets such as land buildings are owned by a tional financial investment, but does not broad mix of local and national bodies. The have the capacity to feed back to a central aim of this element of the deal is improve- government level about what business needs ment and savings through co-location, are and how they might contribute to devel- collaboration and asset rationalisation. Effi- oping national policy if required. Cornwall ciency will also be met through the invita- has also been granted the power under the tion for Cornwall Council, the Council of the heading of Integrated Public Transport to Isles of Scilly, NHS Kernow and local health franchise bus services, which together with organisations to integrate health and social Smart Ticketing will enable improvements in care services, creating a business plan to service quality through better integration, develop an integrated approach for health ticketing and bus infrastructure. and social care. At present, resources are Additionally, with the help of the LEP, the fragmented across a number of organisa- Education, Training and Learning Appren- tions, but this plan will move towards a sin- ticeship Opportunities strand of the deal gle budget and commissioning arrangement. enables stronger integration of further educa- However, it is not clear here if Cornwall tion and training provision in accordance gains any more powers per se, other than with economic needs. This plan will use the the ability to consider how to deliver health Adult Skills Budget, other existing local bud- and social care more efficiently. gets, EU structural funding and any private The economy is an important aspect of the investment that may be available. Remaining Cornwall deal, which grants Intermediary areas include a Cornish Heritage Environ- Body Status for European Regional Develop- ment Forum to help protect Cornish culture ment Funding (ERDF) and the European and environment (although, controversially, Social Fund (ESF). In the current round of funding was removed at funding, responsibility to select projects and the last minute), and a pledge to support the ensure compliance lay with the Department natural environment through Energy and of Communities and Local Government (for Resilience Projects including a Low Carbon the ERDF) and the Department of Work and Enterprise Zone and Energy Efficiency Pensions (for the ESF). While the deal does Improvements in Homes. The environmental

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The Political Quarterly, Vol. 87, No. 4 © The Author 2016. The Political Quarterly © The Political Quarterly Publishing Co. Ltd. 2016 aspects receive less attention than the other other areas which facilitate intra-connectivity areas in the deal. within the area. These measures also have potential to allow better understanding of how the region can respond to its market The Cornwall devolution deal: needs, and evolve with regard to its ever- towards a more sustainable developing niche. Other aspects of the deal are designed to region? make more efficient use of resources. For Can the devolution deal improve the sustain- example, the integration of health and social ability of Cornwall’s governance? To answer care is happening in a broader environment this, we can divide the deal into two parts. of increasing public sector cuts and the First, the document appears to provide requirement to deliver more with less. This greater connectivity and dispersal of power means that Cornwall will have greater across a number of areas of public sector capacity to shape delivery of health and provision. Other parts emphasise how they social care services within the region, simpli- will make Cornwall function more efficiently. fying the current systems of delivery. Like- But to understand better whether the deal wise, the idea of ‘Public Sector Hubs’, actually offers a sustainable system of gover- whereby different organisations share use of nance, we also need to look at feedback public assets, also offers efficiency savings in loops, and this is the aspect that is the most the context of a vastly shrinking state, and telling. The region needs to have conduits frees up public land for sale for develop- and flows of information between it and ment. Here, Cornwall is being reshaped to organisations higher up the scale in the facilitate adaptation to national policy. wider governance ecology, such as national From this point, we need to consider what government. Such enhanced communication is included in the deal, and to where the helps people and individuals to better adapt sites of power are connected. This is interest- to the social, political and economic environ- ing, because the ‘vision of Cornwall’ that is ment, and therefore to survive and flourish. incorporated into the deal appears to be pre- The integrated public transport offer sup- dominantly based within a layer of strategic ports ease of movement, enabling people decision-making. The capacity to ‘plug in’ to and businesses to interact, communicate, a layer of Cornish civil society is lacking in develop and grow to a greater extent than is the format of devolution that has been devel- currently possible. This is to be welcomed. oped, despite the very clear need for accu- Many other parts of the deal also have the rate information about what is happening potential to transform connectivity within ‘on the ground’. For example, the feedback the system, enabling more accurate feedback loops with regard to understanding the to be presented, explored, used and devel- needs of the economy begin and end with oped. For example, we can see a tight net- the LEP, and are entirely reliant on the skills work developing between the LEP, central and capacity that the LEP has to communi- government and other organisations to iden- cate with civil society. However, many citi- tify and develop apprenticeship needs and zens within Cornwall (and indeed many educational provision. Better interaction businesses) are unaware that the LEP exists, between education provision and business and do not have either an understanding of needs has the potential to make significant its role and function or the capacity to feed impacts in the economy, ensuring conduits into its decision-making processes. Engage- of information which provide a more accu- ment with and impact on the LEP appears to rate analysis of the economic needs of the rely on the awareness of businesses and their system and the environment within which it willingness, ability and time to be members operates. This has clear potential to enhance of a larger intra-Cornwall industry network. Cornwall’s adaptivity by improving the Smaller enterprises may be less competent at speed at which these needs can be met. making themselves heard. This complicates Allowing Cornwall to have an intermediary how civil society can feed into the decen- body for the delivery of structural funding tralised provisions within the deal, and and the development of the Growth Hub are raises serious questions about the quality

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© The Author 2016. The Political Quarterly © The Political Quarterly Publishing Co. Ltd. 2016 The Political Quarterly, Vol. 87, No. 4 of the democratic engagement that it may economic utility of culture and heritage, be offering. rather than the impact that it can have as a The situation is similar for individual way of bringing communities together and members of civil society. In the entire devo- mediating change. This indicates that, while lution deal document, there is no mention of using the rhetoric of devolution, the empha- democracy, civil society or participation. It sis was still on central priorities, to the detri- offers no support for political engagement, ment of any real willingness to address local and no provision for citizens’ involvement issues. beyond the traditional channels of elected Meanwhile, no organisational body has representatives. Identity (in the form of cul- overarching responsibility for managing ture and heritage) is included for its utility Cornwall’s deal. Instead it is managed by a only, rather than as a good in and of itself. patchwork partnership of member organisa- Political participation remains enshrined tions—Cornwall Council, the LEP and the under the , offering decen- Kernow Clinical Commissioning Group. Of tralisation of service delivery to eligible these, Cornwall Council is the only organisa- towns and parishes, but does nothing to tion that has clear routes of democratic address the centralism by which neighbour- accountability, or (as importantly) clear hood planning (and indeed local authority routes through which the public can partici- planning) can only take place within the pate in decision-making. However, this sole tight control of central strategy and the accountable body is merely a partner in a National Planning Policy Framework. This strategic governance network, rather than indicates that even though Cornwall has the primary authority. This compromises the been offered ‘devolution’, it will not be able capacity of the general public to feed infor- to set its own policy agendas based on local mation to the strategic decision-making tier needs. Indeed, the deal makes no new provi- of governance on which the Cornwall deal sion for policy making at all, even within the rests, and consequently raises a structural context of national strategic direction. challenge in terms of the capacity of deci- Rather, the deal represents decentralisation sion-makers to make choices, based on the of central government implementation. most effective and accurate information, that Indeed, this is what is meant by the empha- connect with and reflecting the views of the sis on ‘freedoms and flexibilities’, that is, an local citizens. An alternative to this could ability to implement central policy on a local have been to strengthen the role of Cornwall level, which is tailored to the local context. Council, which could have added credence Further, from the differences in emphasis to the claims that the deal is part of the between the deal and the earlier Case for trajectory towards an Assembly. Cornwall, it appears that the priorities of Instead, Cornwall’s new governance net- central government are different from those work has little capacity to feed back further of Cornwall Council and their partners. The up the line towards central government. This overarching emphasis behind the Case for latter retains ultimate control over adapta- Cornwall and its vision of sustainability was tion to a changing socio-economy, and Corn- to strengthen the Cornish economy, improve wall is not invited to contribute to the productivity and address some of its unique processes which help to shape that environ- challenges to housing and service provision. ment. Instead of being able to use local However, the aim of the central government, knowledge to help shape the central agenda, as reflected in the deal, was to make cost the deal invites Cornish local authorities to savings and to improve labour market have more choice over how to deliver that engagement. Housing was completely omit- agenda. This is apparent with regard to ted from the deal, despite being the most health and social care and Intermediary sensitive aspect according to the consultation Body Status. In the latter instance, in particu- process, reflecting the depth of Cornwall’s lar, the ability to decide which projects housing crisis. Moreover, the identity that should be funded is limited by central policy has been so effective in mobilising people in and the Single Programming Document, pre- Cornwall for better local governance is pared centrally and setting out the agenda reduced to a few lines that emphasise the for Cornwall’s Structural Funds programme.

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The Political Quarterly, Vol. 87, No. 4 © The Author 2016. The Political Quarterly © The Political Quarterly Publishing Co. Ltd. 2016 Equally, and betraying an intensely central North East compared’, Political Studies, vol. 62, rather than local focus, greater adaptivity no. 2, 2014, pp. 343–60. over further education provision is not about 4 For example, a Survation poll in November improving Cornwall’s economic capacity (as 2014 found that 60 per cent of the respondents in the Case for Cornwall), but about meeting in Camborne and Redruth were in support of greater devolution, with 49 per cent in support central targets regarding unemployment. of an assembly (http://survation.com/a-tight- What does this mean for the sustainability con-ukip-race-in-camborne-redruth-survation- ’ ’ of Cornwall s devolution deal? Cornwall s for-the-university-of-exeter/); and a Pirate FM adaptability is compromised on a number of Poll in September 2014 found 64 per cent sup- levels. First, governance in Cornwall sits in port for devolution (http://www.piratefm.co. isolation from individuals and citizens, who uk/vp/-/news/-/latest-news/1398586/vote- can provide information and energy to help to should-cornwall-be-next-for-devolution/) (urls drive the adaptive process. Second, Cornish accessed 29 July 2016). ‘ ’ governance and civil society has only minimal 5 Willett and Giovannini, The uneven path , opportunity to feed back into helping to shape 2014. 6 P. Payton, ed., The Making of Modern Cornwall, national policy. It is impossible to conclude Redruth, Institute of Cornish Studies, 1993. that this amounts to a real devolution, or even 7 J. Willett, ‘National identity and regional decentralisation of power, and the risk here is development: Cornwall and the campaign for that civil society could become disillusioned, Objective 1 funding’, National Identities, vol. 15, especially if citizens’ experiences of ‘devolu- no. 3, 2013, pp. 297–311. tion’ are related to an inability to make the 8 Willett and Giovannini, ‘The uneven path’, changes that they feel are necessary. Conse- 2014. ‘ quently, the deal can only currently offer 9 T. Herrschel, Growth and innovation of com- some limited prospect of sustainability, but it petitive regions: the role of internal and exter- nal connections’, European Planning Studies, vol. remains to be seen how policy-makers can – ’ 18, no. 7, 2010, pp. 1169 72. shape Cornwall s deal in coming years, as 10 Cornwall Council, Culture and Economic Strat- changes become embedded and improved. egy, Truro, New County Hall, 2014. 11 To describe Cornwall as a part of England is highly contentious. Here we refer to the Notes administrative area of which Cornwall is a 1 Cities and Local Government Devolution Act, part, rather than making any kind of national available at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ claim. ukpga/2016/1/contents/enacted/data.htm (acc- 12 ‘The Case for Cornwall’, available at http:// essed 29 July 2016). www.cornwall.gov.uk/media/13331534/c4c- 2 https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/city full-document.pdf (accessed 29 July 2016). -deals-and-growth-deals?page=2 (accessed 29 13 Cornwall devolution deal, available at July 2016). https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/ 3 J. Willett and A. Giovannini, ‘The uneven path system/uploads/attachment_data/file/447419/ of UK devolution: top down vs bottom up 20150715_Cornwall_Devolution_Deal_-_FINAL_- in England, Cornwall and the _reformatted.pdf (accessed 29 July 2016).

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© The Author 2016. The Political Quarterly © The Political Quarterly Publishing Co. Ltd. 2016 The Political Quarterly, Vol. 87, No. 4