Cornwall

I so agree with Phoenix on this one. Ridiculous.

I really am saddened by this need to divide the UK.

Coming from Cornwall, Scotland,Wales, N.Ireland or England does not make you any better a person, does not mean you are worth more, does not mean you deserve any more consideration than any other person living in the UK.

I must be b----y simple because I just don't get it.

This might appear fairly innocuous at the moment but where will this 'We want to be treated differently' attitude lead to. It just smacks of seperatism and I for one hate it.

For goodness sake those who want to be looked upon as 'different, special, better than the rest of us, warranting extra favour' you should think about how the 'rest of us' view this matter.

What the heck does Cornwall have Somerset, Yorkshire, Dorset, Devon, Lancashire etc. don't have???

Sorry, I love Cornwall but this is a turn off for me to want to visit there, the same as any other part of the UK that wants to be seperatist.

I love Cornwall but I don't get it either.

Will it help their unemployment problems? If not, what's the point?

I do not want to be treated separately. I want to be treated the same way that the people who make the laws in this country are treated, but I am not.
Perhaps calls for separatism might make them realise there are many people outside the M25 that want their fair share in this country.
I like Cornwall and will still visit, whatever.

Precisely.

Who wants to visit an area of the UK or country in the UK that appears to take your money through gritted teeth and obviously thinks their culture is so 'special' it deserves special recognition to other area's and population of the UK.

This is all very retrograde to me. There are some very big chips on the shoulder that are festering and it will only lead to trouble eventually, we could all be the looser in time.

Obviously my post was to merlotgran.

Janerowena - the only bit of the Norfolk Coast that has money is the little bit of the North Norfolk coast known as Chelsea-on-Sea around the Burnhams. This is where the London set has their second homes. We drive straight through -can't afford the car parks let alone a drink! The rest of the coast and much of Norfolk has a great need for food banks.

I agree with Durhamjen that England is completely London-centric and hope perhaps Cornwall's new status will knock some sense into Whitehall. London is not England and I'm fed up with the way the whole of the rest of the country has to bow to what London wants. I suppose it's the same with Paris and France, Rome and Italy. But it seems worse here. I think Parliament should centralise by moving lock stock and barrel to Birmingham. Or Manchester. Or Leeds.

I might be one of the few people who do not really like Cornwall as a county. I holidayed there as a small child, teen and we took our own kids there when they were early teens. I do not have any urge to return. I find other parts of UK more lovely /dramatic/ historic etc... but I guess the Cornish won't be worried about my opinion & why should they!

Indeed why should they?

The bill for administering the licensing system last year cost Devon and Cornwall Police £1.25 million. However it received only £446,000 in fees.

Read more: www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/Gun-licence-increase-postponed-Home-Office/story-19767386-detail/story.html#ixzz2zuEr5gZE

This was last year. I am more concerned about this in Cornwall than them being a separate part of the country. Gun licensing is subsidised more.

Pogs and phoenix I agree with every word you say! Having lived in Cornwall [first baby was born there] I can say it's a nice place to live [but not as nice as Devon.]Some of it is a bit run down and feels like bits of Wales, economically I mean.Don't think giving it special status will help with this somehow, it's all about jobs isn't it? They make excellent pasties, although the best ever pasties are from a shop in the covered market in Plymouth [over the other side of the Tamar.]It seems that all extremism is on the up these days, Welsh, Scottish, Cornish, Muslim etc. where will it end? Roadsigns in Cornish? Cornish lessons as part of the curriculum?Jobs handed to Cornish speakers only? All this happened in Wales in recent years.Cornish tv?Ooh-arr.

So I presume those of you who are not going to visit Cornwall do not visit Wales or Scotland for the same reason. What Cornwall has that other counties do not have is a very short border.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/cornwall-is-celebrating-after-being-granted-minority-status--but-what-of-other-english-counties-claims-to-independence-9284240.html

Do you agree with your county's claim to independence?

I wonder if these areas of the UK would be quite so keen on "independence" if they then had to be totally self funded, ie for medical care, policing, government, etc, etc? I don't pretend for one second to be a financial expert, and it's quite possible I'm talking absolute rubbish, but I suspect this "independence" still requires considerable financial support from UK taxes and hence from the rest of us unindependent souls!

durhamjen, I think the difference between Cornwall and Wales and Scotland is that it is a county, not a count r y!

Cornwall's economic problems have a lot to do with its remoteness. The weather can be pants (grandson's verdict) as well. I love its beauty but I no longer feel the need to travel so far to find beautiful beaches and stunning scenery. Do they think making themselves appear a bit 'foreign' will benefit their tourist industry?

If I want to listen to another language I can hop on a ferry and be in France in the same time it takes to travel to Cornwall.

I think "independence" means exactly that - no access to taxes raised by the rest of the UK, and no paying taxes to Westminster eithe

I don't what "minority status" entails, not a great deal, I suspect, only that their culture is to be respected. The link that DebnCreme posted says "The status does not attract extra money"

Certainly, Cornwall is NOT getting independence.

You could visit Wales and support UK tourism instead of French, merlot!

And then there's the pixies...

Aren't they piskies in Cornwall?

All our holidays were spent in Wales when the children were small, Ana

It RAINED

Can anyone tell me why Cornish people think their culture is not being respected? They've had more promotion via TV documentaries, cookery shows and lets not forget drama, Doc Martin and.....er Jamaica Inn than any other county.

Cornwall is very similar to Northern France, particularly Brittany. Some people believed that that's where King Arthur came from.
It would be an interesting exercise to see what would happen if all counties kept their own taxes. As it is the council tax gets sent to London, then doled out depending on the whim of the government. The North East has lost out a lot in taxes these last few years.

Couldn't bring myself to come back to read this yesterday, sorry, because the whole thing has upset me. Really pleased to read some responses, particularly from POGS phoenix and rosesarered you three would be far more able to explain to my OH how I feel about it all than I am. I am frightened for Great Britain's/England's long term future.

rosesarered my first daughter was born in Treliske hospital!

Elegran, yes, I appreciate that Cornwall are not getting independence. Sorry, I didn't make that very clear. I was really just trying to say that all of these parts of the UK, including Cornwall, seem to have aspirations of independence from the UK, almost as the next step from getting the minority status, and I'm really not convinced that this is a good thing. I just didn't put it very well. It seems to me that very soon the minorities in this country will vastly outnumber those who are supposedly the majority. I am definitely beginning to feel like a minority, and I'm not Cornish, Welsh, Scottish, etc etc etc, haha!

I have to say this has all been an excellent and interesting discussion whatever the views held. roses.

DEB I feel exactly the same , kinda scary really , I doubt for one nanosecond I will be here to see it . However, it pains me to think of my DGC and what it will be like for them.
Still I suppose they will adapt, as people have done from time immorial.

Perhaps if central government made more of celebrating regional and local traditions and cultures on publicity about the UK those regions and counties would feel less that they need official minority status to be visible.

As it is, we hear a great deal more, for instance, about London as a tourist destination than we do about Cornwall or the North East. I have met Scots who believe that the whole of southern England from the Lizard to Hull is a mass of motorways and built-up suburbs.