Cornwall devolution deal fails in House of Lords

Last-minute attempts to change the government's devolution legislation to secure a special deal for Cornwall have reached "the end of the road" according to the politician tasked with trying to amend the bill in the House of Lords.

Under the terms of the bill, the highest level of devolution will only be granted to areas where several councils group together under a regional mayor.

Cornwall Council said it should be able to access these powers without either a mayor or the obligation to combine with Devon.

It had argued the county's history, culture and its protected national minority status meant it should be treated as a special case.

With the bill nearing the end of its journey through Parliament, Cornish Liberal Democrat peer Robin Teverson attempted to lay amendments which would exempt areas with national minority status from having to combine under a mayor, but these have not been taken forward.

Lord Teverson said it was "almost impossible" to change the legislation now.

He said the bill had been drafted in such a way that no individual area except London could be named and singled out.

Lord Teverson said there had been "moves by the government to recognise Cornwall's status, there have been a number of visits and I think there is good will".

He added: "Would I like that to be in primary legislation? Absolutely, I would.

"But almost when this bill was first written it almost excluded that by default.

"Even the government wouldn't be able to put an amendment down that mentioned Cornwall itself without going through bizarre procedures in future to consult with every other local authority in the country."

Cornwall already had a degree of devolution inherited from the Conservative era.

In November, the Local Government Secretary said he was "minded" to allow Cornwall to continue as a single council "Foundation Strategic Authority" – the lowest level with limited powers in the new devolution hierarchy.

While this would avoid Cornwall being forced into a combined authority it falls far short of the offer being made to areas combining under a mayor.

"There are still issues about being on some of the national mayoral forums that we're not going to be potentially at the moment", said Lord Teverson, "and the whole funding issue as well – will that exclude us from some of the major funding streams into the future?"

But he and others insisted this was not necessarily the end of the bigger story.

"The legislative bit is part of a much wider attempt to get the government to understand that Cornwall is different and special – so it's not the only stream of work, if you like", he said.

Alongside the legislative process, meetings have continued between ministers and Cornish politicians continuing to press their case.

The devolution minister will visit Cornwall on Thursday to talk to the council leader and MPs.

Camborne and Redruth MP Perran Moon, the leading advocate in the Commons for a special deal will also be present and will continue to be optimistic.

But he is still setting the bar high.

Cornwall, he insists, must not be at a disadvantage if it does not enter into a combined mayoral authority.

How, or if, that will happen if the devolution legislation does not allow for it in law remains to be seen.

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