The Government’s English Devolution Bill is currently at the Report stage in the House of Lords. Since the white paper was published in December 2024 there has been ongoing fiscal devolution including two new Mayoral Strategic Authorities and two new foundation strategic authorities including Devon and Torbay.
Plymouth City Council has already unilaterally voted for a ‘Devonwall’ strategic authority to meet Government criteria of a population of 1.5 million to ensure additional powers and funding; and while the previous Conservative Cornwall Council rejected this, the new Liberal Democrat/Independent Council have written to Government asking for Cornwall to be recognised as the UK’s fifth nation.
Government is keen on strategic authorities of two or more local authorities coming together, based on an arbitrary population threshold not used by other nations to define regions (the smallest French region – for example – Corse has a population of 360,000).
The Bill’s reasoning is to bring local authorities together to work on ‘strategic matters’ like transport or economic development even though transport issues can transcend two local authorities and economic development can be focused on a local authority or below level.
Depending on the level and mix of devolved activity would determine whether strategic authorities move to having a Mayor.
Cornwall consultation has already rejected a Mayor and a Devonwall one would probably be based in Exeter with a knot of senior staff around them. This would take well paid jobs and accountability away from Cornwall and likely mean a precept on the Council Tax to pay for Mayoral staffing and powers. These would include planning powers like those exercised by the Mayor of London; including power of refusal, call in, development zones, strategy and charging for the Community Infrastructure Levy which is currently collected and used by local authorities.
One concession likely to be in the Bill is that the Government has listened to concerns about reverting to the first past the post electoral system for Mayors and that they would be elected by the Supplementary Vote. Each voter would have the choice of a second preference so that the winning candidate would need to get over half the vote. However, with Devon’s electorate twice the size of Cornwall; the latter could make a different choice and not win the Mayoralty.
It is by no means certain that any of this will happen. All six of Cornwall’s MPs supported the ‘Devolution for Cornwall’ publication case and the fifth nation ask (which is not about independence) was passed by 55 Cornwall councillors in July 2025, including two from Reform.
The implications for our natural environment are important to consider. A Mayor will be required to produce a growth strategy, and it appears that the NPPF allocation of almost 90,000 houses for Cornwall to 2050 will be – in part – to service the Plymouth economy through increased commuting. However, it also appears that recent housing growth in Cornwall has not encouraged or secured increased economic activity or productivity.
Cornwall CPRE believes that the best approach for Cornwall – one that appears to be shared in polling and petitions from most people in Cornwall – is that our enhanced governance is best placed to be done from this place. If additional and much needed resources can be achieved through further devolution, that is what Cornwall needs, but it should be based on democracy and consent rather than being withheld if those that we elect do not agree with Government policy. ‘Devonwall’ approaches not only threaten accountability, but they also have implications for the hard-pressed Cornish taxpayer and the acceleration of the urbanisation of our natural environment.