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| Cornish to be recognised as a national minority along with Scots, Welsh and Irish | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Raise the flag of St Piran. A millennium after they were subsumed into the English state and 15 years since efforts began to have them formally declared a distinct people, the Cornish are to be recognised as a national minority. | Raise the flag of St Piran. A millennium after they were subsumed into the English state and 15 years since efforts began to have them formally declared a distinct people, the Cornish are to be recognised as a national minority. |
| The Government will announce on Thursday that the Cornish are joining the Scots, Welsh and Irish as official members of the UK’s Celtic minorities. The decision is a victory for campaigners who have long insisted that, beyond its image as the motherland of the pasty and clotted cream, Cornwall has a distinct language and culture worthy of formal recognition. | The Government will announce on Thursday that the Cornish are joining the Scots, Welsh and Irish as official members of the UK’s Celtic minorities. The decision is a victory for campaigners who have long insisted that, beyond its image as the motherland of the pasty and clotted cream, Cornwall has a distinct language and culture worthy of formal recognition. |
| The status of a national minority group, made under a European convention to protect them, means that the Cornish now have the same rights and protections as the more established members of Britain’s Celtic fringe. | The status of a national minority group, made under a European convention to protect them, means that the Cornish now have the same rights and protections as the more established members of Britain’s Celtic fringe. |
| The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, will make the announcement in Bodmin today. He said: “Cornish people have a proud history and a distinct identity. I am delighted that we have been able to officially recognise this and afford the Cornish people the same status as other minorities in the UK.” | The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, will make the announcement in Bodmin today. He said: “Cornish people have a proud history and a distinct identity. I am delighted that we have been able to officially recognise this and afford the Cornish people the same status as other minorities in the UK.” |
| The ruling is the culmination of a long battle to assert a distinct Cornish identity which saw 84,000 people declare themselves “Cornish” in the 2011 Census following a campaign for the designation to be added to the form. A further 41 per cent of pupils in Cornwall’s schools described themselves as Cornish in a 2011 school survey – up from 34 per cent two years earlier. | The ruling is the culmination of a long battle to assert a distinct Cornish identity which saw 84,000 people declare themselves “Cornish” in the 2011 Census following a campaign for the designation to be added to the form. A further 41 per cent of pupils in Cornwall’s schools described themselves as Cornish in a 2011 school survey – up from 34 per cent two years earlier. |
| The Cornish language, which until 2010 was classified as extinct by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, is also enjoying a robust revival, with 557 people claiming the Celtic dialect as their main language. Teaching of Cornish has received government funding Last month, the Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, pledged a further £120,000 to promote and develop the language with such measures as an internet-based radio station. | The Cornish language, which until 2010 was classified as extinct by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, is also enjoying a robust revival, with 557 people claiming the Celtic dialect as their main language. Teaching of Cornish has received government funding Last month, the Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, pledged a further £120,000 to promote and develop the language with such measures as an internet-based radio station. |
| The first Cornish language crèche opened in 2010 and dual-language street signs are now common throughout the county. Its three Liberal Democrat MPs swore their oath in Cornish when elected to Parliament in 2010. | The first Cornish language crèche opened in 2010 and dual-language street signs are now common throughout the county. Its three Liberal Democrat MPs swore their oath in Cornish when elected to Parliament in 2010. |
| Campaigners said they were delighted by the move, which comes after the submission of two formal reports to Westminster seeking minority status and years of lobbying. | Campaigners said they were delighted by the move, which comes after the submission of two formal reports to Westminster seeking minority status and years of lobbying. |
| Dick Cole, leader of the Cornish nationalist party Mebyon Kernow, which campaigns for a separate national assembly, told The Independent: “We are absolutely elated. The fact that Cornish culture, language and identity is now formally a national minority on a par with the Welsh, Scots and Irish is fantastic. We shall savour the moment.” | Dick Cole, leader of the Cornish nationalist party Mebyon Kernow, which campaigns for a separate national assembly, told The Independent: “We are absolutely elated. The fact that Cornish culture, language and identity is now formally a national minority on a par with the Welsh, Scots and Irish is fantastic. We shall savour the moment.” |
| The Communities Minister, Stephen Williams, added: “This is a great day for the people of Cornwall.” | The Communities Minister, Stephen Williams, added: “This is a great day for the people of Cornwall.” |