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Cornwall's nationalist political party, Mebyon Kernow – the Party for Cornwall (MK), announced last week that they will put forward a list of candidates for the European elections in June 2009.
The Party has only stood in the European elections on two previous occasions (1979 and 1994) where the constituency comprised of Cornwall and West Plymouth in Devon, England. On these two previous occasions, even though the MK candidates were not elected they succeeded in gaining a large percentage of the vote.
In 1999 however the European constituency boundaries changed in the UK, which meant that Cornwall then became part of a massive artificial South West of England region that stretches from Penzance in the far west of Cornwall to Gibraltar in the south of Europe to the northern part of Gloucestershire, England (which is as close to the Scottish border as it is to the tip of Cornwall). This meant that Cornwall was no longer able to stand in a more or less Cornish constituency.
The new South West European constituency, which includes about four million voters, represents a huge undertaking for MK in consideration of the size of the Party, the huge geological area covered and the financial cost. Only one in ten of the voters will actually live in Cornwall and it is estimated that MK will need to win somewhere in the region of 150,000-160,000 of the votes to gain a Member of the European Parliament or 25% of the Cornish vote. In the past MK have tended to support the Green Party for the European elections, which has also been the case in Brittany, where the Breton nationalist parties also experience a similar situation.
Therefore, standing in the European elections is an ambitious step forward for the Party, but could be a good political move considering the elections to the new Cornwall Unitary Authority Council elections will be held on the same day (4th June). The European election list has yet to be decided by MK, but candidates are likely to be announced soon.
Party Leader Cllr Dick Cole added:
"Some people may think it newsworthy that people from Devon to Bristol, plus Gibraltar, will be able to vote for Cornish nationalists. The truth is that this situation shows how political structures do not recognise the integrity of the historic nation of Cornwall. This must change.
"In this election, Mebyon Kernow will only be campaigning in Cornwall.
"On 4th June, fly the flag for Cornwall by voting MK – the only political party 100% dedicated to Cornwall and the concerns of local people."
J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League
22/03/09
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