Cornish Solidarity () was a Cornish

direct action Direct action is a term for economic and political behavior in which participants use agency—for example economic or physical power—to achieve their goals. The aim of direct action is to either obstruct a certain practice (such as a governm ...

protest group founded in 1998, campaigning for Cornish issues, principally including

Objective One The Regional Policy of the European Union (EU), also referred as Cohesion Policy, is a policy with the stated aim of improving the economic well-being of regions in the European Union and also to avoid regional disparities. More than one third ...

status for Cornwall and more support for the Cornish economy in light of mine closures during the 1990s. It produced "Cornwall First", a newsletter published every two months which is free to members.

History

In February 1998, campaigners against the closure of

South Crofty South Crofty is a metalliferous tin and copper mine located in the village of Pool, Cornwall, England. An ancient mine, it has seen production for over 400 years, and extends almost two and a half miles across and down and has mined over 40 ...

, the last hard rock and tin mine in Cornwall, blocked the A30 trunk road into

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

using a twenty-car slow-moving convoy. The organisation grew from this protest, and demanded

regional funding for Cornwall, an exclusively-Cornish

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

constituency, a Cornish university, support for Cornwall's traditional industries and local control over Cornwall's health service; these demands were broadly similar to those being made at the time by

Mebyon Kernow Mebyon Kernow – The Party for Cornwall (, MK; Cornish language, Cornish for ''Sons of Cornwall'') is a Cornish nationalism, Cornish nationalist, Left-wing politics, centre-left political party in Cornwall, in southwestern Britain. It currentl ...

, a Cornish nationalist party that had recently relaunched itself. Cornish Solidarity was consolidated as a pressure group after the closure of

, the last hard rock mine in Cornwall, in March 1998. Greg Woods was elected the organisation's chairman. In March 1998, hundreds of Cornish Solidarity campaigners staged a protest on the

Tamar Bridge The Tamar Bridge is a suspension bridge over the River Tamar between Saltash, Cornwall and Plymouth, Devon in southwest England. It is long, running adjacent the Royal Albert Bridge, and part of the A38, a main road between the two counties. ...

. A convoy of protesters, many waving black and white

Saint Piran's flag Saint Piran's Flag () is the flag of Cornwall. The earliest known description of the flag, referred to as the Standard of Cornwall, was written in 1838. It is used by all Cornish people as a symbol of their identity. The flag is attributed ...

s from their vehicles, drove to the bridge, and used pennies to pay the £1 toll to enter

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

; Woods claimed that "that's all we've got left to pay with in Cornwall". In July 1998, Cornish Solidarity staged its last major protest, in which over 1,000 protestors blocked the Tamar Bridge. Since achieving many of its aims, Cornish Solidarity has undertaken a self-imposed hibernation vowing to return to fight any attempt to attack or alter Cornwall's ethnic diversity, boundaries or constitutional status.

Legacy

Cornwall was granted Objective One status in March 1999. In 1998, Cornwall was recognised by the

UK government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

as having "distinct cultural and historical factors reflecting a

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

background",Hansard 1998 - Cornwall has distinct cultural and historical factors reflecting a Celtic background
/ref> thus allowing it to be separated in a regional and economic sense from

References

External links

Cornish National Minority ReportCyfarfod cynta Cymuned yn Lloegr
leads to non-functioning website {{Cornish self-government movement Cornish nationalism Politics of Cornwall Human rights in England Home rule in the United Kingdom Political advocacy groups in England Organisations based in Cornwall 1998 establishments in England 1998 in British politics Defunct organisations based in England

History

Legacy

See also

References

External links