ACCESS to the highest levels of devolution for Cornwall has long been one of my key objectives, since being elected two years ago as MP for Camborne, Redruth and Hayle.

This is important to me not only because in the Labour Party manifesto we committed to introducing landmark devolution legislation to transfer power out of Westminster and into communities across the UK; but for me, it’s also personal.

As a Cornishman, I am proudly protective of our national minority status and I consider suggestions of forcing Cornwall into a Mayoral Combined Authority (MCA) with anywhere to the east of the Tamar as culturally illiterate and profoundly undemocratic.

I have nothing particularly against the people of Devon or England more generally. But I am Cornish and have never considered myself English.

I should also be explicit here: I have absolutely nothing against those that consider themselves both Cornish and English. I just don’t. And when it comes to devolution, I have and would again campaign to oppose the imposition of a mayor for Cornwall or an MCA area. And I’m not alone. I speak regularly to political leaders across Cornwall and I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that there is a very strong consensus that Cornwall should not be consumed into an MCA.

This is why I was so pleased when last year Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), Steve Reed, confirmed that Cornwall could be a single strategic authority. There were those that were sceptical of this and claimed that it was merely a stepping-stone towards joining an MCA.

However, Cornish MPs were soon able to announce uniquely Cornish devolution policy wins such as: the new Kernow Industrial Growth Fund, which focuses on the economic development of Cornwall’s key growth sectors; the announcement of ‘Part 3’ status for the Cornish language, putting it on the same status as all other Celtic languages; and now the potential for a ‘Visitor Levy’ on tourists coming to Cornwall. This last point is a sensitive one and the policy is still to be clearly defined.

I am conditionally supportive of a Visitor Levy. Those conditions would be that 100 per cent of revenues raised from a Cornish Visitor Levy are then reinvested back into Cornwall. I’d like to see a focus of that investment on the tourist industry itself. Other parts of Europe use such funding to ensure that the impact of tourism on our natural environment is mitigated. This makes a lot of sense to me.

I fully accept and respect that there is unease amongst the Cornish hospitality industry on the imposition of a Visitor Levy given that many of their costs have risen in recent years.

Whilst it is right in my view that the power to raise such a levy should be devolved to Cornwall Council, the ultimate decision on whether it should be levied should rest entirely on our democratically elected Cornwall Councillors and not a decision made by politicians in Westminster.