Despite its failure to secure a devolution deal involving an elected Mayor of Cornwall last year, Cornwall Council's Conservative administration is hoping to strike a new deal for more powers for the Duchy with the new Labour Government.

However, two opposition groups have put a spanner in the works of a proposed Cornwall White Paper being presented to deputy prime minister Angela Rayner by the end of this month. Kate Ewert, who has replaced new Truro / Falmouth MP Jayne Kirkham as leader of the council's Labour group, and Julian German, representing Independent group leader Loic Rich, said they couldn't support the move without all members of the council being consulted.

The council's Tory Cabinet agreed a "level two" devolution deal with the last Government late last year after its bid for a "level three" deal proved unpopular with Cornish residents due to the mayoral element - the government said no deal without an elected mayor. Conservative councillors hoped the new deal would be the first step to Cornwall having more power over its own affairs.

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A meeting of the Cabinet heard today (Wednesday, July 24) that the unexpected timing of the General Election and Labour's win means there is a short window of opportunity during the first 100 days of the new Government for Cornwall to be one of the first to suggest proposals, with the aim of starting negotiations on securing as many elements of the proposed Cornwall White Paper.

The meeting heard that the Cabinet wanted to move fast after a number of directly-elected mayors across the country had already submitted their own devolution/growth plans to the Labour Government, with the rest encouraged to do so before Parliament's summer recess starts on August 1. The desire for urgency came after the deputy prime minister announced the Government’s intentions to "kickstart a devolution revolution".

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The White Paper sets out a new ‘whole place’ proposition to the new Government that would see Cornwall, as a recognised and protected Celtic nation, having the means to shape its own destiny by securing greater autonomy and the ability to deliver a range of policies and outcomes. These would include growing the Cornish economy, fairer funding from Westminster and greater control over how that money is spent, improving the housing crisis, delivering the council's Cornwall Nature Recovery Strategy and enhancing Cornwall's unique identity.

Council leader Linda Taylor told councillors of all parties: "Irrespective of what your definition of devolution is and what your preferred governance model might be, I hope we can all stand united on the fundamental principle of more decisions about Cornwall being taken in Cornwall as opposed to anywhere else in the South West.

"The idea of Cornwall drawn into any variant of a South West region mayoral combined authority must be resisted. We need to make sure the deputy prime minister understands and respects Cornwall as being constitutionally different and agrees a Cornwall devolution settlement that has more in common with other Celtic nations than it does an English combined or local authority."

She added that the inclusion of a potential tourism levy in the white paper would be removed, as it would have a detrimental effect on the current state of the tourism sector. A new inclusion would be a "much-needed" package of safety measures for the A38 to protect the economy of South East Cornwall.

Dick Cole, leader of Cornish party Mebyon Kernow, has been active at the heart of the campaign for what he calls “proper” devolution for Cornwall for over 30 years. Addressing fellow councillors, he said: "It will not come as a surprise, that it is my view that the White Paper is not the document I hoped it would be. It does not go far enough and I would appeal to the Cabinet to make additional changes to strengthen it further.

"I will say that I do welcome the strong comments from the leader that the only unit for devolution can be Cornwall. She is right to reject all talk of South West regional constructs, into which Cornwall might be submerged."

However, he added: "The White Paper claims to be a stepping stone on a devolution journey and deliberately avoids any discussion of democratic structures for the devolution settlement. I see this as a problem."

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Despite Cllr Taylor's comments that the White Paper had been shaped by all five political leaders at the council, she was left "disappointed" by responses from Labour and the Independents.

Cllr Ewert, the new leader of the Labour group, said: "We have to acknowledge that Cornwall voted for change on July 4 - people want to see things done differently, with proper scrutiny and greater transparency than we have seen previously.

"There are aspects of this White Paper that are laudable and ambitious, but we must have the proper time for this important piece of work to be scrutinised by members of this council and fully debated. Until we have complete openness and the opportunity for proper scrutiny and debate, the Labour group unfortunately cannot currently endorse this document."

Julian German, for the Independent group, added: "Today, we've heard additions and retractions from Cabinet, so it's apparent that the White Paper is in flux even amongst the executive. It's apparent it's far from oven ready. All councillors need the opportunity to formally debate and discuss this. Without going through those democratic council processes, the Independent group cannot support the White Paper."

Cllr Taylor said that due to the expedience needed to present the White Paper to Angela Rayner's department, the matter would not be discussed at a full council meeting, but the period for discussion would be extended with an all-member briefing on August 9 and further briefings held if the need arises. The Tory administration agreed that the White Paper, featuring any revisions following those meetings, would now come back to Cabinet to be signed off on September 18.