Cornish MPs oppose Reform bid to ban Kernewek election leaflets

Print a leaflet in Kernewek at the next election and you could, under a new proposal before Parliament, end up in front of a magistrate. Five of Cornwall’s six MPs have put their names to a joint statement calling the plan a direct attack on the Cornish language, six months after the Government gave Kernewek the same official standing as Welsh and Scottish Gaelic.

What the amendment says

Amendment NC107 to the Representation of the People Bill was tabled by Richard Tice, the Reform UK MP for Boston and Skegness, at report stage. It would insert new clauses into the Representation of the People Act 1983 and the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 requiring that any bill, placard, poster or printed election document be published in English or Welsh, and nothing else.

Breaching the rule would be a criminal offence. On summary conviction, the penalty in England and Wales would be up to six months’ imprisonment, a fine, or both. For a candidate, election agent, registered party or party officer, it would also count as an illegal practice.

Tice’s own explanatory statement is one line long. It says the new clause would require election material to be published only in English or Welsh.

Six Reform UK MPs are listed as sponsors: Lee Anderson (Ashfield), Sarah Pochin (Runcorn and Helsby), Danny Kruger (East Wiltshire), Robert Jenrick (Newark), Andrew Rosindell (Romford) and Suella Braverman (Fareham and Waterlooville). The House has not yet considered the amendment and no decision has been recorded.

The Cornish MPs’ response

The joint statement comes from Anna Gelderd (South East Cornwall), Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth), Noah Law (St Austell and Newquay), Perran Moon (Camborne and Redruth), all Labour, and Ben Maguire (North Cornwall), a Liberal Democrat.

“This is a direct attack on Cornish language, identity, and culture,” the statement says.

The five point to January 2026, when the Government officially recognised Kernewek under Part III of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, giving it the same status as the other Celtic languages spoken across the UK.

“The inclusion of Welsh, and not Kernewek, in Reform’s ill-intentioned amendment is demonstrative of their complete lack of understanding of Cornwall’s unique identity and heritage,” the statement continues. “We will wholeheartedly oppose this amendment in Parliament.”

What happens next

Report stage is the point at which MPs can propose changes to a bill before it moves on. Amendments tabled at this stage are not guaranteed to be selected for debate or put to a vote, and NC107 has not been considered by the House.