CELTIC LEAGUE – PRESS INFORMATION

CENSUS IDENTITY 'TICK BOX' OPTION FOR WELSH

The UK Government announced this week that the Welsh will be given
their own tick box on the 2011 population census, but the Cornish
will not.

The news comes following the publication of a Government White Paper
setting out the details of the questions to be used in the 2011 Census.
For the first time, since the modern day Census was begun in 1841
in the UK, those people who wish to describe themselves as Welsh can
do so by ticking their own separate box, whereas the Cornish will
have to tick a box marked 'other' and write in 'Cornish' should they
so wish.

This 'write in' option was the only one available to Cornish and Welsh
people who wished to describe themselves in terms of this identity
in the 2001 Census, leading to widespread criticism and a prominent
campaign in Wales that saw thousands of people refusing to fill out
the forms. In Wales however significant Government funding was made
available to publicise the 'write in' option on the 2001 Census, but
in Cornwall no public money was used to publicise the option. Despite
this over 37000 people in Cornwall made the decision to record themselves
as Cornish, which also meant – significantly – not registering as
'British'.

Over the last few years the Kernow Branch of the Celtic League have
campaigned strongly for the inclusion of a Cornish tick box on the
2011 Census and have attended every UK meeting held by the Office
of National Statistics (ONS) to discuss the topic. The Branch were
so vehement and persistent in their approach that the ONS even agreed
to hold a public meeting in Truro, Cornwall to discuss the issues
further.

Also during the 2001 Census, the Kernow Branch of the League delivered
thousands of leaflets throughout Cornwall to publicise the fact that
people could choose the 'write in' Cornish option should they wish
to. The League's General Secretary (GS), who was Kernow Branch Convenor
at the time, even became a Census Enumerator (in addition to having
a full time job) to inform people face to face that they could register
themselves as Cornish, if a certain procedure was followed.

Writing to the Kernow Branch Branch Secretary Iwan le Moine today,
the GS, who is also a member of the Branch, said:

"The Branch should build on the hard work undertaken over the last
ten years to make the Government further aware that their proposed
option for the 2011 Census will not do for the Cornish.

"We can work to publicise the fact that people have the option of
'writing in' Cornish on their 2011 Census forms, while at the same
time seeking Government money to highlight this fact, or we can encourage
people to to refuse to fill out their Census forms. As Mike Chappell
[previous Branch Secretary] warned the Office for National Statistics
in 2007, if they refuse to provide a tick box for the Cornish in their
2011 Census, they should expect people to boycott the Census completely.

"Many of the members of Kernow Branch have said that they would be
prepared to boycott the 2011 Census if it did not include a Cornish
only tick box and I suggest we as a branch urge members of the other
branches to do the same."

Personally, the latter is my preferred option. Quite simply the Government's
decision not to include the Cornish is not good enough and is an affront
to democracy and fairness. The Cornish need to be included in the
Census, like the Welsh and the Scots, otherwise we will continue to
remain officially virtually invisible."

On the 'Pledge Bank' website, where people make a pledge to undertake
action should a certain amount of others agree to do the same, over
five hundred people have already said that they will not fill out
the Census if a Cornish tick box is not included. There is a legal
requirement for residents in the UK to fill in the Census, which comes
around every ten years, and there is a possibility of legal action
against anyone who does not.

Unlike in the rest of the UK, where the Census is organised by the
Office of National Statistics, in Scotland the Census is undertaken
by the General Register Office for Scotland and in the North of Ireland
it is undertaken by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency

Note:

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording
information about the members of a given population. The 2011 Census
in the UK will have a single tick box for 'Welsh / Scottish / Northern
Irish / British/English' and three alternatives of 'Irish,' 'Gypsy
and Irish Traveller' and 'Others' and will be administered on 27 March
2011.

Links:

Pledge bank link:

http://www.pledgebank.com/Cornish-Tick-Box

Cornish ethnicity data from the 2001 Census:

http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/BSPS/annualConference/2006_localgov.htm#generated-subheading3

General Register Office for Scotland:

http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk

News Release (Office for National Statistics):

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/cenwp1208.pdf

Scotland's Census Results Online:

http://www.scrol.gov.uk/scrol/common/home.jsp

Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency:

http://www.nisra.gov.uk/

MKs take on the news: http://www.mebyonkernow.org/?q=news/179

The Party for Cornwall wants ‘National Identity’ question to include Cornish option
Mebyon Kernow is disappointed that the present proposals for the 2011 census do not include a tickbox for people to record their nationality as Cornish.

The Government this week set out the details of the questions to be included in the 2011 questionnaire in a White Paper.

In the proposed question on national identity, there will be tickboxes for English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish and British. Those wishing to record themselves as Cornish will need to tick the ‘Other’ box and write in Cornish.

MK Deputy Leader (Services) Cllr Conan Jenkin has confirmed that Mebyon Kernow intend to lobby all ministers and MPs in advance of the content of the census being finally agreed by Parliament.

“In 2001, the last census did not include tickboxes for Cornish or Welsh. But it was confirmed that we could ignore the ‘British’ tickbox, tick the ‘Other’ box and write ‘Cornish’ in the space provided.

“In Wales, considerable government funding was made available to publicise the ‘write-in’ campaign, with leading newspapers such as the Western Mail doing much to make this information public.

“Sadly, by contrast in Cornwall, there was negligible ‘official’ publicity letting people know that they had the opportunity and the right to record themselves officially as Cornish.

“In spite of this, it was heartening to see that over 37,000 people made sure that their Cornish nationality was recorded.”

MK Deputy Leader (Campaigns) Cllr Phil Rendle added:

“Once again officialdom in London is treating Cornish people as second-rate? Cornish will be the only ‘British’ identity recognised by the Office of National Statistics that will not to have its own tickbox.

“This is unjust and discriminatory. Mebyon Kernow will continue to argue for Cornish tick-box just as a tickbox has been put in place for the Welsh.”

Further information

At the 2001 census, over 37 thousand people made the conscious decision to describe themselves as Cornish.

Within Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, this included 33,932 people, 6.77% of the population, which was made up as follows:

Caradon 4,439 (6.77%)
Carrick 5,784 (6.58%)
Kerrier 6,965 (7.53%)
North Cornwall 4,851 (6.03%)
Penwith 5,810 (9.22%)
Restormel 6,047 (6.33%)
Isles of Scilly 36 (1.67%)
Elsewhere in the United Kingdom, 3,671 people described themselves as Cornish.

In 2001, the situation was the same for those people who wished to describe themselves as Welsh.

However, considerable government funding publicised this ‘write-in’ campaign.

In Caernarfon, 30.41% of people described themselves as Welsh. In Carmarthen East and Dinefwr it was 25.55%, Meironnydd Nant Conwy was 25.11% and in both Ceredigion and Llanelli it was 21.76%.

At the other end of the scale, only 3.96% of people in Alyn and Deeside wrote-in Welsh. In Monmouth the figure was 7.15%, in Delyn it was 7.95%, the Vale of Clwyd 8.18%, Newport East 8.38%, Wrexham 8.78%, Newport West 9.18% and Torfaen 9.9%.

In the 2011 census, there will also be a series of boxes for ethnicity as follows: A – White; B – Mixed/multiple ethnic groups; C – Asian/Asian British; D – Black/African/Caribean /Black British; E – Other ethnic group.

In Box A, there will be a single tickbox for ‘English / Welsh / Scottish / Northern Irish / British’ and the three alternatives of ‘Irish,’ ‘Gypsy and Irish Traveller’ and ‘Others.’

edited by: Fulub-le-Breton, Dec 22, 2008 – 08:15 PM

It's going to need a bit more than signing a pledge box. The descision to not include the Cornish tick box has been made final.
What we now need to do is utilise the media and other avenues (whether legal or not) to inform as many people as possible that we are classed by the ONS as a seperate ethnicity and that we can write 'Cornish" in the "other" box.

At this point I don't care tht I have to deny being British, I am quite happy being just Cornish!