BREXIT is still an issue which bubbles below the surface in Cornwall but in 2024 this no longer gave an automatic advantage to the government, says Dr Garry Tregidga, from the University of Exeter’s Institute of Cornish Studies.

Commenting on Labour Party success in Cornwall Dr Tregidga said: “This is a historic result for Labour in Cornwall. This is the first time the party has been able to win more than one seat in the Duchy in a General Election. I think that it is partly as a result of demographic changes in recent years with new voters less committed to existing political cultures. It is perhaps even more remarkable given the party's weakness at the electoral grassroots in most areas that was demonstrated in the 2021 local elections. But there was also a willingness on the part of non-Conservative voters to deploy tactical voting. The growth in Labour support in Cornwall between 2015 and 2019 was crucial since this gave the party second-place finishes in four of the six constituencies. Organised voters able to consult tactical voting sites online were very aware of this. Significantly, the Liberal Democrats won in the two seats (North Cornwall and St Ives) where they had clearly survived as the main challengers.

“At the same time the feeling that people wanted change was also reflected in a loss of support on the right to the Reform party. The 'electoral coalition' that underpinned the success of Boris Johnson in Cornwall in 2019 was seriously eroded with Reform coming third in every Cornish constituency thereby making it easier for their principal opponents at the local level to win. Brexit is still an issue which bubbles below the surface in Cornwall but in 2024 this no longer gave an automatic advantage to the government. Symbolic groups like the farmers and fishermen felt that it hasn’t delivered for them in the way they were promised.”