Nation.Cymru staff
Dick Cole is stepping down after 29 years as leader of Mebyon Kernow, the political party campaigning for greater self-government for Cornwall.
He will be succeeded by former councillor Michael Bunney at the party’s national conference in Truro on 24 October.
Mr Bunney was the only candidate nominated and will become the party’s eleventh leader. Mr Cole will remain a Cornwall councillor and continue to lead its MK group.
Also known as the Party for Cornwall, Mebyon Kernow argues that Cornwall’s distinct identity, language and heritage give it the same right to self-determination as Wales and Scotland. It describes itself as a progressive party, with policies based on prosperity for all, environmental protection and social justice.
Mr Cole became leader in 1997, having previously spent five years as the party’s press and campaigns officer.
He said: “When I joined Mebyon Kernow as a 21-year-old in 1988, I did not envisage the degree to which politics, council work and serving my local community, would dominate my adult life, or that I would end up as the longest-serving leader of a political party in the UK.”
Thanking activists who had worked alongside him, he added: “I am extremely proud to have been able to play my part in making the case for greater self-government for Cornwall and a much better deal for communities to the west of the Tamar.”
Mr Cole was first elected to Restormel Borough Council in 1999, representing his home parish of St Enoder. He later joined Cornwall Council and now represents St Dennis and St Enoder.
In 2000, he wrote the Declaration for a Cornish Assembly, which attracted more than 50,000 supporters before being presented to Downing Street in December 2001.
Last year, he proposed a Cornwall Council motion calling for a devolution settlement reflecting “Cornwall’s national identity and the national minority status of the Cornish”, alongside formal recognition of Cornwall as one of the UK’s five nations.
The motion passed by 53 votes to 22, with two abstentions.
Mr Bunney represented St Mewan and Grampound on Cornwall Council between 2021 and 2025 and served for ten years as a parish councillor in St Goran.
‘Formindable’
Mr Cole, who nominated him for the leadership, described him as “a formidable and hardworking champion for Cornwall”.
Mr Bunney said: “It is an honour to take over from Dick as the leader of MK and I was delighted that he nominated me. I have learnt so much from him and I will continue his good work for Cornwall.”
The conference, marking the party’s 75th anniversary year, will also feature an address by Plaid Cymru Senedd member Lindsay Whittle.
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