MK comment on BBC Royal Charter Review

On this St Piran’s Day, Mebyon Kernow has written to Lisa Nandy, the Secretary of State for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, calling for the new BBC Royal Charter to include commitments to a public sector media for Cornwall and broadcasting in the Cornish language.

The consultation on the review into the BBC Royal Charter lasts until 10th March and comments can be submitted via the consultation page at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/britains-story-the-next-chapter-the-bbc-royal-charter-review-green-paper-and-public-consultation or emails can be sent to enquiries@dcms.gov.uk.

Please join us in making representations to the BBC and DCMS.

The full text of the letter sent to Lisa Nandy by MK Leader Cllr Dick Cole was as follows:

Britain’s Story: The Next Chapter – the BBC Royal Charter Review

On 24th April 2014, the UK Government announced that the Cornish would be recognised as a national minority through the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. The official government press release stated that “the decision to recognise the unique identity of the Cornish, now affords them the same status … as the UK’s other Celtic people, the Scots, the Welsh and the Irish.”

This was a landmark moment for our nation. The Framework Convention is a significant international treaty and sets out numerous obligations. These include support for language and culture, education and the media, the greater visibility of national minorities in public life, the protection of historic territories, and so much more.

We remain disappointed, however, at the speed at which the United Kingdom Government and other public bodies are meeting their obligations to the Cornish and the Cornish language.

This is especially so in terms of broadcasting and we hope that the renewal of the BBC Royal Charter represents an opportunity to ensure a better deal on public sector broadcasting for Cornwall and the Cornish, similar to the provision enjoyed in the other Celtic parts of the UK.

BBC Royal Charter and the Cornish language

When the present BBC Royal Charter was agreed in 2016, it included a commitment to the “regional and minority languages of the United Kingdom,” but we were extremely disappointed the document included a definition of such languages as “Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Irish and Ulster Scots.” The Cornish language was explicitly excluded.

We note that the Media Act, finalised in 2024, included a commitment to a “sufficient quantity of audiovisual content that is in, or mainly in, a recognised regional or minority language,” and Cornish was included in its list of languages. Likewise, we were extremely pleased when, in December 2025, the UK Government agreed that Cornish would be covered by Part III of the Charter for Regional and Minority Languages.

In the supporting paperwork for the BBC Royal Charter Review, there are multiple references to regional and minority languages. We welcome that the objectives of the Review include, for example, “exploring funding options for … minority language broadcasting” and respecting the “diversity of all communities across the UK … including those in the nations and regions and through minority language broadcasting.” But we remain extremely disappointed that the Cornish language was not mentioned once.

That said, we acknowledge that in a response to a Cornish MP in the House of Commons on 15th January, you stated unequivocally that:

“The Government are very committed to protecting and supporting our minority languages, which are a vital part of the cultural fabric of our country. When we launched the charter review, it was intended to give space to consider how the BBC can best support minority language broadcasting, including Cornish …”

It is our sincere hope that, as the Secretary of State, you will ensure that new BBC Royal Charter will include meaningful commitments to the broadcasting of the Cornish language.

Public sector broadcasting for Cornwall

Article nine of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities states that “persons belonging to a national minority” should not be “discriminated against in their access to the media” and that signatories to the document “shall adopt adequate measures in order to facilitate access to the media for persons belonging to national minorities and in order to promote tolerance and permit cultural pluralism.”

Linked to this, we would point out that Cornwall is the only Celtic nation within the United Kingdom without its own dedicated media service. In terms of television news coverage, Cornwall is lost within a BBC SW construct, while BBC Radio Cornwall is a “local” station in an increasingly weak position in the face of ongoing cuts.

In 2019, Cornwall Council commissioned Denzil Monk and Mandy Berry to produce a report making the case for Cornish public service media – cas rag media gonis poblek Kernewek in Cornish. We would ask that the Secretary of State and everyone involved with the BBC Royal Charter Review to consider and act positively on the content of this report, which can be viewed at: https://www.screencornwall.com/cornish-language

It is our view that if the UK Government is going to meet its obligation to treat the Cornish the “same” as the “UK’s other Celtic people, the Scots, the Welsh and the Irish,” it needs to ensure broadcasting provision for Cornwall similar to S4C in Wales or BBC ALBA in Scotland.

And it is our sincere hope that, as the Secretary of State, you will ensure that the new BBC Royal Charter will include a Cornish public service media service, that reflects the articles of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.

Cornwall is a nation of the United Kingdom

As noted previously, the paperwork for the Review states that the BBC is committed to the “diversity of all communities across the UK … including those in the nations and regions …” Cornwall with its own identity, culture and language is one of the historic nations of the UK and this should be properly reflected in the new Royal Charter and the outputs of the BBC.

It is our sincere hope that, as the Secretary of State, you will ensure that Cornish nationhood is recognised in new BBC Royal Charter.

Further engagement

It is our further hope that those representatives of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, engaged with the BBC Royal Charter Review, will visit to Cornwall in the near-future to discuss the representations from MK and other Cornish groups.

https://mebyonkernow.org/news/mk-comment-on-bbc-royal-charter-review/