- Dick Cole (politician)
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Dick Cole Born 6 April 1968 Residence St Enoder Nationality British Occupation Councillor Political party Mebyon Kernow Website Dick Cole's blog Richard "Dick" Cole (born 6 April 1968) is an elected member of Cornwall Council and the leader of the Cornish devolutionist political party, Mebyon Kernow, a role he has held since 1997. He lives in Fraddon, a village in Mid-Cornwall.
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Early life
Cole grew up in Cornwall on the edge of the Goss Moor and was educated at the Treviglas School, Newquay and University of Wales, Lampeter[1][2]
Political career
Before becoming party leader in 1997, Cole had been Mebyon Kernow's press officer for the previous five years. Previous to that he had also campaigned for Plaid Cymru whilst at University in Wales.
In 1999, he was elected as a member of the borough council of Restormel, representing St Enoder, retaining his seat until the council was abolished as part of the 2009 structural changes.[3]
In the 2005 general election, he stood for parliament in North Cornwall and gained 1351 votes, coming fifth.
In 2009, a new unitary authority called Cornwall Council was formed.[4] In order to stand at the 2009 elections to it, Cole had to resign his post as an archaeologist working for the County archaeological unit based in Truro, which had become a department of the new unitary council, as employees of a local authority are not allowed to be elected members of it as well as employees.[5]
On 4 June 2009, Cole contested both elections held in Cornwall on that day. In the European Parliament election, he headed the Mebyon Kernow party list for the South West England constituency.[3] In the Cornwall Council election held on the same day, he fought the St Enoder county division, achieving a 78 per cent of the vote, comfortably beating the Conservative and Lib Dem candidates into second and third places respectively.[6]
In 2010 Cole was Mebyon Kernow's prospective parliamentary candidate for the newly formed St Austell and Newquay constituency in the United Kingdom general election, 2010, he gained 2,007 votes (4.2% of votes cast,) placing him in fourth position.
He lives in Fraddon, in Mid-Cornwall, where he is a member of St Enoder parish council, a governor of Summercourt Primary School, and a trustee of the Fraddon Millennium Green and the Indian Queens Pit.[7]
In Cornwall Council, Cole leads the Mebyon Kernow political group, chairs the Planning Policy Advisory Panel, and represents the council in the Local Government Association's County Councils Network Special Interest Group.[8]
Publications
- Mebyon Kernow and Cornish nationalism (with Bernard Deacon and Garry Tregidga) (Cardiff: Welsh Academic Press, 2003, ISBN 1860570755 )
References
- ^ Interview with Dick Cole on Celtic Connections
- ^ Dick Cole, Media coverage and ...oops!, dated 20 August 2009 at mebyonkernow.blogspot.com
- ^ a b South West European Elections at ukpollingreport.co.uk
- ^ 102 at mebyonkernow.org
- ^ The Guardian - Biography of Dick Cole
- ^ Election results for St Enoder - Cornwall Council elections Thursday, 4th June, 2009
- ^ Register of Interests for Dick Cole, published on Friday, 21st August, 2009, online at cornwall.gov.uk
- ^ Dick Cole at democracy.cornwall.gov.uk
External links
Cornish nationalism History Organisations Leaders Cornwall Portal Categories:- 1968 births
- Living people
- Cornish politicians
- Restormel
- Cornish nationalists
- Cornish archaeologists
- Alumni of the University of Wales, Lampeter
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