FOR years, Cornwall has faced a choice: accept a mayor, or accept less power. Now that may finally be changing.

When Cornwall rejected a mayor, it didn’t reject devolution. It rejected the idea that more power should depend on accepting a structure that didn’t reflect Cornwall’s geography, identity or democratic wishes. As the Liberal Democrat Leader of Cornwall Council, Leigh Frost, often says: “Integrity, not isolation.”

The turning point came during Andy Burnham’s visit to Cornwall last month. He heard the united, cross-party argument directly and later told Parliament that he had asked No10 North to work with Cornwall Council and Cornwall’s six MPs on a devolution deal, “with or without an elected mayor”.

This is a real opportunity. Cornwall is already a unitary authority, so we’re not spending time dismantling and rebuilding local government, as councils in Devon and elsewhere are having to do. We can focus on what greater local power could achieve.

The Government has announced that mayoral authorities will be able to introduce an Overnight Visitor Levy. Cornwall should have that choice too. That doesn’t mean deciding now whether a levy is right, or what form it should take. It means trusting Cornwall to weigh up the benefits and concerns and make its own decision, rather than telling us that, without a mayor, it is not our choice to make.

Over the last year, I’ve seen what local decision-making can achieve for young people. Cornwall was one of only twelve areas awarded government funding for a Youth Transformation Pilot, which helped youth organisations reach more than 1,000 young people. At The Core in Saltash, one young person summed up what that support meant: “This is the first place I’ve felt like I belong.” The pilot also created a promising digital youth centre, but with the pilot finished and no long-term funding secured, its future is uncertain. Devolution could give ideas like this a future and help youth workers be there for more young people, earlier and in their own communities.

Here in South East Cornwall, devolution should give us real control over the future of the Tamar Crossings. That would give us the chance to tackle the growing burden on residents and businesses who depend on the crossings.

For Liberal Democrats, democracy has always been about more than counting votes. It is about people and communities having a real say in the decisions that shape their lives. That requires political and economic power to be shared fairly, with local councils and communities given the resources needed to make a difference.

Cornwall is not asking to be a smaller version of Manchester. Our geography creates different challenges, but also enormous opportunities in food, energy, culture and the sea around us. Cornwall can provide the rural counterweight to Andy Burnham’s urban experience and help shape a model that works beyond the metropolitan map.

The invitation has been made and Cornwall is ready. The test now is whether central government is genuinely ready to let go.