Motto for council logo sparks a row
The flame-like emblem for the impending Cornwall Council was unveiled in June to a chorus of opposition.
Critics compared it to the hairstyles of singer Amy Winehouse and US boxing promoter Don King. It was later derided as resembling "the emblem of a cattle breed society from somewhere in the Balkans".
The new council, a merger of seven current authorities, comes into being in April.
Now councillors on the implementation executive, the committee leading the process, are being asked to vote on a motto to go with the logo.
They must vote for "Building a better future" or "Onan hag oll" – Cornish for "One and All" which already features on the traditional crest many want retained.
Kerrier District Council leader Graeme Hicks is an outspoken opponent of both unitary status and the proposed logo, but is also a member of the implementation committee.
He said: "I can't support the logo because as a representative of democracy, I have to advocate what I believe people are saying – and they are saying no. However they dress it up, I still can't accept it."
He believed council leaders had "bowed to pressure" by including the well-known "One and All" strapline. But he added: "I can't support the logo and we are still running the campaign to get common sense to prevail and stop all this nonsense."
Vanessa Beeman, the Grand Bard of the Cornish Gorsedd, stepped into the debate in September during the annual Gorsedd celebrations at Looe. She described the logo as a "St Piran's flag on a funeral pyre" and said it left Cornish people feeling "stripped of identity and culture".
She said yesterday: "I would definitely be in favour of Onan hag oll – it is our language and part of out identity.
"Building a better future could be anyone really. It is a noble sentiment but it doesn't actually mean anything to the Cornish.
"I would hope that with all the pressure that has come from the populace on this issue that they might take that on board."
Caradon district councillor Tony Powell, another critic of the move to a single council, said: "The question is whether whoever is elected has the capability to build a better future. That will inevitably vary in substance and application.
"One and All more properly sums up what I would like to see achieved. Having said that, I'd much rather that we were sticking with the traditional crest which already includes One and All."
Members of the implementation executive have until 5pm on November 14 to make their choice of motto. Meanwhile, a petition against the logo, running on the Prime Minister's website, continues to win support. Launched by Kerrier district councillor Bill Jenkin, it has 495 signatories.
The options: Councillors must choose between these mottoes
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