Roger Holmes

Mebyon Kernow is saddened to hear of the death of MK life member Roger Holmes.

Roger served as a councillor in Liskeard for fifty years, from 1968 through to 2018. He joined Mebyon Kernow in 1967 and was elected to Liskeard Borough Council the following year at the tender age of only 23. In the late 1960s, he was part of the breakaway Cornish National Party and served as its leader.

He rejoined MK in the 1970s and served on Caradon District Council from 1973 to 1983. Roger was also a stalwart of Liskeard Town Council and twice served his home town as Mayor. A passionate supporter of town and parish councils, he has represented his community on the Cornwall Association of Local Councils for many years.

He did not always stand as an MK candidate, sometimes going without a “party ticket,” and he served on Cornwall Council between 2013 and 2017 as an independent.

In addition, Roger twice contested the South East Cornwall seat in parliamentary elections, in 1997 and 2010, and was on the list for the 2009 European elections when MK polled nearly 15,000 votes.

Roger was also a strong advocate for all aspects of Cornwall’s culture and identity.

He will be greatly missed by his many friends and colleagues and a more detailed tribute will be published in the next edition of Cornish Nation magazine.