Historically, Cornwall was a Brittonic-speaking area separate from the rest of England until about the 10th century and retained much of its cultural distinctiveness in later centuries. Religious non-conformism was strong in Cornwall, and the Church of England was less well supported than some areas to the east. This has continued to inform later Cornish politics, in the form of Liberalism, now represented mainly by the Liberal Democrats can be traced to historical associations with Liberalism and non-conformist religion, particularly Methodism, in the 19th century and similarly land ownership and the Conservative party in the same period. The Conservative Party is also fairly strong in Cornwall, but for slightly different reasons. They suffered a particularly bad setback in the 1990s. However, they regained three of the six Cornish seats in the 2010 general election. The Labour Party is traditionally much weaker in Cornwall than many other parts of the UK, although it has had some representation locally. This may be partly because there is no major urban center in Cornwall – Plymouth tends to fulfill that role. Cornwall also traditionally elects a number of independent councillors, and is a centre for the rump Liberal Party in the UK.