‘Hostile’ and ‘unsupportive’ UK politicians’ stance towards OTs has left them ‘vulnerable’
By Gemma Handy From TC Weekly
OVERSEAS territories are currently facing a “much more hostile and less supportive” relationship with British political leaders.
That was the claim from a leading analyst whose written submission to the Foreign Affairs Committee’s (FAC) inquiry was among the first evidence to be published this week.
Right-leaning leaders – traditionally seen as allies to the territories – “conveniently ignored” OTs’ “strong preference” to remain part of Europe during the Brexit referendum, associate professor of politics Peter Clegg asserted.
Meanwhile, those on the left have used the threat of direct rule from London to force OTs to “make radical changes” to their financial services industries, he said.
“For many years there has been a high degree of consensus between the major political parties in terms of how the overseas territories should be managed and supported. But that has now changed, which has made their position more vulnerable,” Clegg warned in his 2,300-word submission.
The FAC’s first inquiry in 11 years into Britain’s governance of its territories and how it envisages their future was announced in July. It came amid anxiety as to what the UK’s exit from the EU might mean for the OTs.
On Tuesday (October 16), representatives of the Cayman Islands and Bermuda were the first to be called to address a parliamentary select committee and share their concerns in a highly charged opening to the proceedings.
Cayman is “happy overall” with the constitutional relationship between the islands and the UK, Cayman’s London representative Eric Bush told the committee. “Being British is in our DNA,” he added.
But things got heated when the subject of same-sex marriage was brought up by former OTs Minister Chris Bryant.
“There has been a long battle about whether or not you should have same-sex marriage in Cayman,” said Bryant, who married husband Jared Cranney in 2010 in the first civil partnership ceremony ever held in the Houses of Parliament.
Bush replied that he felt it “inappropriate” as a civil servant to give an opinion about Cayman government policy.
“It seems like you are having your cake and eating it. You want to be under the British umbrella, but you do not want to be part of the British way of life,” Bryant retorted.
Dialogue also centred on what Brexit might mean for the Cayman Islands.
Bush said the territory had created a thriving economy through its health, tourism and financial services sectors.
“The risk lies in the realities of Brexit… The UK is going to be more concerned about its own external affairs for the foreseeable future,” he explained, adding that Cayman needed to be more “proactive” in forming its “own international identity”.
Former Governor to Bermuda George Fergusson was quizzed by FAC member Andrew Rosindell as to why Britain’s remaining territories chose to stay part of the UK.
Security, sovereignty and a need for financial assistance were cited as reasons, plus “an element of, if it’s not broken why fix it?”
Rosindell also asked Fergusson, who served as Bermuda’s governor from 2012 to 2016, for his thoughts on how the OTs fit within the “overall British family”.
“The Danish allow the Faroe Islands and Greenland to vote in the Danish Parliament. We are the only former colonial power that does not allow our territories any say at all,” Rosindell said.
He added that he believed the British parliament should have a committee specialising in the day-to-day issues of the OTs.
“I am not sure it would be very busy. The day-to-day business is not enormous,” Fergusson replied. “It is difficult to make the relationships too tidy, or much tidier than they are.”
Rosindell also raised concerns over the way OT leaders were treated on official visits to Britain.
“For instance, when the premier of Cayman comes here, he is not given VIP treatment, even coming into the British parliament,” he told the committee.
Bush replied that ambassadors and even their staff were “afforded certain privileges” that territory premiers were not.
“When the premier comes into parliament as a guest for whatever reason, he is subject to the normal security checks, as is anybody off the road,” he said.
“If those courtesies could be extended to … elected leaders of overseas territories, that would be most welcome, because then we could start to feel as if we are accepted as equals,” Bush added.
EU funding
Also speaking on Tuesday was international human rights barrister Susie Alegre.
Alegre expressed concern about post-Brexit axing of EU funding for OTs.
“There is a cut-off of international funding that won’t obviously be replaced from elsewhere, which is a very big deal in a small economy,” she said.
“Whether or not the needs of Pitcairn, Tristan da Cunha or Turks and Caicos are going to be taken into serious account … is open to debate,” Alegre continued.
She also chided OTs’ “lack of voice” in the matter, saying there was an “urgent need to review and clarify the constitutional position of OTs with regard to decisions that the UK takes”.
TCI Premier Sharlene Cartwright Robinson confirmed the Islands’ representative to London had also been invited to appear before the committee but did not provide further details, and the TCI Government’s London office did not respond up to press time.
Governor John Freeman’s office also declined to comment except to confirm that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s response to the FAC would be made public in due course.
FAC spokeswoman Estelle Currie told the Weekly News a “healthy amount of written evidence” had been received and was likely to be published in the next fortnight.
“The team is working through it at the moment so it’s not possible to say how many [submissions] came from the Turks and Caicos Islands,” she said.
“We hope further representatives from the OTs will join us to give evidence but there may still be some fluctuation to final arrangements.
“Depending on how the evidence goes, we would probably expect a few more oral evidence sessions,” Currie added.
Full transcriptions can be found at www.parliament.uk
For more on this story go to: http://tcweeklynews.com/hostile-and-unsupportive-uk-politicians-stance-towards-ots-has-left-t-p9125-149.htm
