Full marks to Cayman’s Premier Alden McLaughlin for going ahead with dialogue with UK’s Prime Minister, Teresa May, to clarify and amend parts of the Cayman Islands Constitution.

Speaking at a Press Conference, yesterday (23), McLaughlin said this was to stop the UK parliament imposing its will and legislating on the Cayman Islands domestic issues in the future.

This has been brought about by the damaging passing by the UK Parliament that all British Overseas Territories must have a public beneficial ownership register. This is not the global standard and this imposition was not given to the British Crown Colonies.

McLaughlin said PM May had agreed to talks on this matter. He was also going to press the issue next month when he goes to London again for the Pre-Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council meeting.

Cayman’s opposition has given McLaughlin their full support.

McLaughlin, in outlining his proposals, said, “We are striving to have elements of the Constitution clarified and the ability of the UK to legislate for us restricted. We want to remove the ability for the UK to be able to randomly legislate for us. This matter extends well beyond the issue of beneficial ownership registers or the broader financial services sector. If the UK feels emboldened by what it has just done and believes it can do it any time it doesn’t like something here or it wants to impose something on us, it is not just the financial services industry at risk but our very existence.”

Well said.

McLaughlin pointed out that our local immigration laws, voting rights and who can stand for election are areas the UK might want to interfere in. As it stands at present the UK can impose legislative changes that would “threaten the very basis on which Cayman’s system is built. The position of the Cayman Islands Government is that this attempt by the UK parliament to legislate for us is unlawful and we do not accept it, and if the British government proceeds to Order-in-Council it will be resisted.”

Fighting words and I applaud you.

Leader of the Opposition, Ezzard Miller, was also at the Press Conference. He agreed with McLaughlin saying, “I always feared that the UK may use the ‘nuclear option’. Not only have they chosen to exercise it, they have done it in a discriminatory way which will strengthen the legal case when Cayman seeks to resist the Order-in-Council through the courts. If they get away with this act, there is no telling where they would stop.”

Miller raised the issue of voting rights. “We know that there are forces in community that want to see changes that we could not tolerate to who can vote and we can’t allow ourselves to be out-voted at the polls.”

Well done, Ezzard. This very unusual support for anything this government has been trying to achieve is welcomed warmly.

It is nice to get unity and with the whole house supporting McLaughlin I feel a little better with what has happened.

Times have changed. And not all for the worse. If the UK parliament believe the OT’s are lame ducks they don’t understand Caymanians and I expect we will be joined by the res