Commonwealth islands "could get Westminster seats"

[PR1Berske]

Voters in Britain's "forgotten" remnants of empire should be allowed to directly elect their own MPs to the House of Commons. Under a new proposal to be considered by Parliament, the member for Antigua might sit alongside the member for Aldershot, while the representative for the Turks & Caicos might find themselves waving their order papers at MPs from Tooting and Chichester. Territories ranging from Anguilla in the Caribbean, via the Channel Islands, Gibraltar and the Falklands to St Helena and South Georgia in the South Atlantic could be given a louder voice in determining how they are governed from London.

Andrew Rosindell MP, a member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, who is pressing for a parliamentary debate on the issue, says action is needed to plug the "democratic hole" that hundreds of thousands of British citizens find themselves in. "Our parliament ultimately governs 21 territories around the world, but those territories have no voice in this parliament, they elect no representatives and have no representation, unlike former colonies and territories of other countries. We give them nothing. All they have is an informal all-party group. We have a democratic hole with hundreds of thousands of people for whom we make laws, whom we ultimately govern and on whose behalf we can declare war, make foreign policy and sign international treaties."

Lillian Missick, chair of the Turks & Caicos consultative council, welcomed the move. "A seat in the UK parliament ... will also formalise links with British society as a whole that come with the opportunities our people have to live, work and study in the UK."

Guy Opperman, Tory MP for Hexham, said the Falklands and other British territories should have a legal guarantee of self-determination rather than rely on the "whim of Whitehall". As tensions with Argentina over the Falklands escalate ahead of the 30th anniversary of the 1982 war, he said Parliament should pass a law guaranteeing the right of Britain's 14 overseas territories to choose their own fate.

In a debate on Tuesday, he will call on the Government to try to lift the Argentinian-inspired trade blockade of the Falklands. He added: "The Falkland islanders are rightly worried about this anniversary and the actions that Argentina is now taking to prevent access and trade, which we fear may escalate."

Source - http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...ands-may-get-seat-in-the-commons-6296313.html

 

[Terrafire]

Accidental post.

 

[Terrafire]

Although I highly doubt "the member for Antigua might sit alongside the member for Aldershot", as Antigua and Barbuda has been independent for over 30 years! Sir Vere would spin in his grave...

 

[Terrafire]

Personally I'm all for integration of these territories on a devo-max basis similar to that currently being floated for Scotland: control over most things other than defence, and (reduced) representation in the Westminster Parliament. If these territories don't wish to be independent (and they should always be given that opportunity), then both the UK and the territory should reap the benefits of the relationship by maximising exchanges of capital, labour, goods and services and giving the territory a democratic voice. Similar to what France does with Réunion and Mayotte.

 

[ainsworth74]

Don't really have an issue with this they might as well have some form of real representation as they are so closely linked with the UK. Obviously I would feel the best way to do it would be a referendum on each territory to determine if they wanted a seat or not (I would not be in favour of just forcing the issue) but as long as they wish to remain 'British' then we might as well go all the way. Two issues that spring to mind are 1) it would lead to some ridiculously small constituencies (Pitcairn Islands population 67!) and 2) Argentina would go absolutely mental if the Falklands got a seat in the House of Commons (for that matter Spain might not be all that pleased about Gibraltar).

Also as footnote they are British Overseas Territories not Commonwealth Islands (well apart from Antigua as that's a independent nation as has been pointed out!).

 

[IanXC]

I'm not sure quite to what extent the Channel Islands would feel this was appropriate. The only aspects of UK politics which apply are those relating to Foreign Affairs, Defence and Diplomatic Relations. The Queen's position as Duke of Normandy is a completely separate role.

It will be interesting to see whether such a constitutional change (which would surely only exacerbate the West Lothian question) would prompt Jersey and Guernsey to look more seriously at their proposal to form a completely independent federation.

 

[Lampshade]

So if a party ends up two seats short of a majority, we could end up where there's a hung parliament and there ends up being a bizarre coalition between the Conservatives, 'Falklands Freedom Party' and a 'Gibraltar First Party'

 

[Terrafire]

I'm not sure quite to what extent the Channel Islands would feel this was appropriate. The only aspects of UK politics which apply are those relating to Foreign Affairs, Defence and Diplomatic Relations. The Queen's position as Duke of Normandy is a completely separate role.

It will be interesting to see whether such a constitutional change (which would surely only exacerbate the West Lothian question) would prompt Jersey and Guernsey to look more seriously at their proposal to form a completely independent federation.

The Channel Islanders I know seem quite happy with the status quo. The (very British, in a loose British Isles sense) compromise of Westminster being able to legislate, but not doing so, seems to give the appropriate degree of freedom whilst providing a safeguard against the abuse of power problems which happen more frequently in small jurisdictions than elsewhere (i.e. rogue executives).

So you're right, Commons representation might not be appropriate for the CI, although the decisive word should always be from the citizens themselves in a properly-timed and -conducted referendum.

 

[the sniper]

Also as footnote they are British Overseas Territories not Commonwealth Islands (well apart from Antigua as that's a independent nation as has been pointed out!).

On seeing the title of this thread, I thought Australia and New Zealand were getting seats in Westminster! Cecil Rhodes would be impressed...

I think it'd be a great idea to have the British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies represented in the UK Parliament. I don't know why it hasn't been done sooner. What harm could come of it?

 

[Lampshade]

What harm could come of it?

The West Lothian Question springs to mind; it could cause problems if policy fails to get through because the MP for Ascension Island votes against it.

 

[deltic1989]

Sounds like a good idea. Every other area of the United Kingdom has an MP so why not British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependancies? Westminster has the power to pass laws in these places but as yet there is no one in the House of Commons to speak on thier behalf regarding these. As has been pointed out though I cant see Argentina being to happy about the Falklands having a member (the word colonialism springs to mind) they would go ape at the idea, and with our defence cuts at the moment hacking them off would be a bad idea.

 

[Terrafire]

Sounds like a good idea. Every other area of the United Kingdom has an MP so why not British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependancies? Westminster has the power to pass laws in these places but as yet there is no one in the House of Commons to speak on thier behalf regarding these. As has been pointed out though I cant see Argentina being to happy about the Falklands having a member (the word colonialism springs to mind) they would go ape at the idea, and with our defence cuts at the moment hacking them off would be a bad idea.

No British government should give even the appearance of caring about what Argentina thinks about the Falklands. Mixed signals and appearances of weakness were what led Galtieri into thinking the UK would roll over the first time round. Cuts or no cuts, Argentina is a very long way off defeating the UK in a conventional war, and with that in mind the only levers Argentina has to get what it wants are diplomatic ones. Cut off the oxygen of attention as much as possible and they can jump up and down all they want.

 

[SS4]

I see no reason why they shouldn't, especially if it was similar to France's départements sur la mer. A referendum on these islands for representation would be necessary.

 

[IanXC]

Gibraltar comes to mind, they form part of the European Parliament's South West England seat, but of course do not vote in any way for Westminster.

 

[Oracle]

Alderney nearly went bust some years ago as Guernsey were not prepared to bail-out any more. One possibility mooted was that it would become part of England, with the electoral association that would entail. It is currently part of the Diocese of Winchester.

 

[ChrisCooper]

I see it's now changed to "Remote islands" as someone has presumably realised that the Commonwealth is a collection of independant nations that were mostly former parts of the British Empire. Shame most journalists these days don't have a clue what they are on about and often end up being corrected by reader comments.

 

[LE Greys]

Well, it's a nice idea. I'm a bit of a federalist, and have backed the idea of an English parliament (in York) for quite some time, so the idea of incorporating the Overseas Territories is quite a good one. Trouble is, the population of most of these places is far smaller than a big constituancy back here. I can't see the Channel Islands accepting only one MP, there would have to be one for each island. That might annoy Orkney, where there is only one MP. The result might be a massive expansion of Parliament, and I can't see that being popular.

However an Overseas Territories Office, complete with Overseas Terrirories Secretary, might be welcome.

 

[Ivo]

However an Overseas Territories Office, complete with Overseas Terrirories Secretary, might be welcome.

That sounds like a good idea - but would it really be fair to base such an Office in Westminster?

 

[Yew]

Im all for it