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The Chagos Islands
The Chagos Islands have become a major political issue in the House of Commons. Located in the Indian Ocean, the islands are administrated under British Indian Ocean Territory. The Islands were ceded by the French to the British in 1814. From then, they were maintained by the British Empire until Mauritius gained independence in 1968. However, the UK government previously removed the islanders of Chagos Island’s from 1965-1973 and said they would give the island back when they didn’t require it for strategic purposes. The British government has maintained control of the island even after decolonising much of the region.
The Chagos Islands are important to both the British and U.S. governments. Currently, there is a UK-US military base on the largest island Diego Garcia. The US Navy has designated this particular island as a “Support Facility” which “provides logistic support to operational forces forward deployed to the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf areas of responsibility in support of national policy objectives.”
The mission outlined by the US navy regarding the island paradise “Support Facility” goes as follows; “We are Ready to Fight Tonight… At a moment’s notice with little to no warning we must be ready to provide critical support to U.S. and Allied forces with base and logistical services in execution of national strategic objectives.”.
In 2019, the International Court of Justice gave an advisory opinion (non-legally binding) that the UK should end its control of the Chagos islands. The court concluded that the UK “has an obligation to bring to an end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible.”
Negotiations between the two nations began on the 3rd of November 2022. The Conservative Party, in government at the time, opened talks “on the exercise of sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT)/ Chagos Archipelago.” These negotiations regarding the change of government commenced in July of 2024 and are currently ongoing.
So, what is likely to happen to the islands?
Currently the deal is focussed on passing control of the islands to Mauritius, whilst simultaneously maintaining the UK-US military base in Diego Garcia and providing provisions to Chagossians returning to the islands.
In the PMQs held on January 15th 2024, Leader of the Conservative Party Kemi Badenoch attacked the deal, arguing that “there is no way that we should be giving up British territory in Chagos.” This has been a consistent message from the party since they came into opposition in July. Perhaps the expulsion of the former Foreign Minister James Cleverly to the back benches caused the leadership to forget that they were the party who started the negotiations?
Talks have apparently halted to wait for the incoming Trump administration to review the terms, although President Biden apparently planned to greenlight the deal. The fate of the Chagos Islands is in the air until the new U.S. President to declares his position.
Health Sector Reform
The Labour party has made NHS reforms a key focus during their time in government. The Prime Minister called the state of the NHS inherited from the previous government “disgraceful” in responding to questions from Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats.
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, has outlined the administration’s main objectives for reforming the NHS:
- Expanding the network of community diagnostic centres and surgical hubs, enabling additional treatment outside of hospitals
- Making it easier to exercise patient choice – this was introduced 20 years ago but only one out of every four patients believes they are offered a choice of where they are treated
- A new deal with the independent sector so more NHS patients can be treated in private clinics, with a particular emphasis on joint operations and gynaecological procedures
While promising, some experts have issued warnings regarding the hazards of achieving short term gains over than long term improvements. The Labour government cannot expect to be re-elected if they ignore the NHS’s significant problems and fail to implement solutions which address its long-term needs.
Ed Davey, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, seems impatient with the government’s current schedule, asking if the PM will “scrap the three-year timetable that he has given the Casey commission so that we can fix social care this year, implementing reforms by the end of this year at the latest?”
There are clearly still calls for more to be done faster, indicating how important NHS reform is to voters and experts today and the significance of the problem faced by the government over the coming year.
Tulip Suddiq
The City Minister, Tulip Saddiq, responsible for financial conduct, including the relationship with the Financial Conduct Association (FCA), resigned this week after she “was named in an investigation into claims her family had embezzled up to £3.9m in Bangladesh.”
The FCA regulates financial markets, ensuring that they are “honest, competitive and fair so consumers get a fair deal.”
An internal investigation by the PM’s ethics committee found that Tulip Saddiq did not in fact break the ministerial code. However, the MP for Hampstead and Highgate has decided to resign anyway.
Labour minsters are clearly holding themselves to a high bar. As the PM announced, this is a contrast from the previous government. Starmer went as far as to make an explicit comparison between Saddiq and the conduct of “shadow Foreign Secretary, the right hon. Member for Witham (Priti Patel), who breached the ministerial code.”
Patel was found to be in breach of the ministerial code, but she was not removed from office, presenting a shift in the attitudes towards at Whitehall. The new Labour administration appears guided by its principles, subverting the precedent set by the previous government rather than continuing it. However, in light of the events surrounding Tulliq’s resignation, questions are bound to be raised about the integrity of the government’s choices for ministerial positions.
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