Commonwealth Day

Debate between Deidre Brock and James Gray

Tuesday 21st March 2023 Westminster Hall

[Deidre Brock (Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP)]

It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir James.

[James Gray (in the Chair)]

It is certainly not Sir James—[Hon. Members: “Not yet!”] Just Mr Gray will be fine.

[Deidre Brock]

Forgive me, Mr Gray. I am sure I have just highlighted something that is missing but will arrive eventually.

First, I pay tribute to the right hon. Member for Basingstoke (Dame Maria Miller) and the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend East (Sir James Duddridge) for securing this debate about Commonwealth Day. This year marked a significant milestone for the Commonwealth and the UK’s international relationships, and a new phase for the UK’s diplomacy and soft power. As we recognise the first Commonwealth Day since Queen Elizabeth’s passing, we have an opportunity to reflect on the impact of the Commonwealth, to acknowledge the damage of British colonial history and, I hope, to begin to forge a path to more conscious, thoughtful and honest relationships with Commonwealth countries.

I want to dwell a little on some of the contributions that have been made. The hon. Member for Rochford and Southend East spoke of the work of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association branches in areas such as election observation and on issues relating to women and girls. The hon. Member for Stockport (Navendu Mishra) highlighted how the Commonwealth can foster closer cultural links, language ties and economic opportunities—and, indeed, transport links between Manchester and Mumbai in the future. He also touched on some of the concerns that I will focus on in my contribution.

My hon. Friend the Member for Motherwell and Wishaw (Marion Fellows) spoke eloquently of the injustice of frozen pensions, which affect many people from Commonwealth countries. She has pursued that matter for some years, and I am sure those people are grateful to her for bringing it up today. The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) described the Commonwealth as a family—indeed, as a “gathering of the clans”. He welcomed the fact that this debate allows us to debate the truth, highlighting the economic and trade benefits. He also mentioned the positivity of the Commonwealth games in bringing nations together in their love of sport, and I very much agree with him. The Commonwealth games in Glasgow were a tremendous occasion for us all in Scotland.

We have witnessed some historic changes across the Commonwealth in the last few years. Barbados became a republic in 2021, and Jamaica has served notice that it intends to do likewise by 2025. In Australia, the arrival of the new young Queen in the ’50s seemed to herald a new start, and the Commonwealth of Nations was a very appealing concept after the misery of two world wars, but the gloss of those early days has faded. Republican voices in Australia, New Zealand and Canada have strengthened, particularly following the increase in the knowledge and understanding of the effects of colonisation on indigenous people. The Jamaican Government have announced plans to seek compensation for an estimated 600,000 Africans who were shipped to the island for the financial benefit of British slaveholders.

There are many now who feel that this reckoning with history should be embraced, paving a new way forward for the Commonwealth based on respect and a real acknowledgement of the past. The SNP’s policy is to join the Commonwealth once Scotland is independent again, because we want to co-operate with the rest of the world, not be apart from it. At the same time, we sincerely wish the Commonwealth to meet this moment of reflection and change positively and constructively.

Although one welcomes the royal family’s attempts to address Britain’s bloody imperial past—King Charles, when he was prince, attended a ceremony in Barbados in 2021 and spoke of the appalling atrocity of slavery, which forever stains British history, and Prince William spoke out against the injustice of the Windrush scandal—there is still a very long way to go to improve relationships and outcomes with Commonwealth countries.