Is Britain about to relinquish the vestiges of its empire?

The agreement to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands has reawakened the debate about the Falklands. Sean O’Grady examines how likely it is that our control of other overseas territories could be handed over – and whether it would really matter

The ceding of the BIOT has prompted the present Argentine government to make menacing noises about the Falklands (pictured), but this is nothing new (AFP via Getty)

The transfer of sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius has highlighted the sometimes complicated relationship of the UK with its vestigial imperial possessions, now known as British overseas territories. They’re a mixed bunch, to say the least, and each has its own charms and challenges.

The change in status of the BIOT, which hosts a major UK-US military base on the island of Diego Garcia (and will continue to do so), has been called a betrayal of British national interests. Fairly or not, a change in status is not being ruled out for the other territories...

What are the British overseas territories?

First things first, they are not the Commonwealth of Nations (formerly the British Commonwealth), which is mostly a collection of former colonies, protectorates and dominions that were once ruled by the UK but are now completely independent. A minority retain the British monarch as head of state, and most of the others are republics, but either way, these aren’t under UK rule.

The BOTs are the remnants of empire, what used to be called crown colonies. The inhabited territories enjoy democratically elected governments and internal self-rule, and include Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The others have no permanent population and are governed from London or another BOT. They include the British Antarctic Territory; the British Indian Ocean Territory (for now); Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands; South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; and and the UK sovereign base areas in Cyprus.

There are currently 14 BOTs, pending the transfer of the BIOT, and they support a population of 250,000 in all, about the same as Wolverhampton. Queen Victoria would be appalled.

Who’s next to be given back? Or taken back?

The Falkland Islands and dependencies (South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands) have long suffered from the territorial ambitions of Argentina, which culminated in the war of 1982. The ceding of the BIOT has prompted the present Argentine government to make menacing noises, but this is nothing new. President Javier Millei’s administration is undertaking radical and painful reform of the economy, which may or may not make it keen on another diversionary “patriotic” military adventure.

The Islands are also much better defended than in 1982, when the then Conservative government was running down the Royal Navy, and ministers had given the impression that they’d like to end the arguments and find a way of washing their hands of an expensive commitment. So, for now, they are probably safe – albeit at a significant financial cost.

Equally, Gibraltar is not about to be invaded by Spain, our Nato ally – but Brexit has strengthened the hand of the Spanish authorities, and certain practical consequences of leaving the EU remain unresolved.

As recently as 2002, the Blair government was looking for a way to settle the Gibraltar question via shared sovereignty and maximum self-government for the Gibraltarians. Reportedly, Blair privately thought it “important to get a better future for Gibraltar, to secure a better relationship with Spain, and to remove it as an obstacle to our relations within Europe”. Madrid rejected the proposition.

Why aren’t they all independent yet?

Many have no wish to be, and some have no population to lobby for the freedom of, anyway. For a few, their “British” status suggests stability and the rule of law, and they make full use of this with a helpfully ambivalent attitude to taxation and corporate governance (the Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands being celebrated tax havens).

Others, such as Montserrat, cannot really afford to stand alone, and have no desire to belong to any other available neighbouring entity; indeed, Anguilla remains British because it broke away from St Kitts and Nevis before that nation secured independence.

There’s talk about Pitcairn (plus its Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands) becoming a dependency of New Zealand instead of even-further-away Britain. The most likely candidate for independence would be Bermuda, which is wealthy and has a diversified economy with strong links to the US; but the last referendum, in 1995, rejected the option by 74 per cent to 26 per cent. Maybe the sun won’t ever set on the British empire after all.