HKG 025/2
UNCLAT
RECE
NOTE FOR RECORD
DOOK INDEX
No
CONSERVATIVE PARTY" DE WITHOUT POWER
1.
20 JUN 1978
ا نام کار
9.51
Kofe moto
ISTRY
..ion Taken
ли
67
13/n
In Me Laugh Fri Me Quanfill, ofRe
ли
Miss Fanfell // 1ft
Mess will
AND RESPONSIBILITY
Roper
19
A
Mr Ranelagh of the Conser ative Party Research Department rang me on 15 June to follow u; an earlier discussion he had had with Mr Cortazzi and to seek advice for a committee meeting I he was shortly to attend to di:cugs the dependent territories.
Since I had just seen Mr Rowlads' encouragement, after un approach by Mr Ranelagh, for FC officials to meet the Conservative Party's Foreign Affairs spokes en to discuss Dominica I spoke fairly freely.
2. Mr Ranelagh wanted to kno. about our constitutional relation- ship with dependencies and the extent to which devolution to them of power had left us with the responsibility for putting right things that had gone wrog and which we could not have prevented. I explained the pa tern of our decolonisation policy since the last war: how broad y speaking our remaining depend- encies had elected governments which had been granted authority to handle a wide range of inte nal business, but even under the most advanced constitution the Governor retained reserve powers in the fields of defence, exte nal affairs, intenal security and the Public Service. I exp ained that there was usually provision in dependent territo ies' constitutions for the Governor to submit for the Sec etary of State's decision matters which were not expressly reser ed but on which he felt that local ministers were seriously wrong. In practice this was very rare but the possibility lways existed. As an example I went in some detail in descr: oing the situation in the Turks and Caicos last year in which he Minister of State had refused to allow the local government O go ahead with hotel and casino proposals' until he was persona ly satisfied that there were adequate security and administ. ative arrangements for control.
3. Mr Ranelagh mentioned Ber ida and the December disturbances. I said that the Bermuda Govern ent had acted all along in accord- ance with their constitution a 1 the laws of the land. It would have been on their advice that the Governor had subsequently asked for British troops. Ministers had then taken the view that it was Britain's responsi ility to help restore law and order in a British territory a 1 had agreed to send help.
4. I explained the special c istitutional position of the Associated States, how they we › in practice independent in all their internal affairs. said that it was UK policy not to grant any dependent territo except as part of an agreed pr full independence within 12 -
5. Finally, Mr Ranelagh ask.. gone too far. I said I could
full internal self government gramme of devolution leading to 3 months.
pointedly if we had in fact 't give a general answer.
It
UNCLASST ED
/depended
Page 120Page 121