CONFIDENTIAL
European Convention on Human Rights, inter alia,
precludes
the inclusion of a person from the country
of which he is a citizen. The UK has not been able to
ratify it given our present laws.
4.
The main political parties are committed to radical
reform of our nationality law. It was in the Conservative
Party's eledion manifesto and legislation was promised
in The Queen's Speech for this session of Parliament;
and though the Home Secretary has announced that this
will not now be possible he is committed to a White
Paper which will set out the new legislation in con-
siderable detail this year. There is therefore some
urgency.7
5. Given the need for a departure from the unitary
form of citizenship and the agreement of Home Office
officials to recommend to Ministers the three-category
citizenship so that colonial belongers can be in a
separate category, we are agreed that there are strong
arguments for retention of "British subject" as a
the
common with status linking three categories.
There are],,
(common title
however, considerable arguments against it. A linking factor
to some extent blurs the distinction which the three-
was
category citizenship system (first designed to make;
title many think it an outmoded concept); the different
status of
"British subject" and "British Citizen" in a law
designed to improve the present confused situation would be
far from ideal (and might mean finding an alternative
"British Citizen " such as "UK Citizen"); to add
for
"British subject" to the title of "British Overseas
Life non-beloyers)
Citizens " present dependêncïes might make serious
problems in the immigration context (and we do not think
NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
The arguments
need to be set out.
CONFIDENTIAL
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