8.
CONFIDENTIAL.
4
DSR 11C
This continuing perception of Britain as more than just
an ordinary member of the Commonwealth would make it
Were we to do so it would
awkward for us to leave it.
probably continue without us. But the decision to leave,
thereby depriving the Commonwealth of its wealthiest
and most pжexfx powerful member, around whom the
organisation had built up, would be bound to give offense.
The likely result, a Commonwealth still more oriented
towards the Third World, and at most hostile, at best
unsympathetic towards Britain, .would not be in our
interests. Our leaving the Commonwealth would also call
into question the position of The Queen. There might be
a difficult choice between advising The Queen thatShe could
remain Head of the Commonwealth, (to which there would
apparently be no legal or constitutional bar, though it
cod blago Kand
would be politically awkward); and advising Her to relinquish
Her title, perhaps against Her will.
1
9.
To leave the Commonwealth would
be unpopular
at home too. There remains a strong attachment to the
Commonwealth atm levels of British society, including
the Palace, all major political parties, and public
opinion more widely. Opposition could be expected from
those who would see it as a sign of insularity and of lack
of interest in the Third World (and in particular those parts
of it to which we are tied by history, and to which we might
be held to have some responsibility) and from special
interest groups in areas such as agriculture and the
Commonwealth Games.
/10.