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Dependent Territories
15 APRIL 1983
Bruce George (Walsall, South): I congratulate the hon. Member for Orpington (Mr. Stanbrook) on raising this topic and I apologise for not being present earlier. It is unfortunate that so few Members have worked up the enthusiasm to attend the debate, a charge of which I am partly guilty myself. Ironically, Parliament has usually displayed indifference towards colonial affairs. The small attendance today does not necessarily reflect the decline in the number of colonies. In many periods of our history, even when Britain had an enormous empire, the same indifference was shown towards imperial and colonial affairs.
I
agree with some aspects of my hon. Friend's motion, but I cannot accept that the views of British subjects in the remaining colonies and dependencies should automatic- ally weigh so heavily as to dominate all other aspects of decision-making in this country. I in no way seek to downgrade their contribution, but I do not believe that a small tail should necessarily wag a large dog in determining issues of peace and war and the economic, political and diplomatic future of this country in its relations with the rest of the world.
I wish to deal principally with defence. I am a member of the Select Committee on Defence, of which the Minister of State was a distinguished chairman. We lamented his demotion to ministerial office as we felt that he could have made a greater contribution by remaining Chairman of the Select Committee. I do not mean that derogatarily in any way.
I declare an interest. As a good democratic Socialist I am anti-colonialist and very much endorse the attitude taken by the Labour party and Labour Governments in acquiescing in the dismantling of the British empire. Democratic Socialism, however, does not mean in all cases certainly not in mine-indifference to defence. On the contrary, I have found nothing in Socialist writings of this or other countries to suggest that acceptance of democratic Socialist principles automatically means acceptance of mutualism or pacifism.
It is important that the prime consideration in defence and foreign policy for any future Labour Government be determined by continued membership and support of the North Atlantic Alliance, which has been so vital for us in the past and will remain so in the future, until such time as we, in conjuction with our potential adversaries, decide to dismantle the alliance system that has been created. The Alliance is not just an instrument of deterrence. It is an instrument of detente as well.
There is a link between our commitment to the Alliance and the remainder of our colonial empire. That enormous empire grew up somewhat haphazardly, without anyone really considering what was happening, and the defence framework was virtually non-existent. We acquired calling stations on virtually every island in the world that had any defence potential. As former Foreign Secretary Castlereagh said, our policy in defending acquisitions made by Britain at the treaty of Vienna was to secure the empire against future attack. To do that, we acquired what in former times would have been thought of as Romettes -the keys of every great military position. Thus, in a haphazard fashion, we established around the world a series of island bases that we used for defence purposes. Those former bastions of British imperial defence- notably the Falkland Islands, so important strategically in
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the past, and Gibraltar are now causing major headaches to policymakers in this country. In a sense, the dismantling of the empire was easily defended by Labour Members in the past as it was consistent with the policy of anti-colonialism, but the colonies and dependencies that remain pose far greater problems of consistency for Labour Members now, in view of the acute problem posed by those colonies which wish to remain dependent because they are so weak economically that they cannot contemplate a future divorced from the United Kingdom. In those circumstances, it is important that we continue to provide adequate aid to facilitate their economic development.
Mr. Stanbrook: Unfortunately, the hon. Gentleman did not hear my speech but I said that the problem in the United Nations now is somehow to get rid of the colonialist image which attaches to dependencies that want to remain dependent but which are still tarred with the image of colonialism. As the hon. Gentleman has said that his party strongly favours anti-colonialism and getting rid of the colonies, perhaps he and his party have a significant role to play in helping to get the United Nations to accept that there are people in dependent territories who want to remain dependent and in whose interests it is to remain so.
Mr. George: I am grateful to he hon. Gentleman for informing me of some of what he said. I do not want what I say to be construed as a complete endorsement of British domination of its colonies in perpetuity. I hope that my opposition to patriating the Canadian constitution is not regarded as an example of colonialist mentality. I came to that conclusion largely because of my support for the native peoples who have received a bad deal and will continue to do so in a country which they occupied for 20,000 years before the whites discovered it.
The dependencies create problems when we try to achieve consistency. That process is relatively easy with regard to Hong Kong because, unfortunately or otherwise, our responsibilities there will come to an end in a few years. We have no moral right to remain there and we have only done so because the Chinese have found that it is in their interests to allow us to remain. We should not go through the motions of keeping the flag up indefinitely. When the time comes in 1997, it will be replaced and there is little that we can do about it. Nevertheless, we must try to get the best possible deal for the Chinese inhabitants of the colony.
The problem is more difficult with regard to Gibraltar. Spain is now within NATO-or, rather, sort of within it; I hope that it will come in more firmly. That will give the Foreign Office and future Governments greater opportunity to reach an agreement with Spain. While Spain was Fascist, there was no basis for negotiation. I strongly regret the hysteria that has been generated by Madrid in the past week or so. I hope that when things settle down and there are signs of compromise on both sides, we shall be able to settle the long-term future of that colony.
Despite many years of decolonisation, the number of dependencies which we have a responsibility to defend is considerable. We have military relations with a considerable number of territories. For example, we have a sovereign base in Cyprus and garrisons in the Falkland Islands, Belize, Hong Kong and Brunei. We have responsibilities in a formidable array of territories. We
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