CONFIDENTIAL
DSR 11C
ал
adverse effect on a wide range of multilateral
and bilateral interests.
too.
14. To leave the Commonwealth would be unpopular at home
There remains a strong attachment to it at many levels
of British society, including the Palace, all major political
parties, special interest groups such as sport, and public
opinion more widely. A decision to leave would be seen as a
sign of insularity and of lack of interest in the Third World.
There might be a particular problem over the position of
The Queen.
15.
Our best course therefore would be to try to bring about
change in our favour, though our ability to do so is limited.
We have deliberately given up leaderhsip of the Commonwealth
and cannot resume it just to bring about changes we want.
We shall stand a much better chance of success if we have
support for our ideas from other Commonwealth members,
including some from the New Commonwealth. We shall also need
to work through the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Possible Changes
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16. It would be ideal if we could make more use of the
Commonwealth in pursuit of our foreign policy in, for example,
the UN. But the disparate nature of the Commonwealth, the
reluctance of Third World countries to break ranks with the
Group of 77, and the fact that we are no longer at the centre
of the organisation, make this an unrealistic objective.
17. Our objectives might be:
i)
to encourage the trend towards regional co-operation in
the Commonwealth. This would maintain and develop many
of the advantages of the Commonwealth without involving
British Ministers or officials since we are not members of
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.