London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 22, 2025

Commentary: Britain & The Overseas Territories: Toward Soft Colonialism Or Modern Partnership?

Commentary: Britain & The Overseas Territories: Toward Soft Colonialism Or Modern Partnership?

As the United Kingdom (UK) General Election approaches, the country’s ongoing political turmoil over Brexit continues to overshadow the strained relationship between the Overseas Territories’ (OTs) and UK.
The critical issue is whether the UK and OTs will have a closer relationship going forward or a more distant one.

A cloud of uncertainty has hung over OT-UK relations ever since 2018 when the UK Government, in response to pressure from the UK Parliament, chose to legislate the adoption of public registers of beneficial ownership by the OTs without their consent and before public registers are established as a global standard.

The UK measure will have far-reaching consequences for the economies of Bermuda, British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands if implementation is forced upon them given their high dependence on financial services that accounts for a large share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employment and government revenue.

The OTs discontent was amplified by the exclusion of the Channel Islands of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man from the UK legislation, despite these jurisdictions also being among the so called ‘offshore’ centres that fly the Union Jack which supposedly should be aligned with the UK. The exclusion of the Channel Islands and inclusion of the OTs demonstrated the clear bias of UK decisionmakers against the OTs.

Relations between the OTs and UK were further strained in 2019 by the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) publication of a report on Global Britain and the British Overseas Territories that recommended the UK force the OTs to legalise same-sex marriage, abolish Belonger status as a category of citizenship conferred by the Territory Governments, extend voters' rights to non-Belongers and widen eligibility criteria for elected office to include persons presently not constitutionally permitted to do so.

The FAC’s blatant disregard for the OTs’ constitutions exposed the colonial thinking that remains among a number of UK parliamentarians.

The FAC report, coupled with the UK imposition of public registers on the OTs, reversed much of the goodwill gained by the UK after the British military and wider UK Government came to the aid of the Caribbean Territories that were devastated by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017.

UK Government attempts to pacify the OTs over the public registers issue by setting an implementation deadline of 2023 has not succeeded in restoring relations to their former state as serious doubts remain among the OTs as to whether they still have a modern partnership with the UK.

While the UK Government maintains that it is committed to a modern partnership under the 2012 White Paper on the Overseas Territories, the signals that have come from certain quarters of the UK Parliament indicate that respect for OTs’ self-governance is diminishing in the UK's premier political institution which is considered to be sovereign.

The UK must be careful to not allow itself to drift toward a soft colonialism, regardless of the justifications by UK parliamentarians for overriding the OTs' constitutions.

Concrete steps will have to be taken by the UK Government to reassure the OTs that it is not the UK’s intention to revert to a colonial posture toward them.

Among other things, the UK must put on the table for consideration some form of constitutional safeguard for all OTs to restrain the UK Government and UK Parliament from arbitrarily legislating for the OTs without their consent, particularly in areas of governance constitutionally delegated to them and over which they have managed successfully on balance.

Also critical is the preparation of a new UK White Paper on the OTs whose guiding policy should reinforce the principle of self-governance and affirm the OTs inalienable right to self-determination under the United Nations (UN) Charter (i.e. Article 73-74), UN Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (1960) and related UN resolutions and decisions.

The OTs should seize every available opportunity to push the UK on their future relationship, including participating in dialogue within British society on the UK’s own post-Brexit future should the country successfully leave the EU.

The OTs have called on the UK for the past three years to support a post-Brexit economic partnership underpinned by international trade.

This has gained some traction with a UK-OT International Trade Summit held in the Cayman Islands in June.

The OTs are well-positioned to help facilitate UK trade through their own trade links in Asia and various regional markets around the world and expertise as financial jurisdictions.

The UK in turn can assist the OTs in accessing new markets for their goods and services as the UK Government negotiates new trade deals with partners in regions such as Latin America.

The Commonwealth would also feature prominently in a future UK-OT economic partnership as the UK seeks to tap markets among the political bloc's fast growing economies in Africa and Asia.

Beyond trade, the future partnership between the OTs and UK should extend to the challenge of climate change and pursuit of sustainable development.

UK support to the OTs on climate change adaptation should include grants to all OTs in line with UK funding to Small Island Developing States (SIDS) through the Green Climate Fund and Commonwealth Secretariat. This approach would assist the OTs in building climate resilience and underscore UK leadership in this area.

The UK should also establish a Sustainable Development Fund (SDF) to replace European Union (EU) funding for sustainable development that will be lost by the OTs in the event of Brexit.

The OT-UK relationship remains under strain, but this can be overcome if the UK is committed to renewing its modern partnership with the OTs under a new policy framework that reinforces the self-governance of the OTs and is buttressed by constitutional safeguards to protect them from UK overreach. These can be overlaid by a future economic partnership and meaningful cooperation on climate change and sustainable development.

Once the UK General Election is over, it is in the interest of both the UK and OTs to reset relations and find the right balance for a post-Brexit relationship going forward.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
×