London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

Hon Fraser proposes referendum on self-determination

Hon Fraser proposes referendum on self-determination

Senior Opposition Legislator, Hon Julian Fraser RA (R3) has urge legislators in the Virgin Islands (VI) House of Assembly (HoA) to bring forward a referendum on independence from the United Kingdom (UK) if they are serious about wanting the territory to move on the path of self-determination.

Hon Fraser was at the time speaking at the Fourth Sitting of the Third Session of the Fourth House of Assembly held at the Save the Seed Energy Centre in Duff's Bottom on Friday, December 4, 2020, where he referenced the BREXIT referendum as a similar path for the territory.

Less talk & more action – Hon Julian Fraser


“The simple thing to do for us, if that's what we want to do, the direction we want to head in, have a referendum. Courageous men and women in the same House of Assembly passed a bill and referendum we have the Referendum Act,” Hon Fraser said. He continued, “So no matter how much talk you hear about self-determination, unless you see movements such as that, those kinds of movements… its only talk,” he said regarding independence chatter.

Hon Fraser’s comments come following talks of the VI taking a path of self-determination and independence from the UK, however, he called for education of the people to be opened to accept the idea.

“At some point, you're going to have to get up and say enough of the chatter, let's take action… call somebody's bluff and tell him to bring a referendum to the people.”


Hon Fraser was at the time speaking at the Fourth Sitting of the Third Session of the Fourth House of Assembly on Friday, December 4, 2020, where he referenced the Brexit referendum as a similar path for the territory.

Let the decision be democratic – Hon Fraser


Hon Fraser said a referendum will allow for a democracy to rein in the decision for the territory to become independent.

“That's a democratic way to do it, instead of sitting somewhere behind closed doors talking about people's future and getting everybody upset because people don't like that people want to be a part of it,” he said.

“If you're going to take 20 people overboard, if it's democratically done they will do it even though they're going to get the clothes wet. But if you force them to do it, they are going to get upset,” the senior legislator said.

The special HoA Sitting on Friday last was held in honour of the 70th anniversary of the restoration of the legislature in the Virgin Islands.

As legislators gave their contribution to the proud and momentous occasion, the general sentiment was that self-determination was not a matter of 'if' but about 'when'.


At present, 17 Non-Self-Governing Territories (NSGTs) across the globe remain on the list of Non-Self-Governing Territories, home to nearly 2 million people.

Decolonisation


Since the birth of the United Nations in 1945, more than 80 former colonies comprising some 750 million people have gained independence. At present, 17 Non-Self-Governing Territories (NSGTs) across the globe remain on the list of Non-Self-Governing Territories, home to nearly 2 million people.

As the process of decolonisation continued to advance, the General Assembly, in 1960, adopted its landmark Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. The Declaration affirmed the right of all people to self-determination and proclaimed that colonialism should be brought to a speedy and unconditional end. Two years later, a Special Committee on Decolonisation was established to monitor its implementation.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×