Reading a letter from the UK overseas territories minister on Wednesday, McLaughlin outlined what he said were hard fought improvements but the UK is seeking cross party support and justification to avoid a referendum from Cayman before it green-lights the changes.

McLaughlin detailed some of the amendments that Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon confirmed in his letter along with a draft order, which have been accepted in principle by the British government. But Lord Ahmad asked the premier to confirm how he proposed to ensure widespread public support for the changes if they are not to be the subject of a referendum.

“As you know the next step in agreeing this package is to obtain the broadest possible cross party and public support for these reform,” Lord Ahmad wrote in his letter. He went on to say that the UK usually requires a referendum for constitutional change unless the premier and opposition leaders all agree to them and they are not considered controversial.

“I would be grateful if you would outline how you intend to seek the broadest possible support for the reforms to the constitution both within the Legislative Assembly and the wider public. If the decision was not to hold a referendum it would be helpful if you could explain the case for not doing so.”

The UK minister asked the premier to confirm that the Cayman Islands Government accepted the package of reforms but pointed out that, since the UK itself is going to the polls in just one month, no policy decisions could be enacted until after the election and a new government is in place.

The amendments were negotiated by a government delegation to London that included the opposition leader at the time, Ezzard Miller, and, according to the premier, Deputy Opposition Leader Alva Suckoo, who remains in post. But since then, the current opposition leader, Arden McLean, who replaced Miller just a few months after the UK trip, has said the changes should go to the people for a vote, so the previous consensus at the time of the talks is now in question.

Setting out why he believes these amendments are very good for Cayman and why they are important, McLaughlin warned members not to pass up the opportunity. He explained that the changes were about ensuring that, as representatives of the people, the members of the Legislative Assembly, which would become a parliament under the changes, should be the ones making domestic laws, rather than the UK.

“We all battled through the political campaigns to make… decisions for our people,” he said. “And again, we would be real fools and ought to be tarred and feathered if we allow this opportunity to pass,” he said, as he revealed some of the significant changes that will increase Cayman’s autonomy and insulate it against the imposition of legislation from either the British parliament, government or governor.

McLaughlin said he had won the concession that the UK must consult Cabinet before making any legislation for Cayman or orders in council that impact domestic areas. He said he had manged to get the provision that allows the governor to disallow laws passed by the LA or to simply write his own removed from the constitution. He had also negotiated amendments that would make plain the areas where the UK should not be able to legislate for Cayman.

The premier raised the current controversial issue of the UK’s power to impose same-sex marriage on the Cayman Islands if it is not happy with how the LA moves to accommodate the current court direction, saying it was important to remove the governor’s power to write that legislation for them.

McLaughlin noted that, in addition to the changes limiting Britain’s ability to intervene in domestic policy, it has accepted the request to change the name of the Legislative Assembly to “Parliament” and to add another minister to the Cabinet, bringing the government front bench to eight members.

This means that Cabinet members will comprise a larger proportion of MLAs, tipping the balance dangerously close to Cabinet making up half the LA, leaving other members less able to oust a rogue government front bench, which could prove the stumbling block to steering the changes through.

As he pressed home his argument that the package of constitutional reform was a tough battle to win and that the changes would advance Cayman’s interests, he urged the members on both sides to get behind them and invited them to include their thoughts about the changes in their upcoming debates on Wednesday afternoon on the budget.