I was staggered when a few weeks ago, the Labour Government suddenly announced it was going to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands (also known as the British Indian Ocean Territory) to Mauritius - a small island nation that is 1,300 miles away from the Chagos Islands. That distance is the same as from London to Malta.
If enacted, this terrible decision will be permanent and the ability of the UK to make future decisions about the islands will be lost forever. We know there is a historical injustice in what happened to the Chagos islanders in the 1960s, when they were forcibly removed by the then Labour Government. What must not happen now, is a new and second injustice, where the Chagossian people can never have any say about the future of the islands. Disgracefully, that is exactly what will happen under this shoddy deal.
With Crawley being home to largest number of Chagossian people in the UK, it is right that we make a stand here and implore the UK Government to have a change of heart. In seeking to positively influence the government, I have tabled a motion for the Full Council meeting of Crawley Borough Council, that takes place on Wednesday 11 December at Crawley Town Hall. This meeting will be broadcast live on YouTube.
This motion is intentionally worded in a non-political way, so that all of Crawley’s Councillors can unite behind it. I have the support of all my Conservative colleagues, and I will be genuinely reaching out to Crawley’s Labour Councillors, whose support will be needed for the Council to adopt this motion.
Our motion reads: “As the UK local authority with the largest number of residents of Chagossian descent, Crawley Borough Council states its strong opposition to the recent UK government announcement to hand sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius.”
“In doing so, Crawley Borough Council calls upon the UK government to reverse its decision, and to ensure that local representatives of the Chagossian community are fully involved in all discussions relating to the future of the Chagos Islands.”
Councillor Duncan Crow, Leader of Crawley Borough Council Conservative Group
4th December 2024
