Labour urged to ‘have courage' to trigger vote on Chagos deal

South Wales Argus

02-07-2025

The Government won a vote in the Lords on Monday, when 205 peers struck down a Tory bid to reject the treaty which cedes control of the archipelago to Mauritius.
But the Conservative Party's shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti has called for a similar vote in the Commons.
'With the 21-day Crag (Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010) process about to conclude, it is a disgrace that Labour have breached the parliamentary conventions and denied this House a meaningful debate and vote on ratification,' she told MPs.
To accompany the treaty, MPs will need to sign off on a Bill to wind up the current governance of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT).
The treaty will only come into force once the legislation is 'in place', according to the Government.
Yesterday dozens of Chagossians came to Parliament to tell us how they feel let down, neglected and betrayed by Labour's £30bn Chagos Surrender Treaty. Labour are denying them their rights and blocking the House of Commons from a meaningful debate and vote! @CllrABClarkson pic.twitter.com/482WEUkPPl
— Priti Patel MP (@pritipatel) July 1, 2025
Dame Priti added: 'Having a vote on the Bill is not the same as voting on the treaty under Crag. Earlier this week, the House of Lords – the other place – had a debate and vote where the Lib Dems sided with Labour in backing this £30 billion surrender treaty, which is subsidising tax cuts in Mauritius.
'So, why can't we have a debate and vote in this House? What are ministers afraid of?
'Are they afraid that their backbenchers, now worried about benefit cuts and the impact of unpopular tax rises, will question why so much money is being handed over for a territory that we own and force them into another embarrassing U-turn?'
Dame Priti urged ministers to 'scrap this treaty or at least have the courage to bring it here for a proper debate, full scrutiny, and finally, a vote in this House'.
Treaties are laid before Parliament before they are ratified, but there is no requirement for a debate or vote.
Peers in their vote, which Conservative shadow Foreign Office minister Lord Callanan triggered, agreed not to reject the treaty by 205 votes to 185, majority 20.
Stephen Doughty said he was disappointed by the shadow foreign secretary's tone (House of Commons/UK Parliament)
Responding, Stephen Doughty told the Commons he was 'disappointed by the tone' of Dame Priti's comments.
'I don't know who writes this stuff,' the Foreign Office minister said.
'I don't know whether it's just performative politics or rhetoric, I don't know what.
'But I should point out that I have received and answered over 100 written parliamentary questions from (Dame Priti), I've answered over 250 questions on this deal and the process in total.
'We've had no less than six urgent questions in this House. We have had two statements from this Government by the Foreign Secretary (David Lammy) and the Defence Secretary (John Healey).
'I personally briefed (Dame Priti) and answered many of her questions in my office just a couple of weeks ago in good faith and in detail, and indeed, I was subjected – quite rightly – to robust scrutiny not only from the Foreign Affairs Committee of this House, but also from the International Relations and Defence Committee in the other House, and indeed the International Arrangements Committee in great detail on these issues.'
Mr Doughty said a Bill would follow 'in due course' but added the deal with Mauritius, presented to Parliament in May, 'secures' the UK-US military base on Diego Garcia, 'secures our national security and that of our allies'.