Starmer cannot afford to reach an impasse over reparations

Keir Starmer

Rakib Ehsan, The Independent

News that Commonwealth leaders meeting in Samoa for the biennial Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) are preparing to defy the UK by putting “restorative justice” on the summit's agenda means the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer must reaffirm his lines in the sand: no to financial reparations for colonialism, and no apologies for the transatlantic slave trade.

A report published last year by the University of the West Indies, supported by Jamaican legal scholar Patrick Robinson, concluded that the UK owed around £18 trillion in reparations. To put this into perspective, in monetary terms, the UK's gross domestic product for the whole of 2023 was £2.7 trillion.

In 2018, Starmer's current foreign minister, David Lammy, said: “As Caribbean people were enslaved, colonized and invited into Britain…we remember our history. We don’t just want an apology, we want reparations and compensation.”

But serving in the British government and holding one of the highest offices in the state comes with the very real responsibility to put the British national interest first – regardless of one's own ancestral origins. It also means appreciating the prevailing sentiments in the United Kingdom and among key Commonwealth allies who were also former British colonies.

A new report from Policy Exchange reveals that the majority of Britons – 60% – believe that throughout history the UK has been a force for good overall. Another publication from the organization reveals that Indian public opinion is overwhelmingly of the opinion that the UK does more good than harm in the world. The majority of the Nigerian public followed suit.

It is worth noting that India accounts for three-fifths of the Commonwealth's population, while Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa. These sentiments, both at home and abroad, should inform how the UK approaches not only its own history, but also how it views itself in the post-colonial international system.

The UK Government – ​​and the Commonwealth as a whole – cannot afford to get confused on the issue of restorative justice. Although all three candidates vying to replace Baroness Scotland as Commonwealth Secretary-General are from Africa and have expressed support for reparations, it might be wise for them to tread carefully.

There is no denying Britain's involvement in the slave trade – nor can we overlook the role of powerful and wealthy African kingdoms in selling slaves to European merchants. At the beginning of the 18th century, the kings of Dahomey (present-day Benin) became major players in the slave trade. King Gezo, who reigned from 1818 to 1858, once said: “The slave trade is the guiding principle of my people. It is the source and glory of their wealth. Indeed, he declared that he would do whatever the British wanted, short of abandoning the slave trade.

Yoruba and Asante elites – from present-day Nigeria and Ghana respectively – were also heavily involved in slave trading activities. Groups such as the Nyamwezi of Tanzania are said to serve as militant “middlemen,” waging war to capture people for export as slaves.

A simplistic discussion of reparations also overlooks Britain's unique historical role in abolishing the slave trade – from the actions of the West Africa Squadron to its insistence on closing markets to Zanzibar slaves. Keir Starmer is right to highlight the risk of the Commonwealth becoming trapped in “very, very long, drawn-out discussions about reparations” and that focusing on “the current challenges of the future” is a more cost-effective use of time, energy and resources.

At the heart of this approach is to make the most of the inherent benefits of Commonwealth trade and investment arising from a common language, parity of legal systems and compatible administrative regimes.