Political commentator Claude Skelton Cline has dismissed calls for the British Virgin Islands to secure a seat in the United Kingdom Parliament, contending instead that the territory ought to pursue full political autonomy.
During an appearance on his Honestly Speaking radio programme, Skelton Cline pointed out that the BVI already operates its own House of Assembly and therefore has no need for a voice at Westminster. "We don't need no voice in the United Kingdom's Parliament. We have a House of Assembly in the Virgin Islands," he said.
The remarks come after the Conservative Friends of the Overseas Territories, a UK-based group, launched a fresh campaign to secure a more permanent parliamentary presence for British Overseas Territories.
Skelton Cline instead urged the BVI to reshape its ties with Britain in a way that grants the territory control over its own political and economic affairs. He called for "full political autonomy to direct and charter our own course, at our own choosing" as part of what he termed a necessary "recalibration, and the redirection of our relationship with the United Kingdom."
Under such an arrangement, he suggested, the BVI could expand its partnerships with CARICOM, the United States, Asia, Africa and other nations.
Skelton Cline also cautioned that mounting global instability and international tensions pose a threat to Britain's ability to sustain its overseas territories in the long term. The territory, he warned, must ready itself for major shifts in the geopolitical landscape.
Repeating his core argument, Skelton Cline stated: "We don't need no voice in the UK Parliament. Our voice is right here in these Virgin Islands, in our House of Assembly."
The BVI is currently engaged in broader talks about constitutional reform and the direction of its relationship with the United Kingdom.
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