Starmer dealt huge blow as peers defeat Chagos surrender 4 times | Politics | News
Their patriot counterparts defeated the government four separate times tonight in crucial votes on the Chagos Islands surrender agreement. Members of the Lords managed to back major changes to Sir Keir Starmer’s hated sale proposal, including a new provision for a referendum on Chagossians.
A cross-party coalition of Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, oppositionists and others voted for the change; This means ratification of the agreement cannot proceed until local islanders have their say. The government has repeatedly failed to listen to the opposition of the Chagossians, despite serious human rights concerns about how Mauritius would treat them once they gained control of the archipelago. Meanwhile, Labor colleagues voted once again to ignore the Chagossians’ views, with 212 people voting against the referendum amendment.
Other setbacks to Sir Keir’s deal tonight included another Tory amendment that forced Labor to come clean about the true cost of the deal.
The government has repeatedly claimed it would cost British taxpayers just £3.4bn.
But other analysis has suggested that figure could be ten times higher, at an eye-watering £35 billion, over the life of the lease.
The Conservative Party amendment will force the government to finally be clear on the figures involved and will be passed with a majority of 19 votes.
The third successful amendment came when the Conservatives demanded that parts of the agreement would only come into force if the Secretary of State amended it to ensure that Britain stopped all payments to Mauritius if it was no longer possible to use the Diego Garcia military base.
Finally the House of Lords achieved a fourth victory; this victory would give parliament a spending bloc that exceeded the Government’s published estimates under the Treaty.
Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel MP said: “Once again Labor has suffered a humiliating defeat to the anti-British Chagos Capitulation Bill.
“At every stage of this process the Government has sought to silence and ignore the Chagossian people and avoid scrutiny over the outrageous transfer of British lands and £35bn of taxpayers’ money.
“Keir Starmer is weak and incapable of defending Britain at home and abroad. Britain’s defense and security are at risk because of this appalling law. Only the Conservatives will defend Britain on the international stage.”
