Burnham Heads to Commonwealth Summit Facing UK Reparations Call
Prime Minister Andy Burnham will travel to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua this week, as the UK comes under growing pressure over slavery reparations.
Burnham said ahead of the visit that he rejected calls for financial compensation for slavery — upholding the stance of his predecessor, Keir Starmer — but he indicated a softening of Britain’s position by being open to conversations about reparatory justice, which had previously been ruled out.
“We are offering a structured dialogue with those affected by the transatlantic slave trade,” Burnham wrote in the Guardian newspaper in advance of the trip. “Listening to calls for a formal apology on behalf of the British state will form an important part of this process, and I am open to them.”
Other leaders due to attend the summit in the Caribbean include Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Australia’s Anthony Albanese, who are both expected to have bilateral talks with Burnham. King Charles III, as Head of the Commonwealth, will address the meeting’s opening on Tuesday.
In June, African and Caribbean leaders agreed on a joint approach to seeking reparations for the transatlantic slave trade, in a sign of a more coordinated way forward following a landmark United Nations vote condemning it as a crime against humanity.
Over four centuries, an estimated 12.5 million Africans were forced onto slave ships, with about 2 million dying on the way to the Americas and the Caribbean. Portugal transported the most people, followed by Britain, which became the world’s biggest slave trader by the 1730s.
“I want to express my sorrow and regret for the pain and suffering of so many millions of people, and to recognize the way it still shapes our world today,” Burnham said in his Guardian piece. “Having these difficult conversations to safeguard the Commonwealth for the future is the right thing to do.”
Back in Westminster, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is expected to announce on Monday how she plans to proceed with controversial reforms to the UK’s immigration system.
For almost nine months, the Home Office has been reviewing responses to a consultation on its original proposals, which included a divisive plan to double the baseline time a migrant needs to remain in the country before being able to claim settlement, from five years to 10 — with that timeline reduced for those who were well paid or “contributed” to their local community.
Care workers, many of whom came to the UK on worker visas post-Brexit, would see their timeline extended to 15 years. The new rules would apply to anyone already in the country.
That retrospective element has angered more than 100 Labour backbenchers, who say the UK should not be changing immigration rules for people who came to work in the country in good faith. While people familiar with the Home Office’s thinking said a concession was likely on Monday, it was unclear whether the Home Office would offer enough to placate concerned Labour MPs.
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