The Coalition and the Commonwealth

Abstract The UK Coalition government, coming to power in May 2010, has already shown a more positive and purposeful approach to the Commonwealth than any of its predecessors. There is every reason for optimism that this will be maintained. This article gives an outline of the work and special character of the Commonwealth and looks forward to the report of the Eminent Persons' Group, the Perth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth's forthcoming Diamond Jubilee. Key Words: CommonwealthEminent Persons' GroupUK governmentCommonwealth Heads of Government MeetingDiamond JubileeLondon Declarationmanagement of interdependenceWilliam HagueLord Howell Notes 1. The Commonwealth Games take place every four years, halfway between the Olympic Games. After Delhi in 2010, they will be held in Glasgow in 2014. 2. The Communiqués have been most helpfully collected together in three slim Commonwealth Secretariat volumes covering, respectively, the years 1944–86, 1987–95 and 1997–2005. 3. See Peter Marshall (2009) 'The Commonwealth at 60', The Round Table, 98(404), pp. 537–546. When they established the Commonwealth Secretariat to handle intergovernmental business, Heads of Government were concerned similarly to foster the non-governmental aspects of Commonwealth activity, especially the work of the numerous Commonwealth professional bodies 'ranging from architecture to zoology'. They therefore established the Commonwealth Foundation, which has served as a catalyst for widening and deepening the understanding of what is involved. 4. The Preamble to the Charter of the United Nations, which gives the document so much of its distinctive character, owes its existence in large measure to the Commonwealth. The enigmatic Jan Christiaan Smuts gained strong support for the ideas for a preamble he outlined at a meeting of Commonwealth Ministers immediately before the San Francisco Conference in 1945 at which the Charter was adopted. 5. In the final paragraph of the London Declaration 'the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan and Ceylon hereby declare that they remain united as free and equal members of the Commonwealth of Nations, freely co-operating in the pursuit of peace, liberty and progress'. 6. More than half of the member countries of the Commonwealth have populations of around a million or less. Its profile of membership is thus markedly different form that of the United Nations. 7. The well-being not only of the governmental Commonwealth, but also in some respects of the non-governmental Commonwealth, turns largely on the relationship between the Secretary-General and Heads of Government. 8. The small scale of the Commonwealth Secretariat enables it to respond more quickly à la carte than can larger international bodies. The choice of an annual Commonwealth theme is a useful means of directing attention to changing circumstance and needs. 9. The Commonwealth Secretariat budget for which contributions are assessed, for 2009/10 was approximately £15m. The Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation, funded voluntarily, received £30m in the same year; the UK contributed some 30% of the whole, and Canada about 20%. The sums involved are not just modest in absolute terms. In comparison with other international bodies, our contributions are relatively more efficient in terms of the percentage of the whole spent on British goods and services. 10. The importance and the distinctiveness of what was at issue naturally engaged the attention of governments. At the initiative of the Canadian government the 1977 CHOGM asked for the establishment of a Committee to advise on how to promote ties between the official and unofficial Commonwealth. The Committee's Report 'From Governments to Grassroots' (Commonwealth Secretariat, 1978) has much to offer to the present day. 11. 'The Future Role of the Commonwealth', First Report of The Foreign Affairs Committee, Session 1995–96, Vol. I, Report and Proceedings, 45–1, and Vol. II, Minutes of Evidence and Appendices, 45–2. The White Paper containing the observations by the Foreign Secretary was presented to Parliament in June 1996 (Cm 3303). 12. The speech can be found at http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/news/latest-news/?view=Speech&id=536723182, accessed 19 January 2011. 13. These include: (i) Written Ministerial Statement on National Security, 18 October; (ii) Prime Minister's Statement on the Strategic Defence and Security Review, 19 October; (iii) Chancellor's Statement on the Comprehensive Spending Review, 20 October; and (iv) The National Security Strategy (Cm 7953). 14. See Written Ministerial Statement on the publication of Departmental Business Plans, 8 November. 15. In their report on the work of DfID in 2009–10, published on 3 February, the International Development Select Committee observed that the government's commitment to channelling more UK aid towards fragile and war-torn states will make it difficult to ensure that every pound is well spent. Owing to Britain's close links with them, there are generally more grounds for reassurance in this regard in the case of Commonwealth recipients. In their Business Plan, DfID draw attention to the Commonwealth connection. 16. Sir Malcolm Rifkind was Defence Secretary from 1992 to 1995, and Foreign Secretary from 1995 to 1997. In the latter capacity he sponsored 1997 as Year of the Commonwealth in Britain, culminating in the Edinburgh CHOGM. By then the General Election had taken place, and his duties as host had passed to a fellow Scot, the late Robin Cook. 17. See Peter Marshall (2003) 'Annus Mirabilis: impressions of the Golden Jubilee year', The Round Table, 92(369), pp. 221–233.

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