Demands for reparations will not go vanish anytime soon, but disagreements over reparations need not stop Britain and the Caribbean from building a new relationship.
Britain has paid compensation for slavery before. In 1833, Parliament set aside £20m for slave owners who were losing what British law had treated as property. The people whose labour had been taken from them received nothing. Caribbean governments have every reason to ask how Britain accounts for that decision today.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham says he is open to a formal apology for Britain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade, though he has ruled out financial reparations. Does that make his position empty? I don’t think it does. I believe this is a significant step towards confronting Britain’s history, and the Caribbean Community’s own ten-point reparations plan begins by asking for a full formal apology.
Acknowledgement is as far as British prime ministers have gone before. In 2007, Tony Blair spoke of “deep sorrow and regret” but went no further. Burnham still needs to deliver. Britain has agreed to structured talks with affected parties, giving Caribbean governments a voice in a process Britain has too often resisted. That is an opportunity to move beyond the familiar pattern of Britain deciding when the conversation should end.
Campaigners worry that an apology could become a substitute for reparations. Verene A. Shepherd, vice-chair of The Caribbean Community Reparations Commission, welcomed the announcement, but rejected the suggestion that Britain today cannot be held liable. Her response makes clear that welcoming an apology does not mean abandoning demands for compensation.
Burnham’s proposals do go further. His “debt reset” plan aims to secure longer repayment periods and better rates for poorer Commonwealth countries, and Britain has pledged £40m over three years for Caribbean infrastructure, including green energy. Their value will depend on the terms secured, but easing repayment pressure could free resources for schools, hospitals, and climate resilience. Recognising those pressures is meaningful progress.
Pressure for reparations will persist, and it deserves to be taken seriously. An apology without action means next to nothing. Present global inequalities are inextricably linked to this colonial history, and demands for reparations cannot simply be dismissed as an attempt to make today’s taxpayers inherit their ancestors’ guilt. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has called a formal apology a “significant step,” but insists reparations are not “the right or feasible answer.”
Still, disagreement over compensation need not prevent cooperation. Barbados’s Prime Minister Mia Mottley has argued that “[h]onest disagreement on some questions should not hold back progress” elsewhere, showing that welcoming these talks can coexist with demanding more.
Burnham deserves credit for a substantial first step. By opening talks about an apology and proposing debt reform, he has created a chance to address grievances that have strained relations for generations. The government must now turn that willingness to listen into commitments agreed with Caribbean leaders. Burnham has opened the door, but what matters is whether he follows through.
“Statue of Edward Colston at the M Shed” by Adrian Boliston is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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Demands for reparations will not go vanish anytime soon, but disagreements over reparations need not stop Britain and the Caribbean from building a new relationship.
Britain has paid compensation for slavery before. In 1833, Parliament set aside £20m for slave owners who were losing what British law had treated as property. The people whose labour had been taken from them received nothing. Caribbean governments have every reason to ask how Britain accounts for that decision today.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham says he is open to a formal apology for Britain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade, though he has ruled out financial reparations. Does that make his position empty? I don’t think it does. I believe this is a significant step towards confronting Britain’s history, and the Caribbean Community’s own ten-point reparations plan begins by asking for a full formal apology.
Acknowledgement is as far as British prime ministers have gone before. In 2007, Tony Blair spoke of “deep sorrow and regret” but went no further. Burnham still needs to deliver. Britain has agreed to structured talks with affected parties, giving Caribbean governments a voice in a process Britain has too often resisted. That is an opportunity to move beyond the familiar pattern of Britain deciding when the conversation should end.
Campaigners worry that an apology could become a substitute for reparations. Verene A. Shepherd, vice-chair of The Caribbean Community Reparations Commission, welcomed the announcement, but rejected the suggestion that Britain today cannot be held liable. Her response makes clear that welcoming an apology does not mean abandoning demands for compensation.
Burnham’s proposals do go further. His “debt reset” plan aims to secure longer repayment periods and better rates for poorer Commonwealth countries, and Britain has pledged £40m over three years for Caribbean infrastructure, including green energy. Their value will depend on the terms secured, but easing repayment pressure could free resources for schools, hospitals, and climate resilience. Recognising those pressures is meaningful progress.
Pressure for reparations will persist, and it deserves to be taken seriously. An apology without action means next to nothing. Present global inequalities are inextricably linked to this colonial history, and demands for reparations cannot simply be dismissed as an attempt to make today’s taxpayers inherit their ancestors’ guilt. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has called a formal apology a “significant step,” but insists reparations are not “the right or feasible answer.”
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Still, disagreement over compensation need not prevent cooperation. Barbados’s Prime Minister Mia Mottley has argued that “[h]onest disagreement on some questions should not hold back progress” elsewhere, showing that welcoming these talks can coexist with demanding more.
Burnham deserves credit for a substantial first step. By opening talks about an apology and proposing debt reform, he has created a chance to address grievances that have strained relations for generations. The government must now turn that willingness to listen into commitments agreed with Caribbean leaders. Burnham has opened the door, but what matters is whether he follows through.
“Statue of Edward Colston at the M Shed” by Adrian Boliston is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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