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Tory MP suggests making the Falklands a ‘full UK nation like Wales’

24 Dec 2021 2 minute read
John Penrose MP. UK Parliament (CC 3.0)

A Tory MP has suggested making the Falklands a “full” UK nation like Wales.

John Penrose, who is chair of Conservative Policy Forum, has said the British Overseas Territory, which has a population of 3,400, could be given a “devolution settlement like Wales’s St David’s Day Agreement”, as well as its own MPs in Westminster.

In an article for the London-based right-wing news organisation, The Telegraph, he described Port Stanley in the Falklands, which has 2,460 inhabitants, applying for city status as a “brilliant idea”.

Penrose, who represents the constituency of Weston-Super-Mare, suggested that the islands were not a “faintly embarrassing piece of post-imperial afterglow, to be remembered with a twinge of guilt every time there’s a hurricane”.

He claimed that such a move could aid with with “fanning a post-imperial afterglow into a roaring, modern flame.”

The UK went to war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands, or Islas Malvinas in 1982 after they were invaded by the South American country.

In total, 649 Argentine and 255 British military personnel died in the conflict, which lasted 74 days.

‘Global nation’ 

John Penrose said: “Levelling-up could and should include them, just as much as any other part of the UK outside London and the South East. We’ve always been a global nation and we shouldn’t stop now.

“But why limit it to city status? Why not offer the Overseas Territories the chance to become full UK nations if they want, like Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland? They would each have a devolution settlement like Wales’s St David’s Day Agreement or Scotland’s Smith Commission, with a devolved government and Westminster MPs as well.”

He added: “So let’s not stop at city status: we can and should go much, much further than that, by fanning a post-imperial afterglow into a roaring, modern flame.”

Under the 2009 Constitution, the islands already have a form of full internal self-government. The UK is responsible for the Falklands’ foreign affairs, and retains the power “to protect UK interests and to ensure the overall good governance of the territory”.


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Grayham Jones
2 years ago

Now it’s time to kick all English party’s out of wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 it’s time for a new wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Geoff Horton-Jones
Geoff Horton-Jones
2 years ago

April the First is every day with this lot

hdavies15
hdavies15
2 years ago

These guys are specialists when it comes to churning out crackpot ideas. Next time they bicker with a foreign state they may find that NATO will tell them to sort themselves out and stop being so effin’ childish !

Wrexhamian
Wrexhamian
2 years ago
Reply to  hdavies15

Another fake name by our resident BritNat. “Danny Beanyknife” – annibynniaeth. Geddit?

Danny Beanyknife
Danny Beanyknife
2 years ago
Reply to  Wrexhamian

Ifan Morgan Jones doesn’t block users who call for children to he murdered

Only people who question his commentary base

Y Cymro
Y Cymro
2 years ago

Oh that’s nice. A territory stolen from Argentina by England located in the South Atlantic with one man and his penguin is put in the same breath as Wales and its ancient people whose history on this island is unimaginably vast. I assume this Tory twit’s idea, like with Wales, will mean the Conservatives when it can’t get its own way will spend its time interfering and campaigning later to abolish the Falkland Isle parliament. Inform its government Westminster is sovereign. Will cynically send countless Legislative Competency Orders to impose rule & regulations on its parliament before undemocratically taking back… Read more »

Last edited 2 years ago by Y Cymro
Cai Wogan Jones
Cai Wogan Jones
2 years ago
Reply to  Y Cymro

January 1833

Danny Beanyknife
Danny Beanyknife
2 years ago

You could do with reading that Wikipedia article in full.

Cai Wogan Jones
Cai Wogan Jones
2 years ago

I have studied the legalities of the competing claims to sovereignty very closely. As has the British government. They understand the weakness of their claim which is why they now found their claim on the principle of self-determination. Which is of course ludicrous for such a tiny settler population.

j humphrys
j humphrys
2 years ago

……………..and Beany goes back to his basket…………….

Y Cymro Lies
Y Cymro Lies
2 years ago
Reply to  Y Cymro

not true. no one had the falklands before the brits

Aubrey Roberts
Aubrey Roberts
2 years ago
Reply to  Y Cymro Lies

And the people who love there voted 99.9% to remain as an overseas territory.

Peter Worrall
Peter Worrall
2 years ago
Reply to  Y Cymro

Tory twit I can agree with, but ‘stolen from Argentina’? What rubbish – there was no Argentina when the Falklands were settled!

Jack Bryn
Jack Bryn
2 years ago

“Full UK nations…like Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland” What is wrong with England? Does Mr Penrose consider the country he represents to be a nation, and part of the UK, or not? Or, like so many of his fellow travellers is he arguing that somehow England must be placed above the aforementioned three. A strange perspective, but quite a common one.

Dave
Dave
2 years ago

I have to correct this Article, the assertion that the Telegraph is a “London-based right-wing news organisation” is to any fair minded person untrue. The writer should correct the Article to ” London-based EXTREME right-wing news organisation” for a more balanced view to prevail. 😉

Quornby
Quornby
2 years ago

Falklands can have our place….
We are leaving.

Welsh_Siôn
Welsh_Siôn
2 years ago

Just a reminder.

This person is currently Mr Dido Harding of “Test and Trace” infamy and was previously Mr Anne “What are the Welsh for?” Robinson.

Mab Meirion
Mab Meirion
2 years ago
Reply to  Welsh_Siôn

And the rest, he is in charge of selling off the NHS.

Sort of, if Dido was the NHS Mr Penrose would be her Trojan, Aeneas !

hdavies15
hdavies15
2 years ago
Reply to  Welsh_Siôn

Oh dear, not much good at picking partners is he ? There again the ladies must have been reaching into some sort of lucky dip !

Cai Wogan Jones
Cai Wogan Jones
2 years ago

When measuring how bizarre and crass this suggestion is, it is worth bearing in mind that the tiny community of British settlers is smaller than the population of Gwaun Cae Gurwen.

Welsh_Siôn
Welsh_Siôn
2 years ago

I think we’re missing a trick here.

The unionists are for ever saying that the likes of Scotland and Cymru are ‘too wee, too poor’ to be independent nations.

How come Islas Malvinas/Falkland Islands can be considered suitable for nationhood – given their population and economic situation? Surely aren’t the Islanders far more subsidy junkies from Westminster than either of us in Cymru and Scotland?

Hypocrisy thy name is Tory.

Michael
Michael
2 years ago
Reply to  Welsh_Siôn

The Falklands don’t receive any subsidy from the UK. The UK only contribute for the defence of the Islands because of what happened in 1982.

Ap Kenneth
Ap Kenneth
2 years ago

Parliamentary Constituency – The smallest permitted electorate in any constituency will be 69,724 and the largest 77,062. Falklands would get 1/20th of an MP, probably an arse. 🙂

Welsh_Siôn
Welsh_Siôn
2 years ago
Reply to  Ap Kenneth

Falklands would get 1/20th of an MP, probably an arse. 🙂

_________

The electorate of Ruislip and Uxbridge have a complete one. (Arse, I mean).

Marc
Marc
2 years ago

Perhaps they can charge the Falklands for HS2 it will benefit them as much as it does Wales

Steve Duggan
Steve Duggan
2 years ago

Yeah, then they can claim HS2 runs through there too!

Dafydd
Dafydd
2 years ago

So if they recognise the Falklands as a nation – what about Kernow / Cornwall?

One is 7.8 K miles away, the other is here on these very same Islands…

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