The race to succeed Sir Keir Starmer as Labour leader will not only crown Britain's next Prime Minister; it could also reshape one of the most disputed foreign policy choices of recent times. As the contest gets under way, the man leading the Chagos Islands Government-in-Exile has gone straight to two of the front-runners, asking them to come clean about where they stand.
Misley Mandarin, Interim First Minister of the Chagos Islands Government-in-Exile, has addressed letters to Andy Burnham and Al Carns, calling on each to declare his position on Sir Keir Starmer's plan to transfer the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
The appeals arrive as Labour readies itself to pick a replacement following Sir Keir's resignation. Party rules require MPs to nominate candidates first, after which the membership and affiliated supporters vote to install a new leader. Because Labour holds a Commons majority, whoever wins would walk into Number 10 without the country going to the polls.
For those who oppose the Chagos deal, the leadership race is a chance to shape the thinking of the next occupant of Downing Street.
Mr Mandarin wrote from Ile du Coin in the Chagos Islands, where he is living with five other Chagossians, among them his father, who was born there before the community was removed decades ago. From the islands he urged both politicians to rethink the Government's stance.
In his letter to Andy Burnham, Mr Mandarin wrote:
“As Britain enters a new political chapter, this issue presents an opportunity for fresh thinking and principled leadership.”
He maintained that the proposed deal threw up “fundamental questions about self-determination, national security and the responsible use of public money”, and he pressed any incoming government to reopen the policy.
He also asked whether it was right for Britain to give up sovereignty over land that hosts “one of the most important military facilities on Earth”, all while tying taxpayers into lease payments stretching across decades.
The Chagossian leader reminded Mr Burnham that those with the most at stake had never been consulted on whether they wanted to stop being British.
“The Chagossian people have never been given a referendum. We have never been given a meaningful vote,” he wrote.
A parallel message went to Al Carns, the former Royal Marine and ex-Armed Forces Minister, whose recent interventions have dwelt on national resilience, defence and strategic government.
Writing to Mr Carns, he said:
“As a former Royal Marine and former Minister for the Armed Forces, few people are better placed than you to understand the strategic importance of the Chagos Islands and Diego Garcia.”
He pressed Mr Carns to set out how “paying billions of pounds to surrender sovereignty over British territory” could possibly bolster Britain's resilience or count as good value for the public purse.
Both letters underline that the Chagossian community backs the ongoing British and American military presence on Diego Garcia, insisting there is no clash between keeping the base running and honouring Chagossian rights.
Mr Mandarin writes that “a British Chagos, a secure Diego Garcia and a resettled Chagossian community would be a success story for Britain, for the United States and for the Chagossian people.”
One idea binds both letters together: that any durable settlement must rest on self-determination.
“The solution is simple,” Mr Mandarin concludes.
“Ask the Chagossians. Let us vote. Let us decide.”
His intervention coincides with our own. The Great British PAC, which has led the charge against the Chagos agreement through campaigning and backing for legal challenges, is likewise pressing the Labour contenders for answers.
Claire Bullivant, the PAC's Chief Executive, has written separately to Mr Burnham and Mr Carns, asking each to spell out his view on the proposed transfer, the future of Diego Garcia, the bill facing British taxpayers, and whether the Chagossian people ought to be given a referendum before any handover of sovereignty.
Campaigners reckon the question could prove an early measure of how would-be Labour leaders plan to set themselves apart from Sir Keir Starmer's record.
Critics of the deal have attacked it on several fronts: its forecast long-term cost, the consequences for British sovereignty and national security, and the failure to put the matter to the Chagossian people in a referendum. Its defenders counter that it is meant to settle the long-running sovereignty row while keeping the UK-US base on Diego Garcia in operation.
As Labour moves towards choosing a new leader, campaigners want the contest to force candidates to say openly whether they would stick with the current approach or take a different road.
For Mr Mandarin, writing from the islands his family once called home, the matter could not be plainer.
If Britain's next Prime Minister is to decide the fate of the Chagos Islands, he argues, the British public and the Chagossian people alike deserve to know exactly where each candidate stands before that decision is taken.
First Minister Misley Mandarin's letter to Andy Burnham is reproduced in full below:
