Britain must be heard to ‘feel’ the sorrow it claims about the past

As the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) comes to an end, it’s been quite striking to hear the nostrums Britain’s leaders have been offering to Caribbean nations to get them over the hump, so to speak, of the injustices of history. These would be slavery, colonialism etc.

As he headed to Samoa for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer recommended steadfastly looking “forward” rather than at the “past”.

A lengthier version of what Mr Starmer said is as follows: “Slavery is abhorrent … there’s no question about that. But I think from my point of view and taking the approach I’ve just taken, I’d rather roll up my sleeves and work with them on the current future-facing challenges than spend a lot of time on the past.”

It would be fair to sum that up as follows: Get over it.

As for Britain’s King Charles, also in Samoa for CHOGM, he has not been heard to move much beyond publicly expressing  “greatest sorrow and regret” at the “wrongdoings” of the colonial era. At a Commonwealth heads of government reception in Rwanda in 2022, Charles also spoke in more graphic terms about his own response to the practice of slavery.

To quote Charles more fully: “I cannot describe the depths of my personal sorrow at the suffering of so many, as I continue to deepen my own understanding of slavery’s enduring impact.”

It would be fair to sum that up as follows: I’ve gotten over it.

To be fair, the situation is really difficult for King Charles and his first minister, Keir Starmer.

• What can they really say without giving away the farm?

• Should Britain beggar itself in the effort to make huge reparations to the former colonies?

• Is it even fair to ask a country to atone for past misdeeds by selling out any chance of a decent future for its children?

• Don’t the British children of 2050 deserve the same sort of prospects as those in Barbados?

• Would that mean two wrongs and would that make it right?

The five questions above go to the economics of the matter. As for the heart of the matter, I’m not convinced that King Charles and his first minister are “feeling it”, to use Gen Z-speak.

Thus far, official British speak about slavery and the injustices of history has been couched in weasel words. You do not have to be a journalist, a writer, communications officer, PR person or even a politician, to recognise BS for what it is.

And that’s the problem. Britain must be heard to ‘feel’ the sorrow it claims about the wrongs of history. But first, it must feel the sorrow.