UK may apologise for slave trade but rules out reparations

Chancellor John Healey has said that any UK apology for Britain’s historic role in the transatlantic slave trade will not lead to financial reparations. According to The Guardian, he made the comments on Sunday as the government considers a formal apology ahead of a meeting with Commonwealth leaders.

What happened

The debate began when Prime Minister Andy Burnham, writing ahead of the Commonwealth meeting, said Britain needed to “acknowledge its complicated history”. The Guardian reports that he is open to issuing an apology over the country’s role in the slave trade. Caribbean leaders welcomed the move as a “significant development”.

On BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, filmed inside No 11 Downing Street, Kuenssberg pointed to the gilt chandelier and said many Commonwealth countries believe Britain’s wealth “came off the back of slavery”. Healey replied that the prime minister was open to “a discussion about an apology” but “doesn’t believe that reparations are the right approach”. He argued that considering a formal apology “doesn’t mean accepting that British people now should accept the financial liability” for events hundreds of years ago in which they had no role.

The opposition parties are split. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch rejected the idea outright. She dismissed the discussion as “naval gazing” and asked: “When will the demands stop? What about if they ask for it next year? How many apologies are needed?” She also said Britain had already apologised, citing Tony Blair. The Guardian notes that Blair’s statements in 2006 and 2007 expressed “deep sorrow and regret” and called the trade a “crime against humanity” but stopped short of a formal apology. King Charles also avoided an explicit apology earlier this week, partly because of concerns that a formal apology could open the door to legal and financial claims.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey told Sky News that “we should have that debate”, adding: “If you’ve done something wrong, I have no problem for apologising.” Like Healey, he ruled out reparations. He argued instead for UK aid and development support for poorer countries.

The Guardian sets out the history behind the row. For almost 250 years, from the 1560s to 1807, British ships trafficked more than three million enslaved African men, women and children, with the backing of the monarchy and parliament. There were still 800,000 enslaved people on British plantations when parliament abolished slavery in 1833. Abolition came with compensation paid to the enslavers, funded by a loan that was only paid off in 2015. Britain has never paid compensation to the people who were enslaved or to their countries.

The Register of British Slave Traders, published last month after a three-year project by specialist historians, adds further detail. According to The Guardian, it shows that a series of kings and queens led and invested in the trade, that more than 100 MPs and more than 1,000 women invested in slave-trading companies, and that 45 Church of England clergymen invested in the Royal African Company.

Why it matters if you live in United Kingdom

For residents with roots in the Caribbean, Africa or elsewhere in the Commonwealth, this is the first time in years that a UK government has openly considered a formal apology. The Guardian reports that successive governments have refused to apologise, arguing that the slave trade was not against the law at the time. A change of position would be significant, although all three main party leaders who spoke on Sunday rejected cash reparations.

The same interviews also covered the economy, and some of that matters for residents’ finances. Healey repeated the government’s commitment to spend 3% of GDP on defence. He indicated that savings would come from welfare, which the Office for Budget Responsibility has warned could cost £100 billion a year by the end of the decade. He said the “overall bill will come down under Labour” and that “we’ll start the changes next year”, but did not say which measures would be used. Workers and families who receive benefits should look out for those details.

Voters will notice that the Conservatives have set out a different plan. Badenoch said her party had found £70 billion in savings, “the bulk” of it from welfare, along with a smaller civil service and cuts to departments such as Culture, Media and Sport. She defended the Tory policy of scrapping inheritance tax on family homes. She also said that under her leadership the Conservatives would not rejoin the EU, and criticised what she called Burnham’s “fantasies about redoing the referendum”.

What to watch next

The next step is Burnham’s meeting with Commonwealth leaders. Watch whether the government moves from discussing an apology to issuing one, and whether the wording is a full formal apology or something closer to the expressions of regret used in the past. Caribbean governments have welcomed the shift, and The Guardian says the new register will add weight to a growing international campaign for apologies and reparatory justice. That pressure will probably continue even though ministers have ruled out payments.

At home, Healey has promised welfare changes starting next year without giving details. Expect continued pressure from the opposition and broadcasters for specifics on timing and on who will be affected.

Source: The Guardian