Weakening Commonwealth needs dose of ambition

The largest-ever public consultation on the future of the Commonwealth concludes with a call for bold reform and greater investment if the 54-member association is to avoid being marginalised in an increasingly crowded marketplace. ‘An Uncommon Association, A Wealth of Potential’, the final report of the Commonwealth Conversation, is published today to coincide with annual Commonwealth Day celebrations around the world. Click here to download a summary of the final recommendations or the full report.

Once a major player on the world stage, the report argues that the association has neither the clout nor the resources to fulfil its potential. Its official institutions, charged with promoting development and democracy across its member states, have a workforce half a percent of the United Nations and an annual budget one percent of that of the UK Department for International Development. The Secretariat’s budget has dropped by 21 percent in real terms within the last twenty years, despite the number of Commonwealth members rising from 48 to 54.

The report also argues that additional funding will be no panacea. The association is perceived as failing to live out its values and principles. Bolder leadership, more ambition and innovation, and a better use of its unique strengths will be crucial to long-term survival.

Run by The Royal Commonwealth Society between July 2009 and March 2010, the Commonwealth Conversation gathered the opinions of tens of thousands of people through a range of methods including a website, opinion polling, surveys, events and online focus groups. Its final report contains ten recommendations for the whole Commonwealth “family”:

1. The Commonwealth must “walk the talk” on the values and principles it claims to stand for.  
2. The Commonwealth needs stronger leadership if it is to have a meaningful voice on world affairs.  
3. The Commonwealth is often seen as anachronistic and fusty. It needs to become bolder and much more innovative in the ways that it works. 
4. To attract more investment and correct misperceptions of being largely ceremonial, the Commonwealth needs to prove its worth by measuring and demonstrating its impact. 
5. The Commonwealth must stop spreading its limited resources too thinly and instead identify and exploit its unique strengths.  
6. Greater investment is needed if the Commonwealth is to fulfil its potential.
7. The Commonwealth is a complex association. It must clearly communicate its identity, purpose and achievements in an accessible way.
8. Lengthy Commonwealth communiqués and statements appear unfocused and unattainable. They must be used to set priorities.
9. The Commonwealth is as much an association of peoples as it is of governments. The interaction between the two requires significant improvement.
10. The Commonwealth is often seen as elitist. It must reach wider, become less insular and engage beyond narrow Commonwealth circles.    

Director of the Royal Commonwealth Society, Dr Danny Sriskandarajah said:

“The Commonwealth needs a bold 21^st century makeover. At its founding, Nehru had ambitious hopes that the Commonwealth could bring a “touch of healing” to the world. But, today, the Secretariat’s annual budget is less than what British people spend daily on health and beauty products.

More money will help, but to fulfil its potential, the Commonwealth must make more innovative use of its resources and networks. I hope the results of this consultation will act as the catalyst for change.”

DOWNLOAD Press Release

DOWNLOAD Summary Recommendations

DOWNLOAD FULL REPORT: An Uncommon Association, A Wealth of Potential

DOWNLOAD ‘Common What?’, Emerging Findings of the Commonwealth Conversation

View Final Director’s Blog

After an intense few weeks, we are delighted to publish the emerging findings of the Commonwealth Conversation. In this report we say that the Commonwealth must be bold to halt its declining profile, and to do this must focus on three Ps: Principles, Priorities and People. You can download Common What? here, and see the full press release below.

Commonwealth must be bold to halt declining profile

As world leaders gather for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), a new global public consultation shows that the association risks fading into irrelevance unless leaders take bold action.

Conducted to mark the association’s 60^th anniversary, The Commonwealth Conversation has so far engaged tens of thousands of people across almost all of its 53 member states via online and offline activities.

The emerging findings of the Conversation are published today by the Royal Commonwealth Society in a report entitled “Common What?”.

The report presents evidence that the Commonwealth has a worryingly low profile amongst the public and many policymakers. Less than one third of people in the Commonwealth could name anything the association does and the majority of those could cite only the Commonwealth Games. Many policymakers who took part in the consultation struggled to identify any area in which the Commonwealth clearly and distinctively adds value. Those working within Commonwealth organisations seem frustrated that the association is being neglected by member governments and lacks an ambitious vision for its future.

Research for the Conversation suggests that the Commonwealth is more often valued by Anglophiles and those who are nostalgic for an imperial past, than those committed to the internationalist values of the association. The report suggests that rebuilding the Commonwealth’s profile is a critical and urgent challenge. It recommends a renewed focus on:

1. Principles. There is widespread confusion about what the Commonwealth stands for today. Adherence to the values it purports to uphold is patchy at best. Its principles must be re-articulated in a way that captures public imagination, clearly distinguishes the Commonwealth from other international bodies, and directly informs its work in meaningful ways.
2. Priorities. While the Commonwealth does good work in many areas, it is seen as spreading itself too thinly, diluting its impact and identity. There are consistent calls for it to focus on where it can add value in a crowded international marketplace of organisations. The Commonwealth must identify and deploy its unique strengths if it is to thrive in the 21^st century.
3. People. The Commonwealth’s network of civil society organisations is unparalleled. Yet, many of these bodies urgently need to engage a younger generation or risk dying out. They must become more innovative, more coordinated and better-resourced.

Dr Danny Sriskandarajah, Director of the Royal Commonwealth Society, said: “This is a wake up call for the Commonwealth. After 60 years of fantastic work, the Commonwealth has to choose between quietly retiring or boldly revitalising itself for the 21^st century. Leaders meeting in Trinidad this week need to do more than issue long communiqués. They need to convince a new generation unfamiliar with the Commonwealth that this association can tackle global challenges in a meaningful way.”

Among thousands of contributions to the Conversation, the following said:

Rt Hon. Malcom Fraser, former Prime Minister of Australia: “If the Commonwealth is to survive as an effective organisation, it should not be shy and retiring.”

Dame Kelly Holmes, President of Commonwealth Games England: “I think the Commonwealth isn’t known that much to the younger generation. We need to talk about the Commonwealth in a more positive light.”

Imran Khan, Pakistani cricketer and politician: “[The Commonwealth] is a historical thing but I don’t know if it is of any direct benefit to Pakistan. It should be more of an effective forum.”

H.E. Kalonzo Musyoka, Vice President of Kenya: “We don’t hear the voice of the Commonwealth loud enough. It is a very well established body but I do feel that it needs a sense of renewal.”

Notes to Editors

Commonwealth Conversation: On 20 July 2009, the RCS launched the ‘Commonwealth Conversation’, the largest-ever public consultation on the future of the Commonwealth. The centrepiece of the Commonwealth Conversation is an open, interactive website to host discussions and invite ideas. (www.thecommonwealthconversation.org) The Conversation has also involved:

• Nationally representative opinion polls in 7 Commonwealth countries with a combined sample of 6,200
• Over 30,000 visits to the website from almost all Commonwealth countries (and 100+ other countries)
• 1,500+ comments via the website, email and post
• Surveys of more than 1,250 people, including key opinion leaders, in over 40 countries
• Almost 70 events in 21 Commonwealth countries across all regions involving some 2,600 people
• Extensive media coverage, including 15 op-ed pieces in leading national newspapers around the Commonwealth
• 8 expert groups on key aspects of the Commonwealth’s work
• Bespoke online focus groups involving young people from around the Commonwealth

DOWNLOAD COMMON WHAT?

Contacts:

For all media enquiries, please contact Joanna Bennett on +1 868 374 4355 and joanna.bennett@thercs.org.

RCS Headquarters, London: Mr Alex Try, conversation@thercs.org, +44 (0)20 7766 9235; 25 Northumberland Avenue, London WC2N 5AP, UK.

Activist Peter Tatchell tells the Commonwealth Conversation that the criminalisation of homosexuality is not consistent with the Commonwealths values of human rights and democracy.

Tatchell gained international celebrity for his attempted citizens arrest of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe in 1999 and 2001 on charges of torture and other human rights abuses.

Transcript:

Over 70 countries still criminalise homosexuality in all circumstances, with penalties ranging from a few years jail to life imprisonment and even execution.

More than half of these countries are members of the Commonwealth, and their anti-gay laws were originally imposed on those nations during the period of British colonial rule. They are not authentic national laws, they are imposed by imperialism.

I find it very strange that these now independent nations have retained the anti-gay laws that were imposed upon them by their former colonial masters. That is not consistent with national sovereignty and independence.

It?s also quite shocking that these countries have these homophobic laws because the Commonwealth is committed to democracy and human rights.

Persecuting and discriminating against citizens because of their sexuality or gender identification is not consistent with human rights. Moreover, all of these countries have signed international human rights declarations, pledging to observe equal treatment and non-discrimination. And those international instruments do not discriminate. They say that everyone in every country is entitled to equal rights and protection against discrimination.

Yet, in so many Commonwealth countries, we find that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people are consistently and often viciously persecuted.

In a country like Uganda, male homosexuality is punishable by life imprisonment. In Nigeria it’s 14 years hard labour. And in the Islamic areas gay people can be stoned to death. In Jamaica it’s 10 years hard labour. In Malaysia it’s up to 20 years imprisonment.

These laws are all relics of colonialism. They are from the 19^th century. They have no place in a modern 21^st century state - and I just hope the Commonwealth will recognise that action needs to be taken so that all its member states conform to the principles or democracy and human rights. That they all give their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens full equality before the law.

We are not saying they should approve of homosexuality; we are not saying they should endorse, or encourage it - we are simply saying do not persecute your gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender citizens.

Rev Rowland Jide Macaulay, Director and Founder of the House Of Rainbow has responded to Tatchell’s comments:

To coincide with the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Trinidad and Tobago – Peter Tatchell has written an open letter to the Commonwealth Secretary General, lamenting the state of LGBTI rights in the Commonwealth.

Your Excellency,

Warmest greetings!

I am writing to inquire what the Commonwealth is doing to defend the human rights of millions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Commonwealth citizens who are sufffering great persecution on account of their sexuality and gender variance and identity.

Sadly, I can find no evidence that senior Commonwealth leaders are doing anything significant and public, despite the fact that many Commonwealth member states are actively persecuting their LGBT citizens with oppressive, discriminatory laws, which result in grave human rights violations, including arrest, torture, rape, imprisonment and extra-judicial murder.

This homophobic and transphobic persecution is in breach of international humanitarian law.

As Comonwealth Secretary-General, you are entrusted to defend and promote the Commonwealth’s humanitarian values.

What action do you propose to take at the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Trinidad and Tobago from 27 to 29 November, to address the issue of homophobic and transphobic persecution by Commonwealth member states?

I appeal to you to take a stand for justice and equality – to show true leadership and make your mark for human rights.

During your keynote speech, and in other CHOGM forums, I respectfully request you to:

1. Make it clear that the Commonwealth’s commitment to human rights includes respect for the human rights of LGBT people, and that persecution on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity violates the Commonwealth principles of equality and non-discrimination and violates the principles of universal human rights, as enshrined in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

2. Call on Commonwealth member states to end the criminalisation of homosexuality, protect LGBT people against discrimination, harassment and violence, and recognise and consult with LGBT welfare and human rights organisations.

In particular, I request you to lobby the government of Uganda to withdraw the new Anti-Homosexuality Bill and cease its attacks on the human rights of LGBT Ugandans.

I regret that I need to make these requests. I realise that you have not been long in your post. But I hope that having had these issues drawn to your attention you will rise to the challenge and pursue them.

Some of the key principles of the Commonwealth are equality, non-discrimination, opportunity for all, liberty of the individual and human dignity.
http://www.thecommonwealth.org/Internal/191086/191247/the_commonwealth/
http://www.thecommonwealth.org/files/36123/FileName/harare.pdf

In the case of LGBT people, these principles are routinely violated by nearly all Commonwealth countries. They are violated with impunity and without rebuke by the leaders of the Commonwealth.

I am surprised that the Commonwealth’s most senior figures, such as yourself, are not, as far as I know, doing anything serious to dissuade the many member states which continue to outlaw consenting adult same-sex relations, which take no action against homophobic and transphobic violence, which deny gay and bisexual men safer sex education and HIV advice, and which fail to give LGBT people protection against discrimination in jobs, housing, education, health care and provision of good and services.

It is extremely disappointing that the Commonwealth leadership appears to not regard LGBT rights as human rights and that it has neglected to protect LGBT citizens in the Commonwealth family of nations. This inaction is de facto collusion with victimisation.

Around 80 countries worldwide continue to outlaw homosexuality, with penalties ranging from one year’s jail to life imprisonment – and even execution. More than half of these countries were former British colonies. Most are members of the Commonwealth.

Of the 53 Commonwealth member states, over 40 still criminalise same-sex relations, mostly under anti-gay laws that were originally imposed by the British government in the nineteenth century, during the period of colonial rule. These homophobic colonialist laws, which were retained after independence, are wrecking the lives of LGBT people throughout the Commonwealth. They criminalise otherwise law-abiding citizens and contribute to a hostile social atmosphere which demonises LGBT people as unnatural, abnormal and criminal. This renders LGBT people liable to blackmail, imprisonment, mob violence, rejection by their families, excommunication from their faith, eviction from their homes, dismissal from their jobs and this makes them high risk for depression, mental illness and suicide. Such rampant bigotry and ill-treatment of other human beings is a stain on the Commonwealth.

One of the worst current examples of a homophobic Commonwealth country is Uganda.
The Anti-Homosexuality Bill, currently under consideration by the Ugandan parliament, proposes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality…(and) serial offenders,” including same-sex acts involving people with HIV.
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/697859

It imposes a sentence of life imprisonment for merely touching a person with the intent to have homosexual relations. Membership of gay organisations and funding for them, advocacy of gay human rights and the provision of condoms or safer sex advice to gay people will result in up to seven years jail for “promoting” homosexuality. Failing to report violators to the police within 24 hours will incur three years behind bars. Astonishingly, the new legislation will also apply to Ugandans who commit these ‘crimes’ while living abroad, in countries where such behaviour is not a criminal offence.

See this appeal against the bill by Human Rights Watch and other human rights defenders:
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/10/15/uganda-anti-homosexuality-bill-threatens-liberties-and-human-rights-defenders

See this briefing by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission:
http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/article/takeaction/globalactionalerts/989.html

The Ugandan bill violates the equality and non-discrimination provisions of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Uganda is a signatory. These breaches of international humanitarian commitments set a dangerous precedent which undermines the right to privacy and to individual liberty and thereby threatens the human rights of all Ugandans.
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/z1afchar.htm
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr.htm

The Anti-Homosexuality Bill has been condemned by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, International Commission of Jurists and the World AIDS Campaign.

This legislation is, however, merely the latest in a series of state-sponsored persecutions of LGBT Ugandans, often at the behest of Christian leaders who are aided and funded by right-wing evangelical churches in the US.

Typical is what happened to gay rights advocate Kizza Musinguzi. He was jailed in 2004 and subjected to four months of forced labour, water torture, beatings and rape.

Any Ugandan who speaks out against anti-gay violence faces dire consequences. A heterosexual Anglican bishop, Christopher Ssenyonjo, was expelled from the Church of Uganda for defending the human rights of LGBT people.

In recent years, the Ugandan government has passed a law banning same-sex civil marriage, fined Radio Simba for broadcasting a discussion of LGBT issues, and expelled a UN AIDS agency director for meeting with LGBT campaigners.

Similar homophobic persecution is happening in other Commonwealth nations, including Nigeria and The Gambia, where President Yahya Jammeh has called for sexual cleansing. He has promised “stricter laws than Iran” on homosexuality, and has begun his witchunt by ordering gay people to leave the country and threatening to “cut off the head” of any homosexual who remains. It is truly shocking that the Commonwealth leadership has not condemned such murderous threats.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7416536.stm

While I realise that you are very busy, I would be most grateful if you could respond to my appeal for your intervention before the commencement of CHOGM.

Wishing you a successful CHOGM.

Yours faithfully,

Peter Tatchell

OutRage! – The LGBT Human Rights Campaign – London, UK

Human Rights Spokesperson for the Green Party of England & Wales

My favourite is a provocative piece by Professor David Flint from Australians for a Constitutional Monarchy. Although he gets some things about our poll wrong (you can find the questions we actually asked here), he nevertheless raises some important points about the relationship between the Monarchy and the Commonwealth.

I’ve also now written an opinion piece in ‘The Age’ on Friday 24 July …

“Australia has traditionally been a big supporter of the Commonwealth, from the Commonwealth Games to funding development projects to leading political campaigns. Yet Australians seem divided about its relevance.

It’s worth noting that Australians seem well informed but one in five say they would be happy if Australia left the Commonwealth, more than double the average of the other countries polled. And, just to complicate things, Australia was the only country polled where Prince Charles was the most popular choice for the next head of the Commonwealth. Everywhere else the clear winner was a headship that rotated between members.

The obvious explanation for Australia’s approach is how divided the country remains on the issue of a republic. Presumably a hard core of people love the Commonwealth for its ties to royalty, while a similarly sized group hate it for the same reasons. The problem is that both groups are equally out of touch with the reality of what the modern Commonwealth is…”

Read the full article: At 60, this grand old dame is in desperate need of a makeover

What do you think?

Despite being a founding member, supplying the association’s first secretary-general and continuing to be one of its major funders, Canada seems to have fallen out of love with the Commonwealth. Less than a quarter of Canadians could name anything the Commonwealth does, and only a third would be upset if Canada withdrew its membership…”

READ THE FULL ARTICLE ON THE GLOBE AND MAIL WEBSITE.

And then let me know what you think below.

UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs David Miliband and RCS Director Danny Sriskandarajah launch the Commonwealth Conversation at the RCS, 20 July 2009, London The Foreign Secretary said that in a crowded field of international organisations, “clear direction, identity and purpose is at a premium. And the search for greater focus in all three domains is at the heart of this Conversation – to engage not just governments but other opinion formers, media and civil society – and of course a wide range of citizens – across all 53 members, on the role of the Commonwealth for the future…”

“My theme for this Conversation is simple: more common, more wealth. With more common action and common effort, greater unity of focus and collective effort, we can and will create more wealth, not just in the narrow, material sense but in terms of our cultural and social diversity, in terms of the rich tapestry of our lives. Even at sixty, demographics makes the Commonwealth one of the youngest international organisations. So let this Conversation show that sixty is the new forty, and set this organisation on the road to an active and effective middle age.”

Read the full text of the Foreign Secretary’s speech here:

MORE COMMON, MORE WEALTH: NEXT STEPS FOR THE COMMONWEALTH (RCS, 20 JULY 2009)

Watch highlights of the Foreign Secretary’s speech here:

The Foreign Secretary used the event to launch an FCO policy paper on the Commonwealth:

TWO BILLION VOICES: Shaping the Future of the Commonwealth

In his presentation to a packed auditorium, RCS Director Danny Sriskandarajah said that opinion polls about the Commonwealth in seven countries, unveiled today to mark the launch, showed “worrying levels of indifference, ignorance and imbalance.” Indifference because while people do not feel animosity towards the Commonwealth, they don’t tend to get passionate about it. Ignorance because most people know little about the work of the association. And imbalance because the Commonwealth is far more popular in developing than developed members.

“This makes the vision of the Conversation – to engage as widely as possible with the Commonwealth’s peoples about the future of their association – both crucial and timely”, said Dr Sriskandarajah.

DOWNLOAD THE PRESS RELEASE ABOUT POLL FINDINGS

DOWNLOAD A BROCHURE ABOUT THE COMMONWEALTH CONVERSATION

Audio Recordings

LISTEN TO DR DANNY SRISKANDARAJAH’S SPEECH

LISTEN TO RT. HON. DAVID MILIBAND’S SPEECH

Before we started a big conversation about the future of the Commonwealth, we at the RCS thought we’d first find out what people know and think about it. And wanting to be thorough, we commissioned nationally representative surveys in seven countries: Australia, Canada, Great Britain, India, Jamaica, Malaysia, and South Africa. The results are just in!

They make for difficult reading for those of us interested in promoting the Commonwealth. It seems that, while there is support for the Commonwealth, especially in developing members, not many people know much about what the Commonwealth is or does.

It’s fantastic news that Indians are more likely to value the Commonwealth than America or South Asia, and South Africans value it more than Africa. But its very worrying that only a third of Australians or Canadians would be upset if their country left the association or that a quarter of Jamaicans think that President Barack Obama is the head of the Commonwealth!

Details of what the polls found and our press release can be found here:

COMMONWEALTH POLL RESULTS

These provide a good snapshot of where we are in terms of public opinion, but they do not give us much detail about why people think what they do, nor do they provide ideas about how to improve the Commonwealth’s profile and relevance. That’s what this Conversation is for!

Please take a look around this website, get involved, and help us find the ideas and answers!?

Watch UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs David Miliband emphasise the importance of engaging with the Commonwealth’s two billion people about the future of their association.

Q: Foreign Secretary, you’ve got lots of foreign policy challenges on your table. Where does the Commonwealth add value to you? (Danny Sriskandarajah, Director of the Royal Commonwealth Society)

Miliband: I think the Commonwealth is a unique soft power institution. We live in a world of shared risks, where the problems of terrorism, climate change and instability spread from one country to another, from one region to another. One of the problems of the modern world is the lack of effective strong international institutions. In the main those are going to be institutions with formal power, but I’m a great believer that you need soft power as well as hard power and the Commonwealth, by virtue of its unique membership – north, east, south and west, all races, all religions, all regions – I think can be an effective soft power institution, that at the minimum helps to spread understanding and at its best will promote common action.

Q: So what’s your interest in the Commonwealth Conversation? Why launch it?

Miliband: Well there are two billion people out there who are members of the Commonwealth family, and I don’t think we’ve done a good enough job at engaging them, talking to them about the future of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth was founded on the basis on strong shared values: it does have a potentially unique role in bringing cultures and countries together, but it needs to prove its worth with real focus, real drive and real determination in some important areas. I think that can’t just be done by the elites of the Commonwealth, it needs to be driven forward by a sense of eagerness and engagement on a rather wider scale. That’s why I welcome not just the substance of the Conversation that we’re going to have but the process as well.

Q: What do you hope that the Commonwealth Conversation itself achieves?

Miliband: I think at the end of this the Commonwealth needs to have more focus, more drive and more engagement. It needs more people to know what it’s about, it needs to have a stronger sense itself of what it’s about and it needs to have a clear view of how its going to engage with its membership.

Q: This is a public consultation but do you have a personal view on what you think the Commonwealth should be focusing on? What are the sorts of issues and what are the sorts of key areas that the Commonwealth should be focusing on in the 21^st century?

Miliband: Well I think it’s always good to go back to your strengths and then ask how you deploy them. Big strength number one is the values of the Commonwealth. So I think my starting point would be that the first priority I would highlight is the ability of the Commonwealth to turn its fine words about democracy and the rule of law into action in all of its countries, so that’s a USP.

The second big strength is the breadth of the Commonwealth – the big issue that affects every part of the world whatever your race or your religion, for me is climate change. So I would secondly put climate change up there as a big issue, as a big priority.

Thirdly, you’ve got to ask yourself about the problems of misunderstanding that exist around the world – what’s going to be the answer to that? Well, you may defend nations with armies but you advance a civilisation through education. And so I think that educational mission is very, very important for the Commonwealth.

But my top three aren’t necessarily the top three that are going to end up at the end of this Conversation. And I think that’s an important part of this process and I hope that there’ll be challenge for those ideas. But where I do think we’re right is to say that unless an organisation has focus it will not have the distinctive pull it needs in the modern world.

Q: And finally, how useful will the findings from this Conversation be to you and the Prime Minister when you head to Trinidad and Tobago for the Commonwealth summit at the end of the year?

Miliband: Well the truth is we don’t know, we don’t know how useful they?ll be – that partly depends on how many people engage. If it doesn’t engage enough people then the use is reduced: if it’s not significantly challenging then the use is reduced. But I hope and I anticipate that we’ll be able to go, the Prime Minister and I, to the Commonwealth Heads of Government conference armed with a greater sense of both the misperceptions and the anticipations that people have for the Commonwealth.

The affection, I think, is there and we’ve got to turn that affection into a sense of commitment and engagement. Not for reasons of nostalgia, although nostalgia has its place, but I think more importantly for reasons of common future. So that’s why I think the idea ‘more common, more wealth’, is not a bad place to start and hopefully end this conversation.