Starmer and Lammy invited to hear demands for eye-watering payouts – with Foreign Secretary’s Guyanese roots sparking hopes he’ll be sympathetic to cause
A high-powered Caribbean delegation is heading to Westminster next week with one eye-watering demand – that Britain coughs up trillions of pounds in slavery reparations.
The group of activists and academics will be given the red carpet treatment by Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy, who’s throwing open Parliament’s doors for what could be the most expensive conversation in British history.
Both Sir Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy have received personal invitations to the July 2 showdown at Portcullis House, with campaigners hoping Lammy’s Guyanese heritage might make him more receptive to their cause.
The trillion pound question
After years of Conservative governments flatly refusing to even discuss the issue, reparations campaigners sense a potential changing of the tide under Labour.
The delegation, backed by Irish billionaire Denis O’Brien’s Repair Campaign, arrives fresh from Brussels and ready to present their case for why Britain owes astronomical sums for its historical role in the slave trade.
While exact figures remain under wraps, previous estimates have suggested reparations could run into the trillions – a sum that would dwarf Britain’s entire annual budget.
Lammy’s dilemma
All eyes will be on David Lammy, whose Guyanese roots have made him a particular target for campaigners’ hopes.
The Foreign Secretary has already hinted at a softer stance than his Tory predecessors, suggesting reparations don’t necessarily need to be “cash transfers” but could include “other forms of non-financial reparatory justice.”
Sources suggest Lammy was planning to host a “Caricom forum” to hear submissions about reparations, though this has reportedly been pushed back – perhaps as the government realises the political minefield it’s walking into.
From Samoa to Westminster
The pressure has been building since last year’s Commonwealth summit in Samoa, where Starmer found himself cornered on the issue after it was placed on the official agenda.
Britain ultimately signed off on a summit statement calling for “inclusive conversations” about reparations, addressing not just slavery but “chattel enslavement, dispossession of indigenous people, indentureship and colonialism.”
That diplomatic language is about to meet political reality in the corridors of Westminster.
The delegation arrives
Leading the charge will be top professors from the University of the West Indies, alongside O’Brien and his Repair Campaign colleagues.
Their statement pulls no punches: “The visit comes amid rising calls from Caribbean Governments for the UK and other European nations to engage with formal demands for reparations for slavery and its enduring impacts across the region.
Bell Ribeiro-Addy, who chairs Parliament’s African reparations campaign, is rolling out the welcome mat – a move that’s sure to raise eyebrows among colleagues worried about opening Pandora’s box.
The Caricom connection
The Caribbean Community (Caricom), representing nations across the region, has been increasingly vocal in demanding European nations face up to their colonial past.
With coordinated campaigns targeting former colonial powers, they’re betting that shifting political winds might finally see their demands taken seriously.
The Brussels-to-London tour suggests a sophisticated lobbying operation designed to apply maximum pressure on European capitals.
Labour’s tightrope walk
For Starmer’s government, the visit presents an excruciating dilemma. Ignore the delegation and risk accusations of dismissing legitimate historical grievances. Engage too enthusiastically and face voter fury at the prospect of trillion-pound payouts while public services struggle.
The PM’s absence from the actual meetings – leaving Lammy and backbench MPs to face the music – speaks volumes about the political toxicity of the issue.
The money problem
With Britain facing economic challenges and tight public finances, any suggestion of massive reparations payments would be politically explosive.
Critics will argue that no one alive today was responsible for slavery, and that Britain led the way in abolishing the trade – points the delegation will need to counter.
But campaigners insist the “enduring impacts” of slavery justify compensation, setting up a clash that could define Labour’s approach to international relations.
What happens next?
Tuesday’s meetings at Portcullis House will be closely watched for any sign of Labour’s true position on reparations.
Will they stick to vague commitments about “inclusive conversations”? Or will the pressure from campaigners – and Lammy’s own heritage – push them toward more concrete commitments?
One thing’s certain: after years of closed doors under the Conservatives, the reparations movement has its foot firmly in Westminster’s door. Whether Labour lets them all the way in could be one of the most consequential decisions of Starmer’s premiership.
The trillion pound question remains: will Britain pay up for its past, or will history remain just that – history?
Afrikan Emancipation Day demonstration on Kennington Road, London
Photo by Jordiferrer, taken on 1 August 2017 at 14:14, used under the Creative Commons Attribution‑ShareAlike 4.0 International license
