Commonwealth Free Trade Zone: A New World Order

A new dawn is arising across Britain. A light that was once extinguished, is now starting to flicker again and its warmth is filling people across the "Anglosphere" with hope, like never before. Millions of people are waking up to the idea, that it is time for a new Geo-political force, to act as the bringer of security, peace and prosperity to the world. It is time to unite the people of the Commonwealth Realms, through the Commonwealth Free Trade Zone and start a new epoch in Britain's history and global politics. 

In 1953, Queen Elizabeth II delivered her first address as Head of State, her Coronation speech. In her speech, Queen Elizabeth II laid out the ideals, that she believed should be the ideals of the second Elizabethan Age. During this speech, that embodies the ideals of our age and the desires of our Head of State, our Queen swears allegiance to those of the Commonwealth Realms and the British Empire. She speaks of the people of the many races, and lands, across all the seas of the world; different in origins and backgrounds united in Gods will through a political system and identity that championed parliaments, free speech, respect for the rights of minorities and was open and tolerant to a broad spectrum of thought. She speaks of the contribution, of those in the Commonwealth Realms and Britain's then overseas territories, as having had and continuing to make contributions in language, literature and action towards the growth of the political and social thought that sprung from the cold and windy British Isles but was now in an array of far flung climates and environments.

Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation speech lays out what I believe to be the fundamental elements of "Britishness" and the ideals that are central to British identity in the modern world. During her speech, HRH, maps out her future desires for her reign. In 1953, these desires were for Britain to pursue a strong relationship with those people across the world that made up the Commonwealth Realms and the then overseas territories of the British Empire. She imagined a post-racial, international community governed by the same aforementioned values, sharing the English language and political system as their own, without prejudice. 

During the 50's and 60's many of those that were once overseas territories of the British Empire sought independence and in the spirit of the values espoused by Queen Elizabeth II were granted their independence. After the many nations across Africa and the West-Indies became independent, Queen Elizabeth II sought to preserve the unity of the former nations of the British Empire, who through the actions of her ancestors had become intertwined. She sought to preserve these relationships through the Commonwealth, a new organisation that had been created in 1948 with those states in the Commonwealth Realms. Prior to the Coronation of HRH, the Commonwealth existed of the Realms and a few other nations that made 7 in total. In line with her stated goals, HRH pursued a path of unity and engaging with the former colonies, through an informal network relationship, in the new decolonised, post-colonial, Commonwealth. In her 65 years, HRH has consistently worked, to further the aims and goals of the Commonwealth and led the network to now consist of 52 nations, from 5 continents, representing more than 2 billion citizens across the world. The nations of the Commonwealth now include not only those nations of the Realms but those many nations that also have shared a historical relationship with Britain.

The legacy of the second Elizabethan Age will be the Commonwealth, as a powerful trans-global, post-racial network. A legacy that I believe that we should honour. But the goals of the second Elizabethan Age, set out by Queen Elizabeth II, have been colliding with another set of ideas that have led Britain's political class to abandon the ideals espoused by our Head of State in 1953, in favour of pursuing the mythological ideal of the European community. Whilst Queen Elizabeth II has worked diligently to pursue her beliefs the political class have undermined and derailed the noble goals that should define our age to join movements towards Pan-Europeanism. 

The European movement was developed in 1948 around the same period as the Commonwealth by Eurocrat's and members of Britain's political and philosophical class, that included Winston Churchill and Bertrand Russell.  The movement sought to mould the diverse linguistic, political, cultural and economic climates of Europe into a United States of Europe and was popular amongst those that sought ways to unify the European race after centuries of sporadic wars. At the time of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, there were two competing directions for the future of post-war Britain. The post-racial and trans-global Commonwealth or the mono-racial, Pan-European Movement that would develop the College of Europe and lay the foundations for the European Union. 

On her first public address to the nation, Queen Elizabeth II, clearly expressed a desire to pursue the Commonwealth as the future of Britain rather than the United States of Europe. Nowhere in her speech, did she thank Europe, or consider the nations of Europe to be her people. Instead, she spoke of those people far and wide who had adopted the British values, that she had so eloquently expressed. The pan-European experiment has been pushed forward by the political class that desire Presidency in the United States of Europe and a racialised bloc of European nations with protectionist policies that hold the nations of the developing and new world at bay. HRH, in her carefully worded Coronation speech, made no reference to a desire to pursue the ideal of racial unity amongst European nations, but sought to pursue the ideal of the trans-racial Commonwealth as the path to Britain's greatest success and most robust friendships. 

Since 1953, the political ideal inspired by the ambitions of the self-proclaimed "Father of the nation" Winston Churchill, for a European super-state, perhaps where he would be President and finally usurp the Monarch's power, have come to dominate the political landscape with those seeking to pursue the ideals of HRH cast as eccentric outsiders seeking to make Britain a "little England". The false narrative that those who are supporters of the EU are a bastion of liberal open-mindedness and internationalism, whilst those who seek to fulfil the ideals of the second Elizabethan Age, are close-minded bigots, has led many to dismiss ideas of a more traditional future in line with Britain' past and the stated goals of the Monarch as even racist. The false narrative means that many do not know of the great trans-global, post-racial dream of our Monarch and consider rejection of the United States of Europe as racist, when in fact according to racial science, European's are considered to be the same race. The false narrative has deliberately sought to undermine the post-racial position as a rerun of the British Empire when that has not been the argument put before us. 

The domination of Eurocrat's in the British political class and the media, has led to the diligent work of Queen Elizabeth II of building and maintaining strong relationships with the many people across the seas, in the realms and the Commonwealth network, being hidden from the public view and the public consciousness. But today, many are waking up to the conspiracy of the political and media class to suppress the noble efforts of the Monarch and the stated ideals of the second Elizabethan Age that defined the nation in 1953. Many are now accepting the truth...

The Commonwealth Realms of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and those nations referred to as the West Indies, share a symbolic Head of State and are unified in language, political culture, legal systems and values. We have a shared political history of being nations of the British Empire and the face of Queen Elizabeth II appears on money across these nations. The people of the Commonwealth Realms have much in common but our Pan-European dream dictated by the political class has led us to neglect the deep and wide political, cultural and linguistic relationship between the nations of the Commonwealth Realms in pursuit of the European Union. 

Many have styled the Commonwealth Realms as a relic of the past and have considered the pursuit of those relationships to be a rerun of the British Empire, but what we desire is not a relic of the past but a new era pf post-colonial unity between those, that through an accident of history, now have histories and I believe futures that are intertwined. Whilst some consider the loss of membership of the EU to be a pathway towards "little England", we believe that it is the neglect of the deep and wide relationship with our kith and kin of the Commonwealth Realms, that span across continents and regions, that will lead to Britain's demise as "little England". 

Many argue that the EU is what gives Britain it's power in the world but the power of Britain comes from the expansion of British values from the British Isles to what has been called the "New World". The expansion of Britain to continents and regions across the world, that share our Head of State and where our shared Head of State is the face of our currencies is the basis of Britain's power in the world and not the EU. It is the expansion of Britain' values and political system beyond the windy isles of Britain and the European coast to the "New World" that gives Britain its historical prestige in the world and makes us the envy of European nations. Today, that expansion of the past has allowed Britain to extend way beyond mainland Europe to continents across the world where we can seek to expand our civilisation with others who share our values and language. That expansion of the past, has allowed us now, to have the ability to be free of the threat of war with our European neighbours, something that has been an integral and horrible part of the relationship between Britain and it's European neighbours in the past. The inclusion of British citizens in a new Geo-political space that extends to underpopulated continents across the world, transports Britain from it's neighbours to a new space unhampered by the threat of war. By deepening the relationships with the Commonwealth Realms, Britain and the Commonwealth Realms can become a bastion of liberal, post-racial thought and politics, that invites the world to build a civilisation to astonish the world that builds on the liberal, human rights and post-racial values of our Queen, Queen Elizabeth II.

Today, we must build the Commonwealth Free Trade Zone across the 5 regions of the Commonwealth Realms. We must make the possibilities open for free movement for the citizens of all the nations of the zone. The Commonwealth Free Trade Zone will link the nations of the Commonwealth "Anglosphere", allowing citizens to live, work, travel, study and retire in any of the 5 regions. This would dramatically change the live of the citizens of all the nations of the Commonwealth Realms, allowing them the opportunity to live, work, study and retire in an array of climates and environments. The opportunity to put the ingenuity of the English-speaking peoples into building an earthly paradise for it's citizens and the many that we invite from the wider Commonwealth of 52 nations to contribute to. The Commonwealth Free Trade Zone would be the largest land area encompassing 1 and a half continents and more. A land mass with wide variations of wildlife and mineral resources and a combined population that today would be 130 million. 

Our union would have a GDP larger than Germany and Japan immediately. In a decade, the Commonwealth Free Trade Zone, made up of the Commonwealth Realms would become one of the top three economies of the world. We would be open for business 24 hours, in a union where it is always daytime. This would massively improve our productivity and our union would never sleep. With all major nations involved faring in the top 10% of places that are hospitable for doing business in the world, our economic future would be bright and optimistic. 

The union would have the 3rd largest defence budget in the world, making us the ideal partner for the United States in protecting global order, peace and stability. The nations of the Commonwealth Realms would share the nuclear deterrent's possessed by Britain and our armed forces would be strong and powerful. A united Commonwealth Realms, could become the friend and protector of smaller and developing nations that may be vulnerable to terrorist attacks from an increasingly emboldened Islamic militancy or the rise of a far-right government in a Europe or a turn to imperialism by China. 

On humanitarian issues we would distribute a collective $26 billion in international aid, leading the way on climate change, animal welfare and gender equity and consisting of 4 of the top 6 most charitable nations in the world. Throughout the union, the British values of post-racial politics, rights for minorities and tolerance for the expression of a wide variety in thought and action would make the union a bastion of human rights and liberal democracy. Enviable by the world.

With a strong economy, strong defence, strong humanitarian values and the largest landmass of any union to ever ever exist, we would be a place offering refuge and sanctity to those fleeing war and terror in the world. We would set an example to the world as a truly multi-racial society like none seen before in human history. In our Commonwealth Free Trade Zone, we would be a home for the huddled masses like those fleeing persecution in Syria.  A beacon of liberty where all those that have been displaced by the authoritarian elites of their nations, can now join us in building a new civilisation in the new world.

Today, polls show that across the nations of the Commonwealth Realms including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the West-Indies there is overwhelming support for the integration of the realms and we are ready to commit to a beautiful future and building a trans-global civilisation like no other. Where we are friends with the world and not partakers of the racialised vision of a United States of Europe. It is time for us to reject the Churchill of the European movement and embrace the Churchill that told De Gaulle that, if Britain must choose between Europe and the seas, we must choose the seas. 

The people of Britain are looking for a new ideal and a new way to live. We have voted to leave Europe and pursue an adventure across the seas. The naysayers proclaim that we are doomed to extinction and failure. They hurl abuse at those who have dared to question the practicality and reality of their Pan-European dream. For years the Eurosceptic's have been written off as a bunch of crazed fantasists. Many have gone undercover into the shadows but this moment is a new dawn. The people of Britain have spoken. The silent majority have come out of the shadows. It is high time that those who dream of the Commonwealth Free Trade Zone, openly, in the front of the world publish their views, their aims and their beliefs. Now, we must find the audacity of hope to walk on the most audacious path of creating a New World Order in our time. A New World Order that will connect the international English language community of the "Anglosphere" through a new Geo-political space, the Commonwealth free trade zone.

So, let us start today, there is no time like the present.

God save Britannia, God Save the Queen, God save the Commonwealth!

Yours

Tony Thomas
Liberal Democrat Party member
thomastalk@hotmail.co.uk

In Her 90th Year: Queen Elizabeth II - Liberal, Internationalist and Post-Racial Icon

2016, is the year that Britain has celebrated the 90th birthday of their Head of State, Queen Elizabeth II. HRH's 90th year, gives us the opportunity to reflect on the life and legacy of our Queen and Britain's place in the world at the end of her reign. 

Queen Elizabeth II is one of the world's most recognised faces. In polls she still scores 90% popularity ratings and is considerably more popular than Britain's political leaders. Around the world, she is an icon and the face of Britain's brand, but beyond that many are not aware of Queen Elizabeth II the thinker and doer. Beyond being a beautiful and glamorous icon, Queen Elizabeth II has changed the world. In the future the "Elizabethan Age" will be looked upon as one Britain's greatest era's, an era that saw immense change in British life and a transformation of Britain's relationship with it's former Empire.

Whilst the US is still struggling to have its first female Head of State, Queen Elizabeth II, our Head of State, has been the most powerful woman in the world for more than 60 years. Making her the United Kingdom's longest serving Monarch. Long before Margaret Thatcher, Angela Merkel and Hilary Clinton; Queen Elizabeth II was ruler of the world's biggest Empire. Long before Barack Obama expressed his desires for a post-racial society, Queen Elizabeth II beat him to it expressing her desires for a post-racial Commonwealth of Nations in the 1950's. Queen Elizabeth II throughout her entire reign has been an example to the British people of the British Isles and those that she has called her people across the globe.

On the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II it is time to rethink HRH as a liberal icon; a quiet radical who has led Britain's reform by her own example and liberal persuasions. An example that we should all follow today. Here are a few highlights why I believe that Queen Elizabeth II should be considered a liberal icon and how the Elizabethan age will be remembered as an era of liberal monarchy unlike any other in Britain's history.

Feminist Icon

In the 1940's during WWII Queen Elizabeth II was enlisted into the British Army. As a member of Britain's armed forces Queen Elizabeth II, then a Princess, became a mechanic. Before the rise of the feminist movement, the then Princess, had showed a desire to transform the traditions that had meant women were considered the inferior sex and unable to contribute to what was considered a "man's world". Still today, it is not often that we see female mechanics, but in the 1940's, the then Princess donned her overalls and got down under the bonnet of cars and fixed them, she changed tyres and became a skilled mechanic to support her countries war effort. Long before Margaret Thatcher, Angela Merkel and Hilary Clinton, Queen Elizabeth II was ruler of the world's biggest Empire; she was then and still is today the most powerful woman in the world and one of the most powerful persons. Period. It is to Queen Elizabeth II, a woman, that Britain's soldiers and governments pledge their allegiance too. It is the family name of Queen Elizabeth II that was given to the Windsor family in the 1950's when most of the country had named families after the male parent. Whilst the US talks about getting it's first female Head of State, Britain has been led by a female mechanic for decades. Today, we Britain's must give due credit to our Monarch and honour her as a Feminist icon. A pin-up for those values that have become so popular today.

Anti-racism

On her Coronation, Queen Elizabeth II delivered her Coronation speech. The Coronation of the United Kingdom is the British version of the US inauguration. During their Coronation speech, the Head of State sets out their ideals for the age. The Coronation speech of Queen Elizabeth II offered an insight into the anti-racist values of the Monarch that should be adopted by all citizens of the United Kingdom and beyond.

It is well known that Queen Elizabeth II is the most travelled person in the world. Whilst many British citizens had never met or engaged with someone from Africa, Asia, the Pacific or the West Indies, Queen Elizabeth II had visited, met, been friends with, and entertained by a wide range of people of varying hues and backgrounds for all her adult life. Making her considerably more worldly than the political class and the wider population. In the 80's, during the Apartheid struggle in South Africa. Queen Elizabeth II expressed the quiet anger and veiled language of the Monarch to express disagreements on Apartheid policies. It is said by the Queen's biographers, that this is one of the rare moments that Queen Elizabeth II showed a glimpse of her liberal persuasions. The statements were denied by the Monarchs press office but many witnesses have stated that Queen Elizabeth II was sympathetic to the anti-apartheid struggle and was one of the first world leaders to meet Nelson Mandela on release from prison. Since her Coronation, Queen Elizabeth II has slowly built a movement of Heads of States from 52 nations across the world including Africa, India, the Caribbean and the Pacific putting her anti-racist, liberal tendencies into practice. In the 1950's not long after Apartheid had swept across South Africa and there were considerable racist attitudes across the US and Francophone world, Queen Elizabeth II was not afraid to challenge the order of the day and engage with those of different hues and backgrounds.

She was a friend of Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I and saw no shame in the Emperor kissing her hand or holding his arm as they left the palace as a sign of affection for the Elder Monarch and Statesman. When Ghana won independence in 1958, Queen Elizabeth II showed no hesitation in dancing hand in hand with the Ghanaian revolutionary Kwame Nkrumah. She saw no issue in entertaining Tanzania leader Julius Nyerere and travelling with him in her carriage in the 1960's. Queen Elizabeth has been a friend and ally of some of Africa's most revolutionary figures without a hint of racial superiority.

Today, we must think of our Monarch as a pioneering anti-racist, who in her quiet way challenged the racial status quo of the day. Here is an insert from Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation speech,

"I have behind me, not only the splendid traditions and the annals of more than a thousand years but the living strength and Majesty of the Commonwealth and Empire of societies old and new. Of lands and races different in history and origins but all by God's will united in spirit and in aim."

Internationalism

Queen Elizabeth II inherited the Commonwealth; an organisation that was formed in 1949 as a free association of states who had been in a colonial relationship with the British Empire.  When the organisation was inherited it held only 7 member countries that included Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka. Today, the Commonwealth is an organisation made up of 52 nations, from across 5 continents, representing 2.2 billion people. It is an organisation that spans people of an array of complexions and hues; backgrounds and ethnicity's joined together to challenge some of the world's most pressing problems such as climate change and gender equality. Queen Elizabeth II has been singlehandedly engaged in recruiting new member states into the organisation and the significant expansion and friendships, that Queen Elizabeth II established for the organisation, will be her single most important legacy and define the Elizabethan age as an age where the Monarch embraced a decidedly post-racial politics. Whilst many desired to cut ties with the Commonwealth, Queen Elizabeth has been committed to creating one of the most amazing global networks to exist. An organisation that could be considered second only to the United Nations.

Queen Elizabeth II has guided and shaped the principles of the Commonwealth with a gentle hand. Using her political skills to promote human rights and work cooperatively with others to produce the Commonwealth Charter. Whilst the governments and the political class moved towards Pan-Europeanism, Queen Elizabeth II diligently worked to maintain and expand Commonwealth relationships. Relationships, that I believe will play a major part in Britain's future. Today, as Theresa May negotiates in India for greater trade relationships between the UK and India, we must thank Queen Elizabeth II for maintaining relationships that may now become some of the United Kingdom's most important in a post-brexit age. This year we must celebrate Queen Elizabeth II as a great internationalist who has maintained a noble, post-colonial and decolonised vision for unity between the former colonies of the British Empire. Now is the time to follow the great internationalist example of our Head of State Queen Elizabeth II.

Decolonialism

For hundreds of years, the British Empire colonised the world. Nations as far apart as India, Africa, Australia and the Caribbean were colonial outposts of the empire; the world's biggest. Many citizens of these colonies were ruthlessly exploited and considered inferior to those of the "white" race.  For many Britain's, Empire is a stain on Britain's conscience. During the era of Queen Elizabeth II we have seen a transformation of the British Empire that has seen all colonies given independence. Since her Coronation in 1953, the many colonies of the British Empire in Africa and the West-Indies have become decolonised. The first African nation to achieve independence from the British Empire came just 5 years after the Coronation of our Monarch. Ghana who gained independence in 1958, was followed by the liberation of most of Britain's colonies across Africa and the West Indies through the 60's. The Elizabethan age must be remembered as an age where the Monarch acted as a liberator and broke up the British Colonial Empire. Many will argue, that the response of Queen Elizabeth II in the process of decolonisation was prompted by the growing populist movements across the world and this cannot be denied but Queen Elizabeth II must be remembered as the Monarch that broke up the British Empire and built a new post-racial alliance of former British colonies that today work together to share ideas and expertise and to tackle humanitarian issues such as climate change, gender equality and poverty. The Elizabethan age has been an age of momentous change. An age of decolonisation and movement toward a new reconfigured post-racial global network, a network that is perhaps the greatest global network of all time. As we reflect on the 90th year of Queen Elizabeth II, we must seek to follow her example of challenging racism and tyranny. We must like her seek to deliver freedom across the world. We should look beyond the racist ideals that may have been part of a pre-1960's Britain and look towards our Monarch for moral guidance.

Post-Race

Long before the campaign of Barack Obama for President of the United States of America and his vision of a post-racial America, since her Coronation in 1953 Queen Elizabeth II has been an advocate of a post-racial society. She has clearly and eloquently set out a future vision for Britain and the global network that is the Commonwealth. She has considered the "Anglosphere" way of life to not only be the way of life of those of the windy British Isles but also the many people that are part of the Commonwealth Realms and Britain's former colonies. In no uncertain terms Queen Elizabeth II has considered the people of the Empire to be her people, regardless of race, ethnicity and background. She has imagined the way of life of the British people as not only for "white" Britain but for all those who have been considered her subjects across the world. Her message of a globalised "Anglosphere", of many hues and backgrounds is still today one of the most potent political messages of all time.  Here is an excerpt from the defining speech of the Elizabethan age,

"There has also sprung from our island home, a theme of social and political thought, which constitutes our message to the world, and through the changing generations has found acceptance both within and far beyond my realms. Parliamentary institutions with their free speech and respect for the rights of minorities and the inspiration of a broad tolerance in thought and its expression. All this, we conceive to be, a precious part of our way of life and outlook... In recent centuries this message has been sustained and invigorated by the immense contribution in language and literature and action of the nations of our Commonwealth overseas. It gives expression, as I pray it always will, to living principles, as sacred to the Crown and Monarchy as to its many Parliaments and peoples. I ask you now to cherish them and practice them too. Then we can go forward together in peace; seeking justice and freedom for all men."

It is time for us all to gather around and follow the example of our Queen and Head of State, Queen Elizabeth II.

God save the Queen!

Queen Elizabeth II, Coronation Speech, June 1953

The West-Indies Must Become Part of the United Kingdom! A Message to (Black) Britain

Today, former PM Gordon Brown returned to the political fray to make a call for a rethink of the union of the United Kingdom. In his call for reform of the union, Gordon Brown has argued that the United Kingdom of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is unified in name alone and the Brexit vote has further severed the Union, making it more difficult to keep the fragile union together. He has argued that each of the regions, should have more devolved powers, to make their own deals with the EU and avoid the hard Brexit position of the current British Government.

I believe, like Gordon Brown, that we need to rethink the union of the United Kingdom but I have a somewhat different approach and argument. Whilst it is important that the nations of the United Kingdom find an effective way to deal with the issues that they have, I believe that there is another historical issue that must be considered. It is time for the United Kingdom to seek to integrate the West-Indian community of the Caribbean into the union of the United Kingdom. 

At present, Queen Elizabeth II is not only Head of State of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but also the Head of State of a number of nations in the Caribbean islands that we know as the West-Indies. The story of the West-Indies is well documented. Once the home of slave plantations, where predominately black African slaves were fiercely and ruthlessly exploited and transformed by white British slave owners and colonial masters. First as slaves and then later, as part of the British Empire's colonial expansion. During the process of slavery, African slaves were anglicised over a period of hundreds and years and became known as West-Indians. Until today, they are a predominately, dark-skinned population that share language, names, values, history and a Head of State with the predominately white British population of the UK. 

The people of the West Indies have been in a political relationship, at all different levels, over many centuries, with the United Kingdom. Not only as slaves and colonial subjects, but in other capacities too. Many West- Indians fought side by side with the white British population in WWII, and in the aftermath were invited to rebuild Britain as subjects of the British Empire. In the English language community, that I refer to as the "Anglosphere", the West-Indian people of the Caribbean have made valid contributions in music, art and politics to the expansion of the "Anglosphere" civilization and are firmly situated as part of the cultural, linguistic, intellectual fabric of the "Anglosphere". Considering that the population of the West-Indies share near as much in common with Britain as Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and have an anglicised but dark-skinned population of more than 4.5 million citizens, it appears that there is no reason that the West-Indies should not be considered part of the United Kingdom. At 4.5 million citizens the population of the West Indies is larger than both Wales and Northern Ireland and almost as large as Scotland with 5.2 million citizens. 

In the past, migrants from the West Indies have not struggled to integrate into British society. They do not experience any of the language difficulties that migrants from the EU or other parts of the world may experience and the only difficulties that may have arisen have arose from an underlying racism that stems from segments of the British population not examining and understanding the people of the West Indies as part of the "Anglosphere" community and fundamentally British with a black face. Attempts by many, both black and white, to misrepresent skin as identity, rather than language and shared political framework has meant that the conversation around the integration of the West-Indies into the United Kingdom has not been on the table. Large segments of the British white population have imagined Britain as part of the European identity and experience whilst a number of well-known populist movements among West-Indians have imagined themselves as part of an African identity and experience. These imagined identities have been based on the concept of skin and racial heritage as identity rather than language. I think that this analysis misrepresents identity as it is structured in the world today.

If we look across the world, populations are part of language communities. These communities are more important than skin and racial heritage. Although it is true that language tends to be shared by those of the same racial heritage and skin complexion, it is not the skin complexion or the racial heritage that defines many identities around the world but the linguistic unity. When we speak of the Chinese, we may identify their geographical space and recognise their racial heritage but the unity of the Chinese nation does not depend on physical characteristics, it depends on the Chinese language. If you do not speak Chinese or have a Chinese name, then you are not Chinese. The Arab population is not defined in terms of racial heritage or skin but indicates a language community that share the Arabic language. Yoruba populations in Nigeria and Amhara populations in Ethiopia are both located in Africa but they are different language communities, which is partly why the dream of Pan-Africanism remains a distant dream. When we speak of the Francophone world that extends from France to its former colonies in Africa and the Caribbean, it is the language and not the racial heritage and skin that gives Francophone populations their identities. The notion of Pan-Europeanism that has caused so much debate in Britain recently, like Pan-Africanism is doomed to failure, as the participants have imagined identity as skin, geography and racial heritage as more important than identity as language. 

In understanding Britain's identity we must develop an understanding of the "Anglosphere", as a international, post-racial, language community that is made up of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and the West-Indies. Although the United States is independent from the British "Anglosphere" that is made up of the Commonwealth Realms, there is a "special relationship" between the US and UK. A "special relationship that is very much rooted in language.

In understanding identity across the world we are better placed by understanding the world as made up of the "Anglosphere", the "Chinese", "Francophone", "Germanic", "Yoruba" and "Amhara" world's and so forth rather than making racial heritage and skin complexion the indicator of identity. Using language as the indicator of identity forces Britain to have to rethink British identity and whether Britain should align itself with Europe or the "Anglosphere". It also offers us the opportunity to expand the remit of the United Kingdom to include a self-governing West-Indies. 

Many may consider this a project of recolonisation. I consider it to be a new post-racial configuration of British identity and geography. Whilst in centuries before it may have been more difficult to integrate the West-Indies into the United Kingdom, the communications revolution and the ease of travel has made the possibility of integration much more feasible. Just as the aforementioned have made the possibility of integration of the larger Commonwealth Realms greater, it has also made the possibility of integration of the West-Indies into the United Kingdom greater too.

The epic story of the slaves and colonial subjects of the West Indies,who eventually won their freedom and then self-governing independence must come to an end with an acceptance and recognition of West Indians as British people, Black Britain. I believe that it is a matter of justice and that Britain should make amends for the past by calling upon the governments of the West-Indies to consider the possibility. If they choose to accept the offer, we should accept them into the club with welcoming and opening arms. Offering free movement within the United Kingdom and eventual free movement across the emerging Commonwealth Free Trade Zone that will include the larger Commonwealth Realms. I believe that the Caribbean nations that I speak of should and would accept integration into the United Kingdom as an ultimate form of reparations. An issue that has been a controversial but well supported issue across the Caribbean and by West-Indian communities in Britain.

Though there will be naysayers, those who do not believe that the diplomatic wherewithal of Britain can manage to work with an extra 9 more states and a few British Overseas Territories in an already fragile union. There will be those that will argue, that to work with 9 disparate states would make considerable administration difficulties for the United Kingdom and they will not be wrong. A collection of 9 disparate states and a few British Overseas Territories could be difficult to manage.

To solve this issue we must look to the West Indies Federation that existed from 1958 to 1962. The West Indies Federation was a union of the British colonies of the Caribbean that collapsed after internal disagreements between the various states in 1962. After the collapse of the West Indies Federation, the nations of the Caribbean sought independence and began a collection of independence struggles that resulted in the various self-governing nations states that we see today in and outside of the Commonwealth Realms. Some of the nations that existed within the West-Indies Federation have now severed ties with the United Kingdom, such as Trinidad and Guyana but 9 states that include Jamaica, the Bahama's, Dominica and St Kitts and Nevis amongst others, still continue in a relationship with the United Kingdom with Queen Elizabeth II as Head of State. It would be fair to say that whilst Britain could lobby for the Caribbean nations still in a formal relationship they would not be able to force these independent, self-governing states to come together as a federation. Neither could they be considered to be interfering in the administrative affairs of the region in an act of subdued colonialism. 

Then, the onus is on the populations of the West-Indies, both home and abroad, to lobby their governments for further integration of the Caribbean nations of the Commonwealth Realms into a West-Indian Federation, a federation that speaks with one voice. Then to seek further integration with the United Kingdom as a political body. With a large segment of the Scottish population desiring to walk away from the union, with Britain rethinking its political identity and relationships post-Brexit and political big-hitters such as former PM Gordon Brown calling for the nations of the United Kingdom to rethink the parameters of their relationships and how they operate. It is time to consider the loyal people of the West-Indies, who share so much in common with the United Kingdom, as potential partners in a new type of internationalist, post-racial United Kingdom.

Today, Britain and the population of the West Indies, must embrace a new concept of Black Britain and seek a new, post-colonial, decolonised relationship between the former coloniser and colonised. We must start a new chapter in our racial history. We must make amends for the past and unite to build a new United Kingdom. We must unite to pursue the Commonwealth Free Trade Zone and reignite the "Anglosphere" as a post-racial New World Order.

God Save Britannia! 

Dear 2016: A letter From a Post-Brexit Future

Dear 2016,

It's been a long time. Things have really changed. It's a different world from in your day. I think that decision that we made to leave the EU really changed Britain and the world. It was hard at first, there was panic all over the country and the world. The financial markets went crazy and people thought that we were gonna go under. Unemployment rates soared and the pound depreciated to it's lowest point ever. What a time that was. In the aftermath of Brexit, many British citizens moved to Scotland and the European countries. Scotland had decided to stay in the EU and leave the United Kingdom to go on without them, so it was an appealing place to go for those that wanted to be close to their European roots. In the end it worked out well, because it avoided a civil war. For a few years after the Brexit decision Britain was divided between the Leavers and the Remainers. They would constantly snipe at each other and it made Britain into a political version of the American civil war for a while. At first no one had much of an idea of what Britain's Brexit future could be or what it would look like but then things started to get clearer.

With a lack of ideas on the table, many started to look towards the Commonwealth, that collection of states from the former British Empire that had gathered into an informal network after the independence struggles. Now, the Commonwealth was made up of like 2.2 billion people with all different colours and backgrounds most figured that it was not viable to join a formal political union with nations that were larger than the UK and were so disparate. Some people were kind of sceptical about the whole thing, they imagined that the former colonies would not see a point in starting a new redefined relationship with their former coloniser. Many thought it was just a nostalgic attempt to recreate the British Empire. Eventually, it was decided that whilst the Commonwealth of 2.2 billion would continue as an informal collection of states the Commonwealth Realms would become part of a new Commonwealth Free Trade Zone. 

So, "the zone" was created with Australia, Canada, New Zealand the United Kingdom and those from what used to be called the British West-Indies but things were a little different than before. The nations of the British West-Indies had become part of the United Kingdom, essentially taking the place of Scotland after they decided to leave the United Kingdom and pursue their own path with the EU. Remember we used to talk about Black Britain? Well, it all got reconfigured and the Caribbean islands were given full recognition of their British citizenship. It took a while for people to see the sense bringing Black Britain into the franchise. There was some fierce opposition from some camps but in the end, no one could really deny that the West-Indians had as much right to be part of the United Kingdom and enjoy the freedom of travel that those from Scotland used to and those from Wales and Northern Ireland still do. In the end people came to terms with the ideas and wondered why they had never thought of it before. These were more than 4.5 million English speaking and cultured citizens, who had been in a relationship with Britain for hundreds of years. At the time Britain had an ageing population and they needed to make up for the shortfall of youth and young adults, so some time in the 2020's or the 2030's, I forget the date, the whole union was transformed.

But as I was saying, the Commonwealth. So, we created this thing called the Commonwealth Free Trade Zone and it allowed free movement for the citizens of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom including the West-Indies across all these land spaces. Could you imagine it? Well, it happened. We used to be a cold, isolated island just off the coast of Europe. Today, well Britain is still a cold, isolated island just of the coast of Europe but things did really change. With the coming of the Commonwealth Free Trade Zone and free movement, UK citizens were given options to travel in a varying array of climates throughout all the states. They were able to live, work and study in any of the 5 regions and eventually many ended up in Australia, New Zealand and the West Indies. That Home and Away dream really captured our imaginations. Large amounts of people who preferred a colder climate but wanted more opportunities ended up in Canada. In fact during the Christmas period, people from all the regions make their way to Canada where it is all "Christmassy" and they can have that Hollywood Christmas with the snow and the reindeer's and they stay in log cabins and dress up warm. Believe me. It is like Mecca when it is Christmas down here now. It is a beautiful sight to behold. But there are still the die-hard's that hate the whole idea; mostly UKIP and EDL supporters. Do you remember those nutters? They took were so stubborn with their whole English nationalism, in the end they became a big joke to everyone. There was even a sitcom about them. A kind of combination of Alf Garnet; Dad's Army and that other revolutionary guy from the 70's with the beret. You know the one, he lived in Tooting, Citizen Smith. A bit like that but much funnier. But most of them eventually changed their minds when the war started. Today, good old Britain is where we keep the criminals and the prisoners. Things really changed aye? We used to send prisoners to Australia, haha. I am going to tell you about the war in a minute. Hold tight.

Anyway, it took a bit of time to get it all going. We never had the technology to make flights faster or cheaper at first. These long haul flights weren't like those short flights in the EU. These were working day and whole day trips. Many could not afford to make the journeys and enjoy the fullness of "the zone" -  we still call it "the zone" after the Commonwealth Free Trade Zone but it is better known these days as the "Anglosphere", it's like a Star Wars name or something, "THE ANGLOSPHERE". What a cool name! Lol

But eventually, with so many people making the trips, engineers figured out ways to cut down the journeys to like half days and less. It made a big difference. With the quicker flights and the demand, the prices started to reduce. Do you remember those cheap flights to Greece and Spain? Well, you can travel in "the zone" for the same price today. Great thing is you don't even need to learn another language or a new cultural framework. We just all fit right in like one people; it was a really clever idea. 

Drugs were legalised! Can you believe it? Do you remember you used to get arrested for possessing marijuana. That all changed now. People realised that the drug war was a massive waste of money and unnecessary. After people started travelling around "the zone" they were much happier. Spending time away from the grey skies really mellowed people out. We became much more like the people of the West-Indies and Australian's. It's all "Irie, mon" and "G'day, mate" these days. Jamaica still produces some of the best herbs in "the zone". Some Bob Marley level but more, trust me. With the harder drugs, well, we figured some things out. Once the drugs were legalised scientists figured out ways to change the molecular configuration of cocaine and opium and they became less addictive. Plus, society learnt to manage them, just like how they managed alcohol in your day. I was just smoking a joint with the Prime Minister of Canada; Lupita Trudeau. Yes, the great, great granddaughter of Justin Trudeau's son x 2 and the great, great great grandson + 1, or something like that, of Barack and Michelle Obama. How things changed for the better. Today, we'd be wondering what all the fuss was about. I mean have you ever smoked a super-grade joint on an Aussie beach with a West-Indian chick who you met in New Zealand on the way home from Canada, after surfing in pure blue water? Like wow, you gotta experience that.

Remember when Barack Obama was the first Black President and it was a big deal? Well, that is nothing today in "the zone". There have been black, white and brown leaders of the regions of the "Anglosphere". All that, "judge people by the content of their character, not the colour of their skin" that King used to talk about came to be, but not in the US, it all kind of exploded when we built "the zone". People came from all over. We were like the US but better. That was until they aligned with us and became our favourite ally. Mixed-race populations used to be still a little bit of a big deal in our day. Things look different than they used to now. There are many brown looking citizens that are a mixture of everything. Today, we call them neutrals. Much of the population is like that these days but there is a lot of diversity too within that. More than you have ever seen. There are people that you could only call citizens of the world. They are not citizens of the world because they are citizens of the "Anglosphere" but they are not like the racialised citizens of 2016, if you get what I mean? There is still discrimination today but it is not based on the old racial categories of 2016, being in "the zone" is a different experience altogether.

Oh, yes. Do you remember those mock up pictures that people used to do with Photoshop, where they made Queen Elizabeth II looking like what we used to call a black woman? Well, we got a "black" Queen. One of the Princesses of the Royal family married one of Bob Marley's descendants and they had a child and it became the Queen of England. Nowadays the Royal family has gone through an array of complexions that would never have been imagined before. It is just the changing tide of the openness of today.

But, I didn't tell you about the war. After we voted for Brexit there was a bit of anger about what had happened. Some thought that Britain betrayed it's European roots by reaching out across the seas. The EU became a bit chaotic and more and more member states began to leave. As they left, there was more bitter feeling and eventually Europe broke into war, like it used to. Luckily, we escaped being in the war because most of the citizens had left for the New World. I think that some of the EU nations wanted to have a rerun of 1939 but it made it more difficult when we were half-way across the world chilling on a beach or in the landscapes of Canada; if you get what I mean? The "Anglosphere", anyway, had turned into a fighting force like no other and there was little chance of a defeat. Plus, we were like 2 continents and more of people. Once we got the space, people weren't afraid to have children. They knew that they would have opportunities unlike they had had. Parents actually want to bring children into our world because there is so much to experience. It is a beautiful place. Like a Utopia.

Anyway, Europe was devastated by petty arguments and control freakery. It spread into Britain for a moment but the only ones left were the supporters of UKIP and EDL and few Conservative Party types. They didn't camouflage themselves very well when the enemy turned up; they were all driving white vans and wearing top-hats! They are really silly. Anyway, thousands of them died so we intervened and took them out of England. They were really embarrassed because the women flying the planes that collected them were black and they weren't too keen on the multi-racial society idea. Lol! That was funny. Today, the British Isles are mostly a museum dedicated to our past when we had little imagination. As I said earlier, we also keep prisoners there as a punishment. They are out of the way and we get to live our lives in peace. The EU is trying to reform. They have a few members, Germany, France and a few others but let's see what happens. The war really wreaked havoc. It is almost as if they never learned from their past. They were always fighting. To think that we considered ourselves to be Europeans rather than part of the "Anglosphere" for all those years.

We still got rivals. China and the Middle East, Russia too but we are further out of the way than before. Being in the America's and the Pacific really changed our dynamics. India is a big deal; they have a big population and Bollywood has quadrupled in output. Even in "the Zone", we watch Bollywood movies now. Because we kept the Commonwealth going, we kept peaceful and diplomatic relations with India and they are one of our closest allies today. The US are now the closest partner to us. Once we left the EU, after a few years the US decided that we would be their best partner in keeping world peace, order and stability and we formalised a special relationship between us and the US. But Africa, wow Africa has seen massive growth. Remember the days when we used to see starving African children? That hardly exists these days. Those African nations that are part of the Commonwealth in particular really took off. With the support of the "Anglosphere", the US and some input from India, Africa was able to really develop. Today, they still supply food produce to us up in "the zone" and we share our technical expertise. Things are working out well. Once we left the EU, we did not have to charge the tariffs on African produce, this enabled British business to really cut the costs of food produce for the consumer. African states like Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and South-Africa really became the breadbasket of the world and Swaziland, wow. Remember when the Commonwealth started working with Swaziland with mining in your day? Well, they eventually struck gold, well, more like oil and then really changed things around. Today, African states in the Commonwealth are some of our closest allies and partners. Many Africans even live in the "Anglosphere". Who would have believed it, with all that anti-immigration rhetoric in the old days?

In the end Brexit turned out OK. There were some difficult times in the immediate aftermath and for a few years as we got ourselves together, but then the New World started to take shape. I can tell you that it has been an adventure well worth having.

Anyway 2016; I'm depressed talking about back in your days, so I am going to relax on the beach with my medication. Get it medication? Loool.

All the best

Tony

Black Britain, Pan-Africanism and the Commonwealth: A New Politics for Black Britain!

In 1979 Bob Marley and the Wailers released one of their most politically charged singles "Africa Unite". It was part of the Survival album, an album that captured the mood of Pan-Africanism at the time. The cover of the album was a collage of the many flags of the newly independent African nations with the title "SURVIVAL" in big letters. Around the same time Peter Tosh sang "As long as you are a Black man you are an African". Both of these musicians are one of the more than 4.5 million people that I consider to be a Black Britain. They have British names, speak English and lived in a nation where Queen Elizabeth II was and continues to be the Head of State. One of them has a white British Father and both engaged within an Anglophone framework and had little engagement with Africa but at the same time had a deep desire to be part of the African story. In the pop and political culture of Black Britain the sentiments spoken by Marley and Tosh are major considerations. There is a deep desire to engage with Africa and to develop a meaningful black politics that is compatible with British public life and compatible with Pan-Africanism. A politics that I believe begins with understanding the history of the British Empire; the relationship between Britain and the people of the British West-Indies and the organisation that developed in the post-independence era, the Commonwealth. 

The British Empire was the biggest empire in human history and for better or worse once controlled 2/3rd's of the planet. From Africa, to Asia, Australia and the West-Indies the

flag of the British Empire was flown high. Britain became a super-power bigger than even the famed Roman Empire and influenced the world beyond measure. In the British Empire there were slaves that had roots in Africa who were taken to the West Indies and were anglicised and adopted an Anglophone cultural framework. The adoption of this framework continued through successive generations until the anglicised black became a new being; a Black Britain. Later as the British Empire became more powerful the process of colonialism was adopted in parts of Africa and many Africans in Africa were colonised but they were not enslaved which meant that they evaded the process of becoming a Black Britain, a process manifested through a period of hundreds of years.

African nations that were colonised by the British Empire were still able to keep their traditional languages and cultures and were only partially anglicised; unlike Black Britain's who had been completely assimilated into the culture of the empire. As the British Empire and the Anglophone language and culture spread across the world through colonialism the English language and the British legal system were adopted by the colonised states. The colonial states that now made up the British Empire were then sewn together with the English language as the lingua-franca and the working language. The British Empire now connected the British West-Indies to the colonised African states that occupied the areas now known as Nigeria and Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania, South Africa and Namibia amongst others. Black Britain's who had previously been separated from Africa by land, sea and language, through the empire were now becoming aware of each others existence and able to develop a common unity that had not existed for hundreds of years and became connected as colonial subjects with dark skins. This meant that those of the British West-Indies and the aforementioned African nation states were for a period of time citizens of the same empire. 

As colonial subjects of the British Empire, colonials from the West Indies and Africa were given permission to travel within the empire. Many travelled to London and there African and West-Indian colonials developed an affinity around the colonial experience and developed the ideals of Pan-Africanism and the decolonisation movement that sought to liberate the colonies of Africa and the West Indies. When Africans and West Indians were in London they also met people from South-Asian nations, like India, that were also seeking to decolonise from the British Empire and there Britain's notion of political blackness began to develop as a coalition of black and brown British colonials. As time went on and South Asians gained independence with the emergence of Gandhi, other black colonials were still struggling for independence and carried on their collective struggles. This went on until the 80's when Zimbabwe, the last bastion of Britain's African Empire, gained independence. In the light of independence, African's on the continent were no longer in what had been a necessary political relationship with blacks from the British West-Indies. On the fall out of the British Empire those anglicised slave descendants of the British West-Indies had a cultural identity closely aligned with the British and continued to be in a political relationship with Britain, keeping Queen Elizabeth II as the Head of State and adopting the British political system, whilst many African states became Republics or black led Monarchies. At the same time, the anglicised blacks of the West-Indies had developed an affinity with Africa based on political action, racial heritage and a shared experience of colonisation but ceased to be in a political relationship with Africa.

All these changes transformed the way how Black Britain organised and changed the definitions of Black Britain and political blackness. Independent African states were no longer a part of the British Empire and neither were the South Asian communities. They no longer shared the politics of decolonisation and the identity of British colonials but those of West-Indian heritage stayed aligned to the British Crown and the "Anglosphere" as their closest ally, in a somewhat dependent relationship. Existing as the adopted child of Britain and the "Anglosphere", with a population, economies and spaces that were constructed for slavery and colonialism and never going to be major players in international politics once independent; the tiny, vulnerable collection of islands chose to align with their former coloniser in a formal relationship as managers of the islands in the same way that Scotland and Wales manage their own affairs but are led by Queen Elizabeth II. Today, unlike in the era of decolonisation struggle citizens from outposts of the British Empire in Africa and Asia no longer share a political identity with anglicised blacks beyond the rhetoric of a few fringe activists. The world has changed and the relationships have changed. The anglicised blacks that I consider to be Black Britain are politically aligned with Britain and the "Anglosphere" in both legal and cultural terms. For those with heritage in the sunny Caribbean islands, that seek to further the pop culture of Marley and Tosh or elements of Garveyim and develop an effective relationship with Africa we must not look to the politics and rhetoric of the past but look to a new configuration of Pan-Africanism that operates through a different means and develops out of a different ideology.  

So, how does Black Britain relate to Africa in Britain and the continent itself? The answer lies in the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth is a global network of 2.2 billion people of many hues and backgrounds; made up of 52 nations; across 5 continents with a GDP of $10 trillion. The Commonwealth developed out of the relationships that began in the British Empire, an empire that spanned 2/3rd's of the planet. After the independence struggles that led to the independence of Britain's colonies across Africa such as Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya; Asian colonies such as India and Pakistan and nations across the British West-Indies such as Jamaica, the new independence leaders desired to remain in a relationship with Britain and other newly independent nations that shared the historical relationship of colonialism in the British Empire.  Though there was tension stemming from the past relationship and the incredible diversity of self-interests, it was considered pragmatic and desirable to remain in an informal diplomatic relationship with nations that had previously been considered and organised as one political and economic bloc with a British colonial centre. Considering the difficulties of unpicking a legal system or a political set up many nations continued to operate through the system that the British Empire had set up for good or for ill. In many ways not much had changed, the difficulties in creating whole new legal and political systems were so immense that facing the issues after independence many leaders reluctantly and often gladly chose to become members of a new union of free and independent states. Initially the Commonwealth consisted of a handful of nations mostly those that were still part of the Commonwealth Realm such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the nations of the West Indies. Eventually the organisation would grow stronger and become a network of 52 former colonies of the British Empire and some others. 

To have a politically viable relationship and to make sense of the immense influence that pop culture and "Garveyism" has had on black politics in Britain, I believe that we should consider those continental Africans with direct roots in Commonwealth Africa as the Black Commonwealth rather than Black Britain. The Black Commonwealth consists of those developing nations in Africa that have a shared political history of the colonialism of the British Empire and are now in an ambitious political network led by Queen Elizabeth II. An organisation built on human rights, that promotes international development issues and collective working amongst Commonwealth nations for the common good of their combined 2.2 billion citizens. In understanding the politics of Black Britain and how we must relate to Africa politically today, it is essential to understand the relationship that we share in the Commonwealth. Both the United Kingdom and Black Britain's are in an interdependent relationship with 19 African states representing near to a population of 1 billion citizens that include Africa's two largest economies Nigeria and South Africa; one of Africa's fastest growing economies, Kenya and one of Africa's most iconic nations Ghana, amongst others.

I believe that the only realistic way that Black Britain's in the UK and the British West-Indies can interact with Africa effectively is through the Commonwealth. I believe that we must make a distinction between Black Britain's who share names, language and a cultural framework with the "Anglosphere" and the Black Commonwealth that have not been anglicised in the way that Black Britain's have but still share a distant racial heritage and a colonial experience with Black Britain. A heritage and experience that we can now share with the 19 African states in membership of the Commonwealth to begin a new decolonised, post-colonial humanitarian movement of 2.2 billion people of many faces and spaces.

The politics of Black Britain must today be about changing the way that Black Britain is understood as a concept to the British Government and arguing for Black Britain to be further integrated into the United Kingdom as a part of the "Anglosphere" just like African-Americans sought integration in the US in the 1950's and 60's. We must recognise the British West-Indies as the counterpart to the US South and imagine the UK as the counterpart to the northern towns such as Detroit where African-Americans went in search of a better life and to play a bigger role in the future of the United States of America. The dark-skinned population of the British West-Indies must be considered as much part of the "Anglosphere" as Australia, Canada and New Zealand. 

We must recognise that the traditional political blackness of the 70's and 80's is better considered a Commonwealth movement and a Commonwealth politics than black politics. We should make a political distinction between the Black Commonwealth citizen and Black Britain but understand that we are in an informal diplomatic relationship with each other through the Commonwealth and have some elements of a shared history. Recognising the distinct differences does not diminish the spirit of African unity that many Black Britain's like Bob Marley and Peter Tosh have shared with us in their music. Understanding the Commonwealth and the politics that is heart of that relationship and understanding the formal relationship that exists between the UK and the Commonwealth Realms of the British West-Indies is the beginning of a coherent, effective and viable black politics in Britain.  A black politics that fits into British public life and can make a real difference to the world. As we speak a Black Britain from Dominica Baroness Scotland is the 2nd most influential figure in the Commonwealth, there is no better time to create a fruitful relationship with our brothers and sisters in the Commonwealth from the African continent and beyond.

God save Britannia, God save the Commonwealth, God save Africa!

There are more than 4.5 million Black Britain's!

Black History Month 2016 has come to an end but in response to a Guardian article titled Is Political Blackness Still Relevant? An interesting debate has begun on what the term "Black" in Black History Month and Black Britain means. The debate asks fundamental questions about race and identity in Britain and within the Commonweal Realms and forces us to re-examine what it means to be a Black Britain. Often when we discuss Black Britain we consider it to signify one of two groups; the broad based coalition that existed in the 70's and 80's made up of African, African-Caribbean and South-Asian communities that sought to create a black political bloc in Labour Party politics; or on the other hand in a Pan-African context that seeks to gather all those that have some heritage in Africa whether from the traditional African diaspora or from continental Africa into a political bloc. In understanding Black Britain both concepts are insufficient. 

To have an understanding of what it must mean to be a Black Britain today we must look beyond the often repeated arguments around Political blackness and Pan-Africanism that have defined the political debate around the race, identity and politics of Black Britain for decades and turn to a new set of arguments. To understand what it means to be a Black Britain involves taking ourselves beyond the shores of Britain and to the sunny islands of the Anglophone Caribbean. Islands that were once colonies of the British Empire; where the citizens speak English and have British names and pledge allegiance to the monarch Queen Elizabeth II as Head of State. Islands that operate a parliamentary democracy and nations for whom the Prime Minister of the nation is more correctly identified as Queen Elizabeth II's Prime Minister. There on these beautifully crafted islands exist 4 million people of African descent who cannot point to any cultural framework that they can call their own beyond the "Anglosphere" and Anglophone world. For hundreds of years these people of African descent but of the "Anglosphere" cultural world have had names like Thomas, Andrews and Jasper; they have drunk tea and played cricket. They have created music using Anglophone musical scales and like their counterparts in the United Kingdom in places like Yorkshire and Manchester they have developed their own British regional accents and dialects but they are not considered to be part of our Union. They are not considered to be our close kith and kin but are relegated to the position of a troublesome distant family member whose relationship we try to hide; a slightly eccentric member of the family that we would like to hide out of the way when someone important comes round lest they embarrass us. All this despite the deep connections that they have had and continue to have with the "Anglosphere", Anglophone culture and the British Crown. 

In Britain there is a small population of approximately 600,000 people who according to the last population

census in 2011 have heritage in these islands that were once the sight of a well-documented slave experience and British colonial subjects.  Though some distance from the United Kingdom, these Anglophone Caribbean nations that once formed the West Indies Federation are inextricably connected to Britain in a political and cultural  relationship that goes back many years and still exists in legal definitions today. A relationship that they share with Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. However, despite the continuous and long-standing years that they have been intertwined with Britain they are not given the recognition that the political relationship should offer and find it more difficult to work, study and live in Britain than EU citizens who are not governed by our monarch Queen Elizabeth II and do not share the same cultural framework. 

Whilst Black Britain has been considered by commentators from Dr Kehinde Andrews, to Lee Jasper and A. Sivandan to have a number of different definitions but today Black Britain must be a term that defines those 4.5 million mostly dark-skinned but diversely coloured descendants of African heritage who share first and last names, a language, a monarch and a political heritage with the citizens of the United Kingdom and those citizens of Australia, Canada and New Zealand. 

Whilst many of Scotland's 5.2 million citizens desire independence from the United Kingdom there are 4.5 million Black Britain' that are committed to a relationship with Britain despite Brexit. Today we must bring the conversation of Black Britain to the table. Those Black Britain's from the sunny isles of the Caribbean must be brought deeper into the franchise alongside their counterparts in Australia, Canada and New Zealand who share a past as colonies of the British Empire. With a Scotland threatening to leave the Union, it is time for us to consider those Black Britain' as our kith and kin and perhaps to integrate them into the United Kingdom by loosening restrictions on the ability of Black Britain to work, study and live in Britain. 

In inviting Black Britain to integrate closer into a new post-racial "Anglosphere" we will be beginning a new racial chapter in Britain and a new political relationship where together we can build the future of the the Anglophone world and make considerable steps to heal past racial tensions and wounds whilst also finding a potential partner in our Union whose population is larger than both Northern Ireland and Wales and almost the size of Scotland's.

Black Britain's in the Caribbean are bursting with energy and the desire to succeed and unlike the United Kingdom do not have an ageing population but a youthful and vibrant citizenship. Scotland has often been considered the tech home of the United Kingdom but who knows what those Black Britain's in the sunny isles of Jamaica, Dominica and the Bahama's could do to produce Britain's tech future, in surroundings hospitable to and open to the British public. Beautiful surroundings enviable to most EU citizens where British tech companies could set up to change the world. 

Today as some call for a more integrated "Anglosphere" through a Commonwealth Free Trade Zone and a more inclusive Commonwealth altogether we must clearly define what it means to be a Black Britain in the terms that I have set out. We must make sure that Black Britain's of the British West-Indies are included in the plans for this new union and that we seek talks and diplomatic negotiations to integrate Black Britain's of the British West-Indies into our existing union of the United Kingdom as equal partners just as the smaller populations of Wales and Northern Ireland are.

Black Britain must be identified and defined as those 4.6 million people of African-Caribbean heritage in Britain and our international but common realms in the British West-Indies that share a language, names, culture, legal system, political history and a monarch and Head of State with the United Kingdom. The new black politics must be a politics that seeks further integration and recognition of those I consider to be Black Britain. Those Black Britain's living in Britain must lobby the United Kingdom and their respective nations to strengthen the relationship with the British West Indies and other "Anglosphere" nations Australia, Canada and New Zealand. With Baroness Scotland, a Black Britain from the Caribbean island of Dominica now working as Commonwealth Secretary General there is no better time to begin this new black British political paradigm.

Let the journey to a truly post-racial Britain begin.

God save Britannia!