CALENDAR CLASH BETWEEN UK MEETING AND NO-CONFIDENCE MOTION?

By Mike Jarvis, UK Correspondent

Political leaders and British government-appointed Governors from the United Kingdom’s 14 overseas territories across the globe are meeting in London this week for the annual Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) meeting.

This week’s summit from Monday 13th to Wednesday 15th is being regarded as among the most important in recent years, as the relationship between the UK as ‘mother country’ and the OTs has been placed under intense scrutiny in the British Parliament - both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

There are two ongoing reviews into the relationship being conducted by UK Parliamentary Committees and over the past year, the matter has come up for debate in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

One of the main ongoing issues in the matter of the Register of Beneficial Ownership of Companies and regulation of the offshore financial sector in the territories, of which Cayman is in the forefront.

It is known that Her Excellency Governor Jane Owen will be in attendance at the meetings, but to date, there has been no official statement from the Cayman Islands Government on who is representing the elected government.

That has been complicated in the past few days with the PACT coalition government being ensnared in turmoil following a further slimming of its majority to the bare minimum with West Bay West - and former Premier and Speaker - McKeeva Bush severing ties with the coalition.

It’s the third acrimonious departure from the PACT coalition this year and leaves the government hanging by a thread with a functional nine-seat majority in the 19-seat Parliament, plus a tenth with the inclusion of the current Speaker Katherine Ebanks-Wilks, a PACT supporter.

This hung parliament situation is expected to be put to the test on Tuesday November 14th if a motion of no-confidence presented by the main opposition People’s Progressive Movement (Progressives/PPM) against Premier Wayne Panton and his PACT coalition goes ahead.

That vote which would require the support of all remaining members of the PACT coalition for the government to remain in power would be taking place in the middle of this week’s JMC meeting in London.

It could not be confirmed if a remote participation possibility is constitutionally allowable.

On the agenda for the London summit are fundamental constitutional and other issues which could set the tone for the future relationship between the UK and the OTs.

They include the oversight of the UK over the OTs, the status of their legislatures, self-governance and political advancement, along with strengthening the relationship. Other topics are UK support for sustainable development of the Overseas Territories in line with United Nations goals and combating the effects of climate change, and other areas.