IEA Brexit Prize: CX win 3rd Place!

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We're pleased to announce that we won the 3rd prize in the IEA's Brexit Prize!

Our entry, arguing that a post-EU Britain should put the Commonwealth and wider Anglosphere at the forefront of its trading plans, also came in second in the under 30s category.

You can find out more about the competition here but the premise for submissions is as follows:

"A referendum has resulted in an “Out” vote and Her Majesty’s Government has triggered Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. What measures does the UK need to take in the following two years, domestically (within the UK), vis-a-vis the remaining EU and internationally, in order to promote a free and prosperous economy?"

We will post a link to our submission when it is available as well as more information as it comes in.

UPDATE: Below are a few photos from Tuesday's awards ceremony including our Executive Director Tim Hewish accepting the prize from the Chairman of the judging panel, Lord Lawson. Photos are copyright IEA.

UPDATE 2: Our entry is now available online. You can read it here.

New Petition: Fly the Commonwealth flags on Parliament Square during the Commonwealth Games

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You can sign our petition through Change.org here. Please share far and wide for maximum impact. Thank you Commonwealth supporters.

The flags of every Commonwealth nation fly on Parliament Square each year during Commonwealth Day in the UK. Commonwealth Exchange (CX) believes that the flags should fly more frequently. 

Problem: This year the flags did not fly on the Square due to a potentially avoidable event.

Solution: We want to see this rectified with the UK Government Department responsible to agree to fly the flags on the Square for the duration of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games (23 July to 3 August 2014).

Thousands of Commonwealth tourists will visit the UK this summer and it would be a welcome sight to see their flags against the backdrop of the Mother of All Parliaments.

Andrew Rosindell MP has been a strong advocate through his chairmanship of the All Party Group (APPG) on Flags and Heraldry as well as his membership of the APPG on the Commonwealth. He has asked numerous questions to the Government about the Commonwealth flags here, here, and here.

How you can help: I urge people from all over the Commonwealth to sign this petition in order to show the UK Government that the Commonwealth matters to a great many people and this can be readily identified through the flying of national flags. It is visual, emotive, and offers a great sense of shared identity as equals.

This is a worthwhile and noble goal. With your help we look forward to the Commonwealth national flags flying on Parliament Square during the Games.

Thank you.

The Commonwealth Exchange team.

CX has a part time volunteer vacancy

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Commonwealth Exchange (CX) is looking for volunteers to help advance its programme of research and events. CX is a new think tank established to promote a 21st century view of the Commonwealth with a focus on increasing its trade, educational, and strategic potential. 

CX would like assistance on a flexible basis part-time. We are based in Westminster and ideally looking for a current student from a London university or recent graduate living in London that is keen to add to their CV and gain experience working in a public policy setting and is interested helping with events management and research.

If you are interested in such a role then please send a one-page cover letter and a maximum two-page CV to Tim Hewish via tim@commonwealth-exchange.org

CX reaches the final 6 of IEA's Brexit Prize

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We're pleased to announce that our submission to the IEA's Brexit Prize has reached the final six.

We were shortlisted last year to make a full submission of up to 20,000 words. We made this submission in February and have now passed the final hurdle before the winner is announced on April 8th. The last six in the competition can be found here.

You can find out more about the competition here but the premise for submissions is as follows:

"A referendum has resulted in an “Out” vote and Her Majesty’s Government has triggered Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. What measures does the UK need to take in the following two years, domestically (within the UK), vis-a-vis the remaining EU and internationally, in order to promote a free and prosperous economy?"

CX does not take a position on whether the UK should remain in the EU but feel it is important that plans are in place should it chose freely to do so. As a result we put forward our submission arguing that the Commonwealth and wider Anglosphere should be at the forefront of any UK plans if it were to leave the union. As the competition is still going on we obviously don't want to reveal more at this stage.

Thanks to all who assisted with the submission and put up with us while we were writing! Wish us luck for the prize!

Commonwealth vs EU: A false dichotomy?

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There has been a lot of media attention on Lord Ashcroft's latest research Europe on Trial. It is an extensive examination of the UK population's views on Europe. However one of the overlooked results was the relative popularity of the Commonwealth.

When asked "how  positive  or  negative  do  you  feel  towards  each  of  the  following?", the Commonwealth was the highest scoring political/international organisation ahead of local councils, the UK Parliament, the ECHR, the EU, and the European Parliament.

Several countries were also included in the question and again the Commonwealth & Anglosphere does well with all 4 nations polled (Canada, the USA, India and South Africa) receiving higher average scores than any European institution and Canada receiving the highest score of all countries and institutions:

While this is obviously positive and welcome news, especially in light of some recent negative press for the Commonwealth and several of its member states, caution is required.

There is a danger with this that, for Britain, the Commonwealth will come to be seen only as an alternative to the EU. This not only undervalues this incredible network that we have inherited, it also could lead to it being ignored for as long as Britain is in the EU. This would be a costly error as, in or out, we should be pushing for more and freer trade with other Commonwealth countries.

It is worth remembering that the EU has signed or is working on deals with Canada, Signapore, India, South Africa and various other key Commonwealth countries. In addition, the UK is not the only Commonwealth country in the single market with Malta and Cyprus also being members of both organisations.

These negotiations have often not proceeded as rapidly or freely as we would like but, for as long as the UK remains a part of the EU, they are the only mechanism for us to expand trade with our Commonwealth partners around the world.*

By only viewing the Commonwealth as an alternative to the EU, and therefore to be ignored until a potential future Brexit, there is a danger of trade negotiations with Commonwealth countries slowing or being abandoned just when Britain should be applying ever more pressure for freer trade through the EU and any other channel it has available to it.

CX does not take a firm position on whether or not the UK should be in the EU but the Commonwealth MUST be a priority in either case.

*Worryingly, the Ashcroft poll also found that only 11% view the inability to negotiate trade deals with non-EU countries as one of the "most important disadvantages of EU membership." This issue needs to be highlighted and awareness of it increased as it should be one of the first things raised in future negotiations and could be one of the deciding factors in deciding whether or not the UK should remain a member.