Crown Dependencies naive to think they have a say on Brexit
I HAVE read the public and political comments from the Crown Dependencies on Brexit, which exhibit a strong degree of entitlement in their demands on what the UK should do. In summary, 'they want to have their cake and eat it'. The Crown Dependencies, for better or worse, decided not to join the Common Market in 1973. That decision is now a matter for reflection and history. In consequence, the Crown Dependencies have not contributed to what has become the EU budget but have derived some benefits as associate members of the EU and through bilateral relationships with EU jurisdictions. The majority of their residents had no vote or any entitlement to vote in the UK EU referendum. Why should they?
It is naivety in the extreme that, beyond the formal process of consultation, which is required constitutionally, the UK will set any priorities for the wishes of the Crown Dependencies which do not accord with the UK's own priorities. The UK voter perception of the Crown Dependencies is very mixed, much as that may distress the inhabitants of the Crown Dependencies. The Crown Dependencies need, as they say, to 'get with the programme or go their own way'. The choice is theirs.
R. C. McDOWALL,
Maison d'Aurigny,
St Martins,
Alderney, GY9 3UB.
