The Chagos Islands deal will go down as one of the worst agreements in modern British history. It is an act of self-inflicted harm, delivered by a Labour government that appears to place the opinions of foreign courts and international lobbyists above Britain’s national interest.
Under this deal, the UK is set to cede sovereignty over the Chagos Islands, despite the fact that they host one of the most strategically important military assets in the Western world: the UK-US base on Diego Garcia. There was absolutely no necessity — legal, diplomatic, or strategic — to give these islands away.
Yet that is exactly what the government has chosen to do.
Labour’s Obsession With International Approval
This deal is entirely consistent with the instincts of Keir Starmer and his government: defer to international bodies, undermine British sovereignty, and apologise endlessly for Britain’s past — even when doing so damages our present and future security.
The background to this deal makes matters even worse. It has emerged that a close associate of the Prime Minister served as Mauritius’ chief legal adviser during negotiations — an individual who later publicly celebrated “humiliating” Britain. That humiliation was not inflicted by a foreign power alone; it was enabled from within.
The Conservatives Share the Blame
This disaster cannot be laid at Labour’s door alone. The previous Conservative government, including senior figures such as Kemi Badenoch, initiated the process by entering into 11 rounds of negotiations with Mauritius in 2022.
Those talks created the pathway for surrender. Labour simply finished the job. Together, the two old parties have shown that when it comes to Britain’s overseas territories, neither can be trusted to stand firm.
A Serious National Security Risk
Handing the Chagos Islands to Mauritius is not just an act of diplomatic weakness — it is a direct national security risk.
Mauritius has a long-standing reputation for corruption and is a close ally of China. The fact that the Chinese embassy in Mauritius publicly congratulated the Mauritian government on securing this deal should alarm anyone who takes British defence seriously. Beijing does not celebrate outcomes that weaken its adversaries by accident.
By ceding sovereignty, Britain risks placing a vital military hub within the political orbit of a Chinese-aligned state. That is reckless in the extreme.
An Astronomical Cost for Self-Harm
If the strategic damage were not bad enough, the financial cost is staggering.
The government’s own figures show that the cost of the deal has already ballooned to £35 billion — ten times higher than the original estimate of £3.4 billion. Britain will quite literally be paying tens of billions of pounds to do something that weakens our security, undermines our sovereignty, and strains our relationship with the United States.
At a time when families are struggling, public services are under pressure, and taxes remain high, this is an unforgivable misuse of public money.
The Chagossians Oppose the Deal
Perhaps most damning of all is the fact that the Chagossian people themselves oppose this deal.
Many have described it as a “betrayal” that benefits no one except the Mauritian state. Large numbers of Chagossians have already fled Mauritius due to discrimination and mistreatment by the Mauritian authorities. They know first-hand that this transfer does not protect their rights or improve their lives.
Some Chagossians living in Britain have openly expressed support for Reform UK, praising the party for standing up for them and for Britain, and for helping to “bring the country together” rather than dividing it through elite deal-making.
Reform UK Would Scrap the Treaty
Reform UK’s position is clear and unambiguous.
Should we win the next election, Reform would ignore the treaty, stop the payments, and restore full British sovereignty over the Chagos Islands. This would not be unprecedented. Mauritius itself ignored the 1968 treaty under which Britain purchased the islands for £3 million following Mauritian independence.
If necessary, Reform would go further — including the imposition of visa restrictions on Mauritian nationals and the suspension of tourist flights — to defend Britain’s interests.
This deal is not inevitable. It is a political choice — and it can be reversed.
Britain should not give away strategic territory, compromise its security, or pay tens of billions of pounds for the privilege of being weakened. The Chagos Islands deal is a symbol of everything that is wrong with establishment politics — and exactly why Britain needs real reform.