Kate Hoey MP speaks up for the Commonwealth in Parliament

Kate and others at our launch event last year

Kate Hoey, the MP for Vauxhall and a member of our Advisory Board, has been speaking up for the Commonwealth in Parliament today.

During the debate on the European Union Referendum Bill, Kate discussed what Britain's international priorities should be. She said:

"I want to co-operate with all sorts of countries. I would like to see our Commonwealth countries much more involved in what we are doing, as we have treated them scandalously over the years."

As Kate points out, the opportunities the Commonwealth offers are often squandered by the UK to the detriment of ourselves and the other members and citizens. No matter what our relationship is with the EU, we need to reach out and engage with the Commonwealth as fully as possible.

If the UK does leave the EU then our award winning Brexit Prize entry offers an extensive proposal for what steps should be taken. If we remain a member then there is still much to do both in attempting to reform aspects of the institution and pushing for more free trade deals with Commonwealth countries.

In either case we can also reach out to the Commonwealth on issues such as immigration. Our upcoming report "How to Solve a Problem Like a Visa" will offer six key proposals to improve the parlous state of Commonwealth immigration.

The report will be launched on 3rd November. There will be an event in Parliament on the morning of 3rd November to launch the report. More details are available on the Facebook event (don't forget to like our page too) and you can reserve your place by emailing events@commonwealth-exchange.org.

David Nuttall MP raises Commonwealth Immigration in Parliament

David Nuttall, the Conservative MP for Bury North, has raised the issue of Commonwealth Immigration in Parliament. Speaking during Home Office questions, he said:

"Our membership of the European Union brings with it a right to free movement into this country for people from other EU countries, and that brings with it a feeling that our friends in Commonwealth countries are being completely discriminated against."

He raises a very important issue. No matter at what level you think net immigration to the UK should be, it is clear that Commonwealth citizens are currently getting a raw deal.

For example, immigration from South Africa has fallen from 28,000 in 2002 to only 5,000 in 2012. EU immigration has more than doubled to 182,000 in the same period.

In other areas the collapse is even clearer. Immigration from the Indian sub-continent fell by over 50,000 in a single year 2011-12 dropping to just 69,000. This is in spite of the fact that the region is home to more than three times the population of the EU.

All of this and more will be covered in our upcoming report "How to Solve a Problem like a Visa - the unhappy state of Commonwealth migration in the UK." It will highlight how Commonwealth immigration has dropped dramatically in recent years and will propose six key measures to remedy this situation.

The report will be launched on 3rd November. There will be an event in Parliament on the morning of 3rd November to launch the report. More details are available on the Facebook event (don't forget to like our page too) and you can reserve your place by emailing events@commonwealth-exchange.org.

CX nominated for Prospect Think Tank Awards

Less than a year after our launch, we were nominated for the "One to Watch" category at the Prospect Think Tank Awards.

Sadly we did not make the final shortlist of four but were acknowledged at the ceremony for our "interesting work" in "helping the Commonwealth realise its role."

However, it is great to already be receiving this level of recognition so soon after launching.

This is especially true when you consider that all four finalists have existed much longer than CX (three of them by more than a decade) and all have at least twice as many staff with one boasting a total of 32!

To be considered in the same bracket as these much more established think tanks is hugely encouraging and gives us a great platform to build on. Fingers crossed for next year's awards!

Our Commonwealth flag picnic

A big thank you to all those who joined us last weekend to celebrate the success of keeping the Commonwealth national flags flying. We were joined by fellow Brits and one or two Canadians and Australians as well as a number of Caribbean lagers, ales and stouts.

Earlier this month Andrew Rosindell MP, advisory board member at CX, argued the case for the Commonwealth flags to remain on Horse Guards, in Westminster for the during and in support of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this summer.

CX has long campaigned to make sure that the flags fly more regularly and we were pleased to play a leading role in advocating this.

Here are a number of the photos we took in the glorious London sunshine. Vexillologists enjoy! 

CX's first appearance on the BBC

On Saturday morning, our director and co-founder, Tim Hewish, appeared on BBC Radio Scotland, during the Good Morning Scotland show.

He spoke about the need for the UK to rebalance its foreign policy away from the EU to focus on a more equitable position towards the Commonwealth in order to increase trade and prosperity.

You can listen to the discussion below.