The Commonwealth of Nations is an organisation primarily composed of former British colonies. The United Kingdom is a member and there are several countries which were never colonised by the British but have chosen to join such as Rwanda and Mozambique. There are currently 56 member nations.
What is the Commonwealth for? It was established in 1926 for the white dominions to consult with the UK and each other. They were South Africa, the Irish Free State, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Newfoundland. Note that Newfoundland was not a province of Canada until 1949. It may seem surprising that South Africa was classed as a white dominion given that the majority of its people are black. In those days the black majority was excluded from political power. The Commonwealth was a shock absorber for the United Kingdom after 1947. Some Britons did not grasp that it was greatly diminished in might and wealth after the Second World War. They thought the empire had been renamed the Commonwealth.
The British Commonwealth was renamed the Commonwealth of Nations in 1949.
The Commonwealth is said to have nothing in common: certainly not its wealth. It contains some of the richest countries on the globe: Canada and Singapore. It also comprises some of the most underdeveloped countries in the world such as Rwanda. Should the Commonwealth not do something to assist those in penury?
There is no economic or trade aspect to the Commonwealth. Many Commonwealth countries kept preferential trade arrangements with the United Kingdom after independence. When the UK joined the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973 some of them lost this privileged status. Some of them were able to obtain beneficial trade agreements with the EEC (later the European Union) as a follow-on from their agreements with the UK.
There is no visa-free travel scheme for the Commonwealth. Certain rich Commonwealth countries have visa-free travel with each other such as New Zealand and Australia or indeed Singapore and the UK.
There is a Head of the Commonwealth. When the Commonwealth of Nations took its current form, it was agreed that the Queen of the United Kingdom would be Head of the Commonwealth. This office is not hereditary. It was not guaranteed that it would pass to her heir. However, the Commonwealth eventually voted that it would. Again, that is for his lifetime only and does not automatically pass to the next British monarch.
There are Commonwealth Heads of Government meetings every two years. These move to a different country each time. The current one is in Samoa. Time was that the CHOGM took a week and every prime minister went. But now it lasts two days and countries often send their deputy prime minister or foreign minister instead of the PM. CHOGM is not considered important. Elizabeth II did not even bother to attend several CHOGMS.
The Headquarters of the Commonwealth is Marlborough House, London. This is owned by the British Royal Family. Since the last member of the family to reside there (Queen Mary) died in 1953 it has been on long-term loan to the Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth has a Secretary-General who serves a renewable five-year term. The incumbent is Baroness Patricia Scotland. Baroness Scotland was born in Guyana and moved to the UK as a child. She is a barrister and was a Labour Government minister. Her Noble Ladyship is not the first black person to hold this office, but she is the first woman.
There are three candidates to be the next Secretary-General. All three are Africans and one is female. No Muslim has ever been Secretary-General.
In 1991 the Commonwealth agreed on the hilariously misnamed Harare Principles because CHOGM was held in the capital of Zimbabwe. These are about democracy. It was nauseating the Commonwealth chose to say nothing about the mass murder of 10,000 people for being of the Ndebele ethnicity in Zimbabwe as well as totally rigged elections in Zimbabwe. Many Commonwealth countries were dictatorships. There were many military coups. Only South Africa had faced action. Otherwise, internal affairs could not be discussed.
Does the Commonwealth achieve anything? It has no power. It does almost nothing to help its neediest members.
There is the Commonwealth of Learning. This is a scholarship programme. But its funding is very limited.
There is no defence identity to the Commonwealth. At the Commonwealth’s foundation, the Commonwealth spoke largely with one voice in international affairs. The armies, navies and air forces of the Commonwealth nations collaborated. They fought on the same side in the Second World War except Ireland which opted to stay neutral. After the Second World War, the old Commonwealth countries all sent troops to the Korean War. In the Far East, Britain, Australia and New Zealand shared bases in Singapore and Malaya. But that gradually ended.
Upon independence, some countries chose not to join such as Myanmar (Burma) and Israel. Several countries have left. The first was the Republic of Ireland. Zimbabwe and Gambia also departed. Pakistan left in a huff over the admission of Bangladesh which was then not recognised by Pakistan. The Pakistanis came back 20 years later. South Africa withdrew from the Commonwealth because a process to expel it was underway due to apartheid. In 1994 South Africa returned to the fold.
There are several countries that could join the Commonwealth on the basis that they were once under British control such as Bahrain, Palestine, Iraq the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, the USA and so forth. But none evinced any inclination to do so.
The Commonwealth Games is the only aspect of the Commonwealth that the average person may have heard of. It is summer sports only. Many Commonwealth countries have no snowy mountains so cannot practise winter sports.
In 2024 Melbourne, Australia was due to host the Games. Australia’s biggest city suddenly said they were unaffordable. It is scandalous that one of the richest countries in the Commonwealth should do so. Countries that are not rich at all like Jamaica have hosted them. If even a very affluent country does not consider it worthwhile to host the Commonwealth then that surely proves the Commonwealth's appeal among its own members.
Is the Commonwealth a useless talking shop? Is it expensive and pointless? Commonwealth countries agree on very little. It is not harmful. It is another forum for discussion. It usually releases statements of the most anodyne worthlessness.
If the Commonwealth were to be dissolved, would anyone care or notice? The politicians and the bureaucrats would miss their junkets. But it would save that much for the taxpayer. It would spare the environment a lot of carbon emissions with all these panjandrums flying around to CHOGM.
Commonwealth countries were asking the United Kingdom to apologise for slavery. The British Prime Minister apologised for it in 2006. They also want assythment from the UK. London says no further apology, nor any reparatory payment shall be forthcoming. Shall the Commonwealth as usual agree to disagree?