On Thursday, millions of citizens in the United Kingdom will cast their ballots in a snap election being held following a referendum which forced Britain’s impending exit from the European Union (EU).
While some saw incumbent Prime Minister Theresa May’s election call as a brave and gutsy move to solidify confidence in the ruling Conservative Government, others expressed concern that the party could lose its majority in the British Parliament.
UK Ambassador to Guyana, Greg Quinn
Whichever candidate emerges victorious come June 8, the UK’s relations with Guyana are expected to remain intact. This was the vehement assurance given by the UK’s High Commissioner to Guyana, Greg Quinn, who related to Guyana Times last week that he based his opinion on interactions with his counterparts.
“With everyone I’ve spoken to including the President (of Guyana), I think fundamentally there’ll be no change. We are not expecting anything to be no different on the 9th June regardless of who wins the elections,” High Commissioner Quinn told this publication.
Speaking of the heightened relations, he pointed to President David Granger’s visit to the Queen at her Buckingham Palace residence in April and a subsequent visit from British Minister of State of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Right Honourable Baroness Anelay of St Johns DBE to Guyana in early May.
“[Relations] are going really well. We just had the President come back from the UK where he met the Queen and the week after he came back, we had the Minister here, so I think we are in a good place,” the UK envoy told this newspaper in the invited comment last week.
Incumbent UK Prime Minister Theresa May
Speaking on the oil and gas sector, due for production by 2020, Quinn indicated that owing to the magnitude, Guyana still has more to achieve the full requirements of the industry.
“I think there’s a lot of work being done, but there’s a lot of what that has to be done because it’s a big thing to come along. There are a lot of people who’ve been helping, including the Commonwealth Secretary who has been helping the Ministry and a variety of other groups and institutions that have been helping. The needs, requirements and work that have to be done is well understood and I think things are moving in the right direction,” he noted.
A YouGov poll released last week had suggested that Prime Minister May could lose the majority of the 650 seats in the House of Commons, winning 308 seats, a loss of 20 seats against the current 17-seat majority. The poll further suggested that the main Opposition Labour could garner 261 seats, leaving the other parties to accrue 80 seats. Other polls showed May garnering 43 per cent of the vote.
However, polls such as the Kantar poll and an Ipsos Mori poll showed the incumbent Prime Minister leading her rivals. The final result of the elections may deviate from the polls as it is not yet known how the recent terrorist attacks at Manchester and London will impact upon voting patterns.
Caricom Secretary General, Irwin LaRoque
It is expected that soon after the June 8 elections, negotiations on Brexit with the EU will begin. Following Britain’s decision to leave the EU last year, Guyana’s Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge posited that nothing was expected to change. Additionally, Caricom Secretary General Irwin LaRocque had pointed out in June 2016 that he did not foresee Brexit having a drastic impact on relations with Caribbean States.
He had noted that there was anxiety over the UK’s exit, with Britain being a significant contributor to the European Development Fund (EDF), from which Caricom benefits.
“I don’t anticipate that our relationship in terms of Europe to be directly affected… We don’t anticipate any diminishing of relationship of the EU and certainly not the UK, our relations are very strong,” he stressed last year. (Shemuel Fanfair)
