“The future of the Falkland Islands is not in my hands, it’s in yours, and that’s what self-determination means.”
During his visit Luke Pollard MP has met with members of the Legislative Assembly, the public, and the Armed Forces resident at Mount Pleasant.
In a message published in the Penguin News the MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, and the son of a Royal Navy submariner, says he has “always felt a special affinity” with the Falkland Islands and met with many veterans when he organised a series of events in his constituency to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 1982 conflict, and Plymouth’s integral part in the Islands’ liberation.
On Friday evening, the minister attended the Poppy Ball at the Town Hall, followed by a Government House Community Reception on Saturday, where he gave a speech, reaffirming the UK Labour Government’s support for Falkland Islanders’ sovereignty and said: “The future of the Falkland Islands is not in my hands, it’s in yours, and that’s what self-determination means.”
The Minister attended the Remembrance Sunday Ceremony at the Cross of Sacrifice to pay his respects to those who lost their lives in conflict, laying a wreath on behalf of the UK Government
After attending the Remembrance Ceremony, the Minister boarded the Royal Navy Offshore Patrol Vessel, HMS Forth.
Speaking with Falklands Radio News, when asked what commitment he could make as Armed Forces Minister to ensure Mount Pleasant remains operational and with enough resources he said the Government’s commitment to the South Atlantic “is not changing” and the ministerial team is applying pressure to ensure the forces have the resources they need, saying “we’re filling capability gaps, that we’re improving morale and making sure that we’re best able to defend our values where that’s at home in the NATO area of operations or here in the South Atlantic.”
On the cost of keeping a military presence in the Islands and how he deals with that when challenged in the UK, the minister said “deterring aggression is a lot cheaper than being able to fight in a conflict”
Minister Pollard was also asked if he was satisfied the UK Government was getting value for money from the Air Tanker contract for the South Atlantic Airbridge, and on improvements for civilian passengers. Minister Pollard said he had heard from MLAs during his visit and will take these issues back to Britain “to understand what might be possible” adding “the Airbridge is absolutely essential, it’s vital, it supports our military presence as well as the Falkland Islanders and we need to make sure it is working as effectively as it possibly can and I’m all ears from when the MLAs raised some concerns, let’s see what we can do.”
