Commonwealth should become a trade bloc and invite Ukraine to join, says new report

A major new report has proposed turning the Commonwealth into a trade and security bloc and inviting Ukraine to join.

Ahead of the biannual Commonwealth heads of government meeting (Chogm) in Samoa next week, the think tank Policy Exchange has produced a report to revitalise the international club of nations.

The report, which has cross-party support in the Commons and has been backed by former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper and Australia's ex-foreign minister Alexander Downer, comes with exclusive polling revealing public support for the plans.

According to the polling, more than three in five (63 per cent) of UK adults believe the Commonwealth should encourage the removal or reduction of barriers to trade between its members.

Nearly half of UK and Australian adults (49 per cent) think the Commonwealth should invite Ukraine to submit a membership application.

Support for Ukraine being invited to join rises to 55 per cent in Malaysia, 74 per cent in Nigeria, and 75 per cent in India.

The proposal on Ukraine comes as a recommendation to provide further support for the country as it fights Russia’s invasion, while it is applying for membership of international organisations like the EU and Nato. Coupled with the plan for the Commonwealth to be a security pact, it suggests Ukraine’s membership could be a vital addition.

While Ukraine is not a former colony or protectorate of the UK like most Commonwealth members, the organisation has recently accepted Rwanda which also had no historic links to the British Empire. The report also recommends:

• A new Commonwealth Trade and Investment Commission which makes the most of the Association’s existing advantages based on a common language and similar administrative systems
• A role for William, Prince of Wales, to champion environmental causes across the Commonwealth – such as promoting green-energy transitions and stewardship of the oceans
• The creation of a new Security and Defence Co-operation Forum which encourages joint military and naval exercises as expressions of solidarity with members facing threats to their territorial integrity
• For the Commonwealth to adopt a policy of ‘strategic expansion’ to broaden its membership into the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with countries of interest including Morocco and Oman

Mr Harper said: “The Commonwealth of Nations is a unique international association – 56 member countries spanning the continents, incorporating some of the most dynamic and energetic cities on Earth.

“This much-needed report by Policy Exchange rightly calls for the Commonwealth’s strategic potential to be harnessed – especially through the fostering of stronger trade and investment relationships which build on existing advantages based on linguistic, legal, and administrative commonalities.”

Mr Downer added: “There has been a failure in the spheres of British politics, policy, and media to recognise the Commonwealth as a potentially enormous asset for both the UK and emergent friendly nations – to the point that it is at times unthinkingly dismissed as an irrelevant outdated relic of the British Empire.

“With revisionist undemocratic powers looking to remould the fundamentals of the international system, the UK must not neglect the goodwill and affection towards it within the Commonwealth.

“As the multi-country polling presented in this excellent Policy Exchange report shows, the majority of people in India and Nigeria believe that the UK does more good than harm in the world – which is sadly not the case among Britons themselves.”

The report has also received cross-party backing from Tory and Labour MPs on the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for the Commonwealth.

Labour MP Adam Jogee MP, co-chair of the APPG, said: “Our new Labour Government has a golden opportunity to adopt an authentically progressive, inclusive, internationalist, and outward-looking foreign policy agenda which pays worthy attention to the Commonwealth's potential value and in doing so, it will have my full support.”

His Tory co-chair Andrew Rosindell added: “A confident and self-assured Britain is needed at the heart of the Commonwealth – a family of nations which must remain committed to greater international peace and security.”

Dr Rakib Ehsan, senior adviser at Policy Exchange and author of the report, said: “The forthcoming Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Samoa presents a golden opportunity for the UK to both articulate an ambitious vision for the Commonwealth and project a confident image of itself on the international stage.”