Starmer pulls Chagos deal following Trump backlash

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2026/01/23/starmer-pulls-chagos-deal-following-trump-backlash/

Posted by GnolRevilo

42 Comments

  1. A stopped clock and all that.

    Still though, there is something incredibly funny about Trump saving our asses on this one.

  2. This was always a shit idea but this does make clear that we only went ahead because the US wanted us to. Once their president publicly says it’s a bad idea it’s pretty straightforward to cancel it. I imagine US intelligence was working overtime to try and save it.

  3. GivenUpOnTrying on

    Fuck yes!!!!

    I absolutely hate that this has any relation to Trump, but the deal was abhorrent anyway.

    Britain has an obligation to the Chaos islanders, NOT to Mauritius.

  4. Why don’t we just walk away from the whole thing.
    If the US wants the base, they can pay for it.

  5. On the one hand its bad for the u-turn counter and bad to be seen following trumps lead.

    But on the other hand I never understood the point of it and this might be better. Conflicting emotions.

  6. Careful-Region-9934 on

    I’m just glad for the ChagosIan people who have been fighting hard against this government as they did not care about their feelings or futures and were willing to had them over to Mauritius whose culture& general lives are completely different and it’s a win for the British Economy has we are saving millions I am really glad that it’s gone this way especially with how things are with China

  7. This is so fucking hilarious to me.

    The Americans were the one pushing the Chagos deal, and now because of Trump trying to pressure and humiliate Starmer because he wouldn’t cave on Greenland (by saying the Chagos deal was terrible), the UK now pulls out of it completely.

    This is not what the Americans wanted at all. Trump overplayed and the US officials who wanted this must be furious.

    Perfect for us though.

  8. This week the Tories and the Media have been using this as another reasons to attack Starmer.

    So just wanted to remind everyone that the negotiations on Chagos sovereignty started in 2022 and the final parts of the deal were still in negotiation 2 weeks before the General Election.

    Also, I believe when the deal was made official the US was given the chance to veto, but didn’t. Now Trump is doing a Trump (his opinion is made up on the spot or previous things he has said he has forgotten or his opinion is based on the last person he spoke to about it)

    February:

    > Trump said “I think we’ll be inclined to go along with your country”. (Talking about UKs Chagos decision)

    > After the agreement was signed in May, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that Washington “welcomed” the deal.

  9. Thank god for that, now just drop all of the OSA and Digital ID shite and I might just not think of them as a party of complete clowns.

  10. The sun never sets on the British Empire!

    We finally found one good thing from Donald Trump becoming president.

  11. I wonder if the current government of Mauritius regret insisting on renegotiation after the last government had agreed to a deal

    https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/mauritius-pm-calls-renegotiation-chagos-islands-deal-with-uk-2024-12-17/

    https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/18/prime-minister-of-mauritius-opens-talks-with-uk-over-chagos-islands-deal

    Surely this delayed the ratification of the agreement, even though they would have known there was opposition to it within the UK.

  12. NoPhilosopher3590 on

    Fucking aye! Best thing to happen to the UK from Trump. So much in the UK needs fixing. Dont waste money to extend another countries influence in a far off land.

    We can make more friends with trade than with war. Enough now. Focus on home.

    We need cohesion in this country

  13. Sorry-Programmer9826 on

    If we were paying billions to keep our own base that would be one thing. But paying billions so the ungrateful Americans can keep their base. That seems like a terrible idea

  14. sober_disposition on

    Our islands!

    Seriously, this was the most expensive attempt at virtue signalling in history.

  15. Defiant-Sand9498 on

    Can we just recognize that America isn’t our friend any more and just ignore what comes out of the white house

  16. Sweet let the UN declare our hold on the islands as illegal. We can leave and leave it up to the US to hold onto it or close the base down. At least we aren’t giving billions away as part of this deal

  17. To be clear, this isn’t just like ‘Starmer doesn’t want to annoy Trump’.

    The deal is simply illegal unless the United States agrees to it.

    We’re subject to the 1966 British-American Chagos Agreement, which includes that the territory itself remains soveriegn British land but then essentially leased to the USA.

    If we then give up the land (as we would in this deal) and the US objects, then we’re in breach of the treaty we signed with them.

    It’s also not clear to me whether Trump is doing this just to put pressure on Britain over Greenland. I mean, maybe that is part of it. But frankly, nobody from either the British or American governments has ever been able to explain what on earth we stand to gain from this ‘deal’ with Mauritius. The lack of any even remotely coherent or plausible rational justificaiton is what’s got much of the public so nonplussed about it.

    So I wonder if what’s happened is that, before, Trump had basically been told by some deep state national security egghead that “it’s all fine Mr President, just sign here please”, but what’s happened since is he’s gone back on social media or watched cable news and realised what he’d given his approval to. Or, frankly, someone from his inner circle has just whispered in his ear and said “Sir, i think we need to rethink this…”

    Like, if it helps him with Greenland then I’m sure he’s happy about that. But I don’t buy that that’s the only reason. After all, if his problem with Greenland is he doesn’t like indefinite leases, then why would he be okay with a specifically time-limited lease in Diego Garcia?

  18. I hope this was always part of the plan, say well give it back, cause a fuss, get some concession from the US, do a U turn.

  19. Can someone explain what’s going on here?
    I’m not very clued up on this situation?
    Thanks

  20. It was a shit deal anyway.

    But it was shit regardless of the US saying it.

    But don’t forget Trump lauded it first.

  21. governmenttookmaporn on

    Just scrap the whole idea tell Mauritius and everybody else to fuck off and we crack on like we did yesterday.

    Ridiculous notion to begin with

  22. veerKg_CSS_Geologist on

    UK remains, as ever, a vassal of the US.

    Gonna be awkward when the US position changes again in a few years. Then the UK will have to pay even more.

  23. InterestedPrawn on

    Good, absolutely ridiculous move. Not only giving up the island, but paying another country that never had control over it to take it.

    Also means the sun is yet to set on the British Empire.

  24. Repulsive_Bus_7202 on

    Given that it was negotiated largely by the Tory government for five years before it was agreed, you’d think they’d have realised that it might be an issue.

  25. BlazeFireHorse76 on

    Right decision for the right reasons.

    UK needs to look after its own interests just like every other bloody country in the world.

  26. so the tories started these negotiations, labour finished them with support from Trump. Starmer calls out Trump over Greenland and Trump says it’s a dumb idea so the lords is holding up the deal?

  27. Why did you write pulls ‘deal’ when the headline states ‘pulls bill’ which is entirely different…

  28. painteroftheword on

    A lot of people commenting who don’t appear to actually know anything about why the deal was made in the first place and are just parroting anti-Labour lines.

    The Chagos deal arose through a combination of international courts insisting the UK hand the island back, and the UK needing to retain access for the US-UK military base on Diego Garcia.

    We weren’t handing them to Mauritius and renting them back for shits and giggles. It’s a strategically important location for the USA and not long ago that also served UK interests to maintain.

    I expect saner heads in the USA administration are currently trying to convince Trump to talk with Starmer and get the Chagos deal back on the table.

  29. SpecialTitle6686 on

    ITT: So many people wanting to give away legitimate UK territory and pay 34 billion to someone else to do it.