UK Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle has said he wants to be “a champion” for the British Overseas Territories as he marked his inaugural visit to the Cayman Islands on Thursday.
Hoyle, who addressed the Cayman Islands Parliament at a special meeting Thursday afternoon, said he was honoured to be able to visit the island and meet with local legislators.
Hoyle’s visit was deemed a “special occasion in Cayman’s parliamentary history” by House Speaker Sir Alden McLaughlin as it was the first time a speaker of the UK Parliament has made an official visit to the Cayman Islands.
McLaughlin, speaking at the special sitting of the House to welcome Hoyle, said Cayman was “indeed privileged and deeply honoured” to be able to host him.
He outlined Cayman’s historical changes, from the growth of the population and the abundance of job opportunities in the islands.
“It is always difficult for visitors to our islands to believe that Cayman wasn’t always just like this, but it certainly was not,” McLaughlin said.
“Indeed this Cayman bears little resemblance the Cayman my generation grew up in. When I was born, which I like to think wasn’t all that long ago, Cayman’s population was approximately 8,500 souls, the three islands combined.”
Since then, he said, the population has generally continued to increase at an “incredible and some would even say an alarming rate” with current estimates placing the population at around 85,000 now.
“An increase of tenfold in my lifetime. Caymanians no longer have to go abroad to make a living. It can be found working in virtually every vocation and profession in these islands,” he said.
McLaughlin said he was struck by the true dedication Hoyle has displayed and how he honoured the overseas territories on 9 May 2023 when he unveiled a new stained glass window in the Speaker’s House at Westminster with coats of arms from all the overseas territories including Cayman.
As Hoyle reflected on his historic visit, he reiterated that Cayman and the overseas territories are part of the British family.
“I‘ve championed the British Overseas Territories as an important part of the British family. Yes, we are one family, and there’s an important symbol of this relationship,” Hoyle told Parliament.
“And you, quite rightly said, Mr. Speaker, I installed stained glass windows depicting the coats of arms of each of the overseas territories and crown dependencies in the entrance hall to Speaker’s House, embedding this relationship into the fabric of Parliament itself,” he said.
He recounted being impressed with Cayman’s Youth Parliamentarians, especially Lili Anne Aleria when she spoke about being a young Caymanian and her vision for the future when she visited the UK Parliament.
“It was about that vision that I want to share. It’s about a modern relationship that we must have, not some colonial past. It is about a future that we work together. It is about looking after the universal recognition of all the overseas territories. I want to be a champion for you. I want to make a difference when the doors aren’t opening. I want to knock on the doors to make sure they open,” he said.
He told lawmakers that when “you have an issue, it is an issue for me, and we’re very good in the UK Parliament at telling people what needs to be done. Try it with me some time”.
He urged unity among the territories, saying that going it alone is not the way.
“If one issue is an issue of one part of the overseas territories, it is an issue for all of the overseas territories because it is coming together that works stronger in that relationship. It puts a greater pressure. Isolation is not a way forward with an issue. It is jointly supporting each other in the issues that are there,” he said.
Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, who is the newly elected president of the United Kingdom Overseas Territories Association, also welcomed Hoyle.
She said she was appreciative that Hoyle is “a fervent guardian of the ancient privileges of Parliament”, such as freedom of speech, “parliamentary privilege and exclusive cognisance”.
“The UK and Cayman relationship is one of kinship, and so we hope to contribute to deepen our friendship and bilateral relations, in keeping with my administration’s goal to strengthen engagement with the United Kingdom and other British Overseas Territories,” she said.
Opposition Leader Roy McTaggart also addressed the House and welcomed Hoyle to the Cayman Islands.
“This visit marks an historic moment for our islands and our young Parliament as we host a speaker of such significant stature and influence within the British Commonwealth. Mr. Speaker, your presence here is a testament to our country’s enduring bonds of friendship and cooperation. It is a moment of immense pride to us all,” McTaggart said.
Youth Parliamentarian Lili Anne Aleria presented a gift on behalf of the Parliament at the end of the special meeting.
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