MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands lawmaker meets Shadow ministers and attends CPA conference

MLA Leona Roberts next to (L-R), MP John Doughty, Shadow Foreign Secretary MP David Lammy and Shadow Defense Secretary MP John Healey

Falkland Islands lawmaker MLA Leona Roberts, currently in UK where she attended the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) British Islands and Mediterranean (BIM) conference, on Tuesday was in London to meet with shadow ministers.

MLA Roberts met with Shadow Secretary of State for Defense MP John Healey, who represents, Wentworth and Deame. MP David Lammy, Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, elected for Tottenham and finally MP John Doughty who represents Cardiff South and Penarth since 2012, and is currently Shadow Minister for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs. Issues relating to Falklands defense and foreign affairs were discussed, according to the FIG London Office.

From the meeting with Labour representatives, MLA Roberts was back at Westminster Abbey to discuss plans for the 40th anniversary of the Liberation of the Falkland Islands, which will be taking place in the Falklands and across UK.

Last week MLA Roberts was in the Island of Man for the regional conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) British Islands and Mediterranean (BIM). The 51st CPA BIM conference, hosted by the Parliament of the Isle of Man (Tynwald) focused on the theme of ‘Impactful Scrutiny’. Across the course of two days, the Acting CPA Chairperson, Ian Liddell-Grainger MP (UK) and more than 40 Parliamentarians and officials participated in a series of workshops around the Conference theme.

Sessions explored topics such as preparing new Members to scrutinize government decisions, delegated powers during COVID-19, the effective scrutiny of climate actions and diversity in Legislatures. Throughout, delegates acknowledged that scrutiny remained a core function in their role as a Parliamentarian and valued the ability to share experiences with one another from their respective jurisdictions.

At the opening of the Conference, delegates were welcomed by the Speaker of the House of Keys, Juan Watterson SHK, Joint President of the CPA Isle of Man Branch and CPA Small Branches Vice-Chair. The tone of the Conference was set from the outset by firmly placing the role of Parliamentarians in protecting parliamentary democracy against the current challenges from the global environment.rom the

During the Conference, the Acting CPA Chairperson, met with representatives from the many CPA Branches in attendance including Scotland, Wales, Guernsey, Northern Ireland, Falkland Islands, Isle of Man, Gibraltar, Cyprus and the United Kingdom. At the CPA BIM Region Annual General Meeting, the Acting CPA Chairperson spoke about the ways that can support its Members:

“The tremendous convening power of the CPA, through its membership of over 17,000 Parliamentarians across over 180 national and sub-national Legislatures, presents Members and Clerks with a unique opportunity to benefit from extensive inter-parliamentary exchange. This is the great strength of the Association, and I am delighted to hear all the sharing of experiences and best practice between Members and jurisdictions during the Regional Conference. The CPA continuously explores ways to encourage this type of knowledge exchange through its many offerings, including Regional Conferences, and the CPA BIM Region is able to take advantage of all these.”

The CPA British Islands and Mediterranean Region is one of the nine Regions of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. It consists of thirteen legislatures, from the United Kingdom, one of the largest Legislatures in the Commonwealth, to Alderney, the smallest. The Regional Secretariat is based within the CPA UK Branch, and undertakes a number of programs, including Election Observation Missions to Crown Dependencies and UK Overseas Territories.