MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands Assembly congratulates Burnham and looks to continuity with London

The Assembly reaffirmed the principle that, it said, has been and will remain the foundation of its bond with the United Kingdom

The Falklands Legislative Assembly congratulated the United Kingdom's new prime minister, Labour's Andy Burnham, and expressed confidence in the continuity of the relationship between the islands and London, in an official statement issued on Tuesday. The territory's legislative body said it looks forward to working with the new prime minister and his government, and to “continuing the close and productive relationship” between the two sides.

In the text, the Assembly's members also thanked Keir Starmer for his support of the islands during his tenure as prime minister. Starmer left office on Monday, replaced by Burnham after resigning the Labour Party leadership, without a general election.

The Assembly reaffirmed the principle that, it said, has been and will remain the foundation of its bond with the United Kingdom: the democratic wishes of the Falklands people. “We are confident that that principle will continue to guide the new government,” the statement said, also expressing the wish that Burnham have the opportunity to visit the archipelago during his term.

The statement comes at a moment of transition in London. Burnham's new government placed British foreign policy — including the position on the Falklands — in the hands of Chancellor Ed Miliband, appointed foreign secretary. Under the current arrangement, the United Kingdom retains responsibility for the territory's defense and foreign affairs, while the Assembly administers internal matters.

Successive British governments have maintained that the sovereignty of the islands is not open to discussion as long as their inhabitants wish to remain a British overseas territory, a position London reiterates at the United Nations. That principle rests on the 2013 referendum, in which, on a turnout above 90%, 1,513 of 1,517 voters chose to keep the current status.

Argentina, for its part, maintains its sovereignty claim over the archipelago, located about 300 kilometers off its coast, and has on various occasions called for reopening negotiations. President Javier Milei has reiterated that his country will seek to recover the islands through diplomacy.

The Assembly's statement follows a week of tension over the issue, after Argentine players displayed a banner about the Falklands following the World Cup semifinal against England, an episode that prompted a protest from the outgoing British government and FIFA's assessment of possible sanctions. The relationship between the islands and the United Kingdom now awaits the first signals from Burnham's government on South Atlantic policy.