The Chagossian people have spoken, and their answer could hardly be clearer: they want their homeland to stay British. A new consultation of the global Chagossian community has uncovered overwhelming backing for the Chagos Islands to remain under British sovereignty, in what specialists are describing as the largest and most thorough survey of Chagossian opinion ever carried out.
Having now drawn 3,389 responses from across the world, the poll carries the endorsement of Andrew Hawkins, founder of Whitestone Insight and one of Britain’s most senior polling analysts.
Mr Hawkins judged the methodology robust enough for the results to be “taken seriously” and called the level of participation “exceptional.”
The numbers land at a decisive moment. This afternoon (Tuesday 18 November), peers reach a key committee stage in the House of Lords, where they will scrutinise legislation and table amendments tied to the proposed transfer of sovereignty to Mauritius.
A survey covering more than a third of all Chagossians
Titled Voice your Indigenous rights on the future of your Homeland, The Chagos Archipelago, the survey gathered responses from over one third of the entire global Chagossian population, which is estimated at between 8,000 and 10,000 people.
The data breaks down as follows:
- 2,712 respondents supplied residency information
- 2,987 answered questions on identity and heritage
- Over 3,000 responded to political questions on sovereignty and future governance
On Mr Hawkins’s reckoning, the sample amounts to roughly 34 per cent of the global Chagossian diaspora and about two thirds of those settled in the United Kingdom, where the bulk of the community lives.
“This survey achieved very significant coverage of the Chagossian diaspora, especially within the United Kingdom, and provides an unusually comprehensive view of attitudes within the community,” he said.
While exact representativeness cannot be calculated, he added, the mix of a large sample and exceptionally strong results lends authority to the findings as an accurate reflection of Chagossian diaspora sentiment.
More than 99 per cent want to stay British
At the heart of the poll is a near-unanimous wish for the Chagos Islands to remain British. Asked what they wanted for the archipelago, 99.16% backed self-determination and the continuation of British sovereignty, while fewer than one per cent favoured a handover to Mauritius.
The remaining questions returned the same crushing consensus:
- 99.73% supported the Great British PAC / Mandarin family’s Judicial Review of the Chagos treaty (still awaiting a judgement)
- 99.33% consented to representation by BIOT Citizens UK and its leader Misley Mandarin on sovereignty matters
Mr Hawkins said the consistency and scale of these margins “lend authority to the conclusion that the results reflect real and widespread sentiment across the diaspora.”
He also pointed to the unusually high proportion of verifiable entries, including names and contact details, which is rare for voluntary online surveys.
It is worth noting that since Mr Hawkins’s assessment, more than 3,500 Chagossians have been polled, with 3,550 (99.22%) coming out in favour of British sovereignty and just 25 (0.78%) against.
This work has been a collaboration between The Friends of the British Overseas Territories and the Great British PAC.
What the poll shows
