# ROBERT HARDMAN: Kemi is more in tune with Commonwealth thinking than our eager-to-please PM

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/robert-hardman-kemi-is-more-in-tune-with-commonwealth-thinking-than-our-eager-to-please-pm/
- Published: 2026-11-02T02:57:40+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-02T04:18:22+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/debate/article-16257053/ROBERT-HARDMAN-Kemi-tune-Commonwealth-PM.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: Government, Politics, UK, World

## Key points

- CARICOM wants Britain to discuss its ten-point reparations plan.
- Starmer supports dialogue but rejects financial reparations.
- Badenoch has raised the possibility of Britain leaving the Commonwealth.

## Summary

Robert Hardman argues that Kemi Badenoch’s opposition to discussing reparations could help reset Britain’s relations with the Commonwealth, while warning that Keir Starmer’s offer of dialogue has sharpened tensions before the summit in Antigua. The dispute matters because King Charles, who opens the meeting, is both the UK’s head of state and head of the Commonwealth, and many Caribbean nations share him as monarch.

CARICOM’s 15 members are seeking discussion of a ten-point reparations plan, which the article says is estimated to cost between $7 trillion and $24 trillion (£5 trillion to £18 trillion). Starmer said he was open to an apology and structured dialogue but rejected financial reparations as the right answer; CARICOM chair Philip Pierre said the bloc rejects that position. Badenoch has raised the possibility of Britain leaving the 56-member Commonwealth, while Hardman argues the summit is also focused on trade and other present-day deals.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.