A British MP wants Bermuda to have a representative in the British parliament and even the European parliament.

Andrew Mackinlay, who has a long-standing interest in the 17 Overseas Territories, claims they are "denied their democratic rights" and ignored by Britain.

"Although they have the local legislatures important though they are ultimately this place, the Westminster Parliament, is their parliament," he said this week.

"If the United Kingdom goes to war, Bermuda and Gibraltar and lots of other places around the world can't say 'we'll sit this one out'. They're committed as well. So it does seem to me in the long term I would like to see representation for the Overseas Territories here at Westminster. Comparable arrangements happen in the United States of America, in France, the Netherlands and in Spain."

Mr. Mackinlay, who represents Thurrock in south-east England said: "I've said this in the House of Commons and it's fallen on deaf ears. And unless and until the Overseas Territories themselves demand it, I don't think there's likely to be any movement on that. But nevertheless we have legal, constitutional and moral responsibilities to see good governance in the Overseas Territories. "

Mr. Mackinlay said if the territories did have representatives in Westminster, he would not suggest they should be able to vote on local UK issues. However, he said: "On the broad macro-political issue, especially foreign affairs, they've as much right to articulate their views on the world as I have if Britain goes to war they go to war.

"I think there should be representation here. It's not going to happen in the next score years, but I think it will happen in time."

Furthermore, he would like to see representation for the Overseas Territories in the European parliament too. Mr. Mackinlay says his understanding is that all European Union citizens including residents of the territories — can be included in the European franchise if the British parliament wishes.

"I think the people of Bermuda should raise this, they should be demanding it. I think it's right in principle because European norms, standards, and some legislation inevitably spills over to Bermuda," he said.

"Of course if you had representation in the European parliament, the politicians here would simply have to pay much more attention to Bermuda. They [the Overseas Territories] would no longer be out of sight and out of mind to the mainstream political parties here. They would matter because they have votes."

Mr. Mackinlay believes if the territories are denied representation at Westminster and Europe, there should at least be a standing committee at Westminster to facilitate greater discourse with their heads of government who only visit London once a year at present. He suggested that more regular meetings could be facilitated through modern technology, such as video conferencing.

However, he said that such is the current lack of interest at Westminster in the Overseas Territories, it took him ten years to convince his colleagues on the Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) that there should be an inquiry into their governance. That eventually led to the committee visiting Bermuda and some of the other territories in spring 2008. Their report, released in July of that year, contained a raft of recommendations for ways to improve the governance of Bermuda none of which have been implemented (see separate story).

The report was greeted with criticism from Premier Ewart Brown, who described it as damaging to the reputation of Bermuda and biased in favour of the Opposition. Dr. Brown is a strong advocate of Independence. However, the latest poll on the topic, conducted by Research.bm in January, showed 74 percent of residents are opposed to breaking links with the UK.

Mr. Mackinlay said: "I would not be opposed at all to Bermuda having Independence. If the Parliament and people of Bermuda vote for Independence, they should have it. They clearly are a highly sophisticated, self-confident, self-sufficient democracy and economy, so they could seek Independence tomorrow. But if they choose not to and there are reasons why they don't appear to want Independence they can't have it both ways. There's this overall residual and serious responsibility remaining here in London."