Whitestone Insight endorses landmark Chagos Islands sovereignty poll

The Chagossian community has issued one of its strongest and most unified interventions in recent years, with more than 650 Chagossians signing a formal statement urging the Government and Parliament to stop the Diego Garcia Bill and to recognise their right to self-determination.

The statement draws attention to the precedent set during the decolonisation of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. When the Ellice Islanders expressed concern that they would be politically overwhelmed in an independent state dominated by the larger Gilbert Islands, the UK held a referendum in 1974. The Ellice Islanders voted overwhelmingly to separate. The statement argues that Chagossians should now be granted the same opportunity to determine their own future.

Whitestone Insight has also endorsed a poll conducted globally in the Chagos community which shows overwhelming support for the Chagos Islands to remain British, in what experts are calling the largest and most comprehensive consultation of Chagossian opinion ever undertaken.

The poll, conducted by Friends of the British Overseas Territories (FOTBOT), gathered over 3,000 responses worldwide and has been endorsed by Andrew Hawkins, founder of Whitestone Insight and one of the United Kingdom’s most respected polling analysts. While Mr Hawkins did not conduct the poll himself, he confirmed that he is satisfied with its methodology and believes the findings should be taken seriously. He described the scale of participation as “exceptional.”

His endorsement provides invaluable credibility to the FOTBOT poll, offering clarity regarding the robustness of the data and the validity of the conclusions drawn.

Key Significance

• Scale: Over 3,600 Chagossians participated — a remarkable figure given that the global Chagossian population is estimated at around 10,000.

• Credibility: According to Andrew Hawkins, this is the most extensive consultation of Chagossians ever conducted. He stated: “The survey achieved very significant coverage of the Chagossian diaspora, especially within the UK, and provides an unusually comprehensive view of attitudes within the community.”

• Findings: The results show overwhelming support for self‑determination and British identity, with over 99% of respondents expressing the wish to remain British.

Methodology Overview

The poll titled: Voice your Indigenous rights on the future of your Homeland – The Chagos Archipelago had a sample size of 3,389 respondents worldwide — representing approximately 34% of the estimated global Chagossian diaspora.

Coverage:

• UK respondents: 2,320 (≈66% of the UK‑based Chagossian community).

• Global diaspora coverage: ~34% of the estimated population.

Composition:

• 3.6% native born, 79.5% descendants, 18.1% spouses.

• 99.7% support for the Great British PAC / Mandarin family’s Judicial Review of the Chagos treaty.

• 99.3% consent for BIOT Citizens UK representation.

• 99.2% support self‑determination and remaining British.

While the survey was voluntary and not a random sample, the exceptionally high response rate relative to the population size makes it one of the most authoritative indications of Chagossian sentiment ever conducted.

Andrew Hawkins said:

“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. While representativeness cannot be calculated precisely, the combination of a large sample size and exceptionally strong results lend authority to the findings as an accurate reflection of Chagossian diaspora sentiment.”

The findings come ahead of a key committee stage in the House of Lords on Tuesday 18 November, where peers will scrutinise legislation and offer amendments linked to the potential transfer of sovereignty to Mauritius.

This poll represents a landmark consultation of the Chagossian community worldwide. Its findings - near‑unanimous support for self‑determination and continued British identity - carry significant weight in the current political and legal context.

Please note: since Andrew Hawkin's assessment, over 3,500 Chagossians have since been polled finding that 3,550 (99.22%) have polled in favour of British sovereignty and 25 (0.78%) against.

Contact for further info: press@fotbot.org

This insight has been a collaboration between The Friends of the British Overseas Territories and the Great British PAC.