Part III: Imperial Affairs
Alongside the Beveridge Report, Churchill’s second term was also dominated by Imperial affairs. For Churchill, it was essential that the UK remained a great power in its own right – the British Empire, while an ally of the US, needed to stand on its own two feet.
Churchill’s Government main issue in the Empire was the Indian Question – initially, Churchill hoped that the
status quo could be maintained in India, yet the Prime Minister eventually accepted that it was not possible, so Churchill began looking for options which would both appease Indian nationalists, and allow the UK to maintain its ties with India.
In order to establish a solution, Churchill invited the Viceroy of India, Archibald Wavell, as well as multiple Indian politicians who both supported British rule and opposed it to London to discuss the Indian Question. Negotiations continued throughout 1947 and 1948, and few people expected any meaningful agreement to emerge, due to the conflict of interest between the parties negotiating. However, in April 1948, the negotiations came to a close and the London Declaration was announced – India would be partitioned into six separate Dominions. These Dominions were Balochistan, Pakistan, Kashmir, Delhi, Bengal and Dravidia.
Initially, expectations were that India would simply be divided into two, or at the maximum three, states based on religion. However, Churchill’s Government decided that it would be best to take into account linguistic and cultural divisions, too. This decision initially encountered opposition from both members of the Congress parties and other groups, yet eventually the populations of each of the new nations settled into their new respective states.
The Government of India Bill was subsequently introduced in the Commons. Although Churchill was opposed to what was now occurring, he grit his teeth and accepted that it was somewhat necessary. After all, at least the new nations would be Dominions, meaning there would be some links between the UK and India retained. The Bill was duly passed and came into law, and so the outgoing Government of the British Raj began preparing for the partition of India.
While some in the UK called for a hasty withdrawal from India, Churchill dismissed this, stating that it would be reckless. So, over a year, the plans for partition were put into place, and in April 1949, India became six separate Dominions.
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Although the UK lost India, Churchill’s Government was able to gain territory elsewhere. In 1934, the Dominion of Newfoundland had been disbanded after its economy was crippled by the Great Depression. However, in 1946, the UK Government established a Convention for Newfoundland to determine its political future, consisting of 45 members. At the Convention, there was a sharp divide over where Newfoundland should go in the future – some wished for Newfoundland to become a Province of Canada, others believed that the Dominion should be restored while others wanted to continue the
status quo. However, as the Convention continued to meet, support for joining Canada began to wane, as the so-called London delegation argued that Newfoundland’s economic interests were different to that of Canada, and also that Newfoundlanders had a distinct identity separate from Canada. Yet, rather than lending support to the concept of restoring Newfoundland’s own Government, this instead led to another idea gaining traction – Newfoundland and Labrador becoming integral parts of the United Kingdom.
Eventually, the Convention recommended that a referendum be held on whether or not Newfoundland should join the UK or become a Dominion (the idea of joining Canada had become so distasteful over the course of the Convention that it did not appear on the ballot). The British Government accepted the idea of a referendum, and duly put in place plans to hold such a referendum.
In the run-up to the referendum, there was a large degree of uncertainty regarding what the outcome would be – would Newfoundlanders vote to become a Dominion? Or would they remember the consequences of the Depression and instead vote to join the UK? Eventually, the referendum was held, and the results soon came in.
When news reached London, Churchill and his Government began preparing to enlarge the UK’s borders. A new Act of Union was introduced in Parliament, which would have Newfoundland and Labrador join the UK as provinces (similar to Northern Ireland) – although the name of the country would remain the ‘United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’. In addition to this, Newfoundland and Labrador would also be granted Home Rule, similar to Ulster, so Newfoundlanders could deal with local affairs. The Act of Union was passed by a significant margin in both Houses of Parliament, and duly came into law.
On January the 1st 1949, the Act of Union, 1948, came into force and thus Newfoundland and Labrador became constituent parts of the UK.