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Join on Telegram Rabat – British MPs continue to keep the Western Sahara debate alive, asking their government to follow in the path of the international support for Morocco’s Western Sahara position has been receiving support from powers like the US, Spain, and France.
Andrew Mitchell, a member of parliament in the UK, has echoed this position, asking the UK Foreign Secretary whether the British government is going to act as the French and American governments to support Morocco’s Autonomy Plan for the Western Sahara dispute.
David Lammym, the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, has changed the traditional tone to emphasize that there is an ongoing discussion with Morocco’s government on this matter.
“This is a complex issue. The position remains the position we had under the last government. Of course, we keep that under review as we continue to discuss these issues in the region,” he said in a recent parliament session.
The recent remarks indicate the UK government’s potential change of heart as the answer moved from the traditional statement of supporting the UN-led political process, to being open to discussing the issue with the Moroccan government.
The remarks came just a few days after the UK government sent a new blow to Polisario and its supporter Algeria, after the British government made it clear that UK businesses are free to operate in Morocco’s southern provinces in Western Sahara.
Minister of State for Trade Policy, Douglas Alexander, shut down claims and pro-Poliario questions recently, in which an MP attempted to compare between Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory with the Western Sahara dispute.
Similar questions aligned with Algeria’s regime and Polisario’s attempts to draw a misleading comparison between the Sahara dispute and the Palestinian conflicts.
Algeria’s regime attempts are in line with its hostile position as it continues to interfere in Morocco’s domestic affairs to challenge the country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty over its southern provinces in Western Sahara.
The British minister’s remarks, however, stress the clear distinction between the UK’s position on Western Sahara and Israeli settlements.
This is not the first time the UK government has received questions in favor of Morocco’s position.
In 2024, over 30 MPs and peers signed a letter to the then foreign secretary Lord Cameron, urging the government to recognize Morocco’s Autonomy Plan as the most viable solution and path to end the dispute over Western Sahara.
“Morocco stands paramount among these partner nations; it is a top strategic ally in North Africa, with shared values and perspectives crucial to both our countries,” the petition reads.
Several MPs have individually echoed the same demand, calling on the UK to adopt a similar position as countries that have explicitly expressed support for Morocco’s Autonomy Plan.
MP Andrew Murrison addressed his government last year in October, stressing that the autonomy initiative that Morocco presented to the UN Security Council in 207 represents the only credible option to end the dispute.
Murrison urged the UK to follow in the footsteps of other permanent members of the UN Security Council that have come to the correct realization that there is no sustainable future for the Western Sahara region outside of its effective integration within Morocco.
“The UK must align itself” with these countries by establishing a consular and cultural presence in Laayoune and Dakhla, he said, noting that British support for the Moroccan autonomy plan is necessary to further strengthen UK-Morocco relations.
