Parliamentary group to reframe UK-Ghana relations

Ghanaians gathered by the UK seat of government to mark Ghana’s 68th Independence Day and the re-launch of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ghana.

The event, on 6 March 2025 at Portcullis House, Westminster, was organised in conjunction with Ghana Union - London, and included members of the Ghana High Commission and British High Commission in Ghana, representation from Ghanaian royalty and distinguished guests.

Bell Ribeiro-Addy, who is the Labour MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill, was named as the new APPG chair for Ghana and announced fellow British-Ghanaians: Labour peer Lord Paul Boateng, Labour MP Abena Oppong-Asare and Tory MP Ben Obese-Jecty, who all hold vice-chair roles.

Life Tory peer Baroness Thérèse Anne Coffey, who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from September to October 2022 under Liz Truss, was also named as a vice chair.

Role of APPG

APPGs are informal, cross-party groups formed by MPs and members of the House of Lords who share a common interest in a particular policy area, region or country.

This APPG aims to strengthen the voice of the Ghanaian diaspora in Parliament, address key issues facing Ghana-UK relations and encourage positive relations between Ghana and the UK, Bell told guests during the evening. Bell also explained that she will be working with the Secretariat, provided by Ghana Union, to further the goals of the new group for Ghana.

Strengthening relationships

This is not the first APPG for Ghana that was established in the UK. One was created in July 2015, and was co-chaired by Lord Boateng and Labour MP Jim Cunningham.

By 12 October 2016, however, the group had become inactive - although it is not clear why. But as Abena, MP for Erith and Thamesmead, pointed out: “It was timely that we strengthen the relationship between Ghana and the UK.”

British Ghanaians in politics

This time around, the new APPG for Ghana has greater representation from British Ghanaians in politics. And the hope is that the longstanding trade and historical ties between the UK and Ghana will facilitate positive partnerships.

“Something that many people don’t know is that a lot of these independence movements and the discussions around them actually started here (in the UK),” said Bell, who was appointed in January as the UK Trade Envoy to Ghana.

“Dr Kwame Nkrumah spent some time in the UK and along with others from the Caribbean and other parts of Africa - these conversations about how peoples of African descent would govern themselves began right here - and then began our link between Ghana and the UK - moving forward from independence,” she told guests.

Later in the evening Lord Boateng backed up Bell’s words, adding that the legislative article that went on to cement Ghana’s independence originated in Westminster.

The Ghana Independence Act 1957 was a key piece of legislation passed by the UK Parliament that formalised Ghana’s transition to independence.

Historical ties

The event was a reminder of how deep the ties between Ghana and the UK run. It is widely known that Lord Boateng’s father Kwaku Boateng, was a lawyer and Cabinet Minister in Kwame Nkrumah’s government.

However, maybe not as well known that Ben, Tory MP for Huntingdon, comes from chieftaincy. He told the audience that his grandfather was the Odikro (chief/leader within the Akan political system) of Apirede, Nana Oboni Ayim Nyarko III.

Meanwhile, Bell and Abena made history in 2019, both becoming the first female British Ghanaians to take up positions as British MPs. They follow in the footsteps of Lord Boateng who was the first British-Ghanaian MP to be elected in 1987.

Abena is also the parliamentary secretary for the cabinet office, which makes her the first woman of Ghanaian descent to stand at the government dispatch box.

These achievements by both women were not lost on guests and Abena took the opportunity, during the evening, to pay tribute to Lord Boateng.

“As well as being a minister, Bell and I would not be here if it was not for the likes of Lord Paul Boateng,” she said.

“We literally stand on your shoulders,” she told the peer. “You came in 1987, and I have to say that when I was growing up, I didn't really see anyone from my background in parliament other than you. I never thought I would be in a place like this. You have been a great mentor and a great friend.”

New roles

Bell also brings expertise of chairing the All-Parliamentary Party Group for Afrikan Reparations (APPG-AR), which she founded in 2021.

The APPG-AR aims to raise awareness around the legacies of slavery and colonialism, and explore policy proposals that could be addressed through parliamentary channels.

And in her new role as the UK’s Trade Envoy to Ghana, Bell will be tasked with working with the British High Commission in Accra and the Government’s Trade Commissioner for Africa to strengthen ties, boost trade and find new opportunities for collaborations between the countries.

Abena said, during the event: “I am so proud that Bell is our trade envoy because I am sure she will be making sure that the government puts Ghana on the map.”

Ghana the gateway to expansion

Economic growth in Ghana and partnership between Ghana and the UK were areas that Lord Ray Collins, Baron Collins of Highbury and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Africa, highlighted during the evening’s address.

He applauded Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama’s for his focus on the priority areas of: economic stability, business environment, governance and constitutional reform, and corruption and transparency, during his inauguration speech.

“And when I spoke to him after his inauguration, we actually focussed on how we can deliver that partnership together - on economic growth,” Lord Collins said.

“The continent is full of potential. By 2050, a quarter of the world’s population would be in the continent. It's the biggest free trade area too and Ghana is that gateway to that expansion - the gateway to that growth.”

Rounding off the speeches, Lord Boateng rallied the guests in remembering Ghana’s struggle for freedom from the peaceful resistance of 2nd World War veterans during 28 February 1948 that ended in bloodshed to Kwame Nkrumah’s movement to decolonise Africa.

Lord Boateng said: “Let’s remember what Kwame Nkrumah said: ‘the independence of Ghana is meaningless without the total liberation of the continent’. That struggle for economic emancipation continues and we’ve got to win it.”

Read our exclusive interviews with Bell and Abena in Ghanaians in Politics (issue 6)

Making connections

During the evening, guests were led in singing Ghana’s national anthem, led by Ghana Union Chairman Emmanuel Kwesi Quayson.

There were submissions from Ghanaian dignitaries spanning Ghana’s various ethnic groups, as well as presentations from some of the businesses that operate in both Ghana and UK markets.

You can also listen to how British-Ghanaian entrepreneurs are working to promote economic growth in Ghana and across Africa through their enterprises.

We caught up with Yaa Ofori-Ansah of the Talking Drums Travel and Marketplace, Sydney Scott of Workspace Global and Margaret Debrah of EATO.

Read: British Ghanaians politicians during July 2024 elections