“The Falklands cannot remain British for ever,” a Guardian column argues

MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Friday, July 17th 2026 - 23:08 UTC

The columnist reviewed the negotiations that preceded the 1982 war

In an opinion column published in the British newspaper The Guardian, writer Simon Jenkins argued that the Falklands “cannot remain British for ever” and called for London to eventually reopen sovereignty negotiations with Argentina. The piece is the columnist's personal opinion and does not represent the newspaper's editorial position.

Jenkins took as his starting point two recent developments: the agreement reached this week between the United Kingdom and Spain to dismantle the Gibraltar border, and the “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” banner that Argentine players displayed after knocking England out of the World Cup semifinal. Drawing on that contrast, the author argued that none of Britain's imperial-era territories has an eternal right to remain as it is, and noted that defending the islands costs the British taxpayer more than £60 million a year.