Ever so slowly the Turks and Caicos Islands are on their way back to having an elected government and a full constitution. Ignored by much of the media, a constitutional conference took place in London on June 15/16 that will result in the adaptation of the islands’ 2006 constitution that Britain partially suspended in March 2009 when it imposed direct rule.

The conference resulted in some of the more questionable aspects of a first draft being set aside and a revised text being produced that offers the possibility of a return to elected governance by sometime before the end of 2012. This was largely achieved through the intervention of British ministers who decided to overrule earlier advice from some UK officials, who many islanders regard as politically insensitive.

Although there is still much to be done – not least the bringing of prosecutions against former politicians, officials and investors who are alleged to have been corrupt on a staggering scale – the conference avoided the collapse that …..