William Ewart Gladstone, leader of the opposition Liberal party, vehemently opposed the takeover as immoral, but he did not return the island.

In 1906, a new harbour at Famagusta was completed, increasing the importance of Cyprus as a strategic naval outpost protecting the approaches to the Suez Canal.

[7] Among other items, that Exchange of Notes provided for payment of a total of £12,000,000 "by way of grant" (and not related to the bases), starting with £4,000,000 in 1961 and tapering down to £1,500,000 in March 1965, with provision for the UK Government to review the situation for each subsequent five-year period, in consultation with the Republic government, and "determine the amount of financial aid to be provided".

In December 2024, Britain agreed to share intelligence with Cyprus to help prevent Russia from evading sanctions, following talks between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Nikos Christodoulides.

Current relations between Cyprus and the United Kingdom are considered excellent with high levels of cooperation on energy, diplomacy and education.

Several Cypriot villages remain enclaved in the areas, and there have been numerous arrests of anti-British demonstrators over the past few years.

In January 2014, an agreement signed by Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides and Foreign Secretary William Hague, in the presence of President Nicos Anastasiades, was made to lift the restrictions in developing properties within the British bases areas.

The right of the owners to develop their land concerns 15 local administrative units, which make up 78% of the total area of the bases.

Following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, the EU and the UK signed a free trade agreement on 31 December 2020, due to the UK leaving the European single market; the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement entered into force on 1 January 2021.