Westminster Hall is an alternative Chamber for MPs to hold debates, named after the adjoining Westminster Hall.
Each debate is chaired by an MP from the Panel of Chairs, rather than the Speaker or Deputy Speaker. A Government Minister will give the final speech, and no votes may be called on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
Anneliese Dodds (Oxford East) (Lab/Co-op)
It is such a pleasure to speak in this debate with you in the Chair, Mr Twigg. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Preston (Sir Mark Hendrick) for securing this debate and to others who have supported it. As he says, it is taking place during a very important week: of the ratification in the Bundestag of the Kensington treaty.
I associate myself with many of my hon. Friend’s remarks, particularly those on town twinning, because the link between my city of Oxford and Bonn has been incredibly strong. It has gone from strength to strength, and it has involved local politicians, including myself. We have enduring friendships—including across party lines—between our two countries. It has included young football players from the council estate that I call my home, Rose Hill; in Bonn, they very much enjoyed the football, the friendship, and the Haribo factory visit.
I want to underline three areas where the collaboration between our two countries is particularly important, given the current circumstances. First, I underline what my hon. Friend said about industrial linkages. In my constituency, we see just how important they are. My hon. Friend mentioned BMW, which runs the Cowley Mini plant. That is a source of immense pride for my local community, provides good-quality jobs and supports a huge supply chain associated with those direct roles. It is an incredibly productive plant, and it is important that, wherever possible, we reduce barriers to joint working between our two countries when it comes to the kind of amazing advanced manufacturing taking place in Cowley.
I am encouraged by the fact that UK Ministers have spoken with their German counterparts about the European Commission’s “Made in Europe” plans. I hope that we can go further on that. The European Union’s desire to ensure that there is economic security is understandable, but it is important that that does not lead to a reduction in trade between the UK and EU—indeed, we need to increase trade. I have been encouraged by what I have heard in that regard, including on automotives and making sure that the UK is not cut out of those processes. I urge the Government to press ahead on that and the other measures that they have announced on energy costs, for example, which are important for a lot of the manufacturing in places such as BMW Cowley.
Secondly, I want to underline some points that are germane to those mentioned by my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Leyton and Wanstead (Mr Bailey). He talked about the fact that both our countries are currently experiencing exactly the same kinds of hybrid threats. This week of all weeks, four years after Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, we are seeing similar patterns of foreign interference, including sabotage and online disinformation, often sponsored by Russia. The Representation of the People Bill is now progressing through the UK Parliament and we have Philip Rycroft’s review of foreign interference. It will be important that there is collaboration between our two countries in that regard so that we can learn together.
I am aware of what happened in the run up to the German election. This is not a partisan point, because I understand that some of the sabotage was directed at trying to discredit the Green party there. There were also attacks on critical infrastructure with unclear attribution—as there so often is in these cases. As we are in these difficult waters, we need to see collaboration between democracies such as the UK and Germany on such matters.
Article 17 of the Kensington treaty is especially relevant here:
“The Parties shall cooperate on strategies for strengthening the resilience of their democracies in order to build resilient societies which are able to contribute to their countries’ security and to withstand the increasing attempts of interference and manipulation.”
I also welcome the treaty talking about deepening co-operation against all forms of hate crime, which, again, disturbingly, we are seeing in both of our nations.
Finally, I underline the welcome mention in the 11th lighthouse project under the Kensington treaty of working together on conflict prevention and committing both of our countries to strengthen joint work on the women, peace and security agenda. That will require engagement across our Governments, not just in our Foreign Ministries, where I know that there are very strong relationships, but in our Ministries of Defence. It would be helpful to understand more about what is being done in that regard. I thoroughly hope that the strong relationship between the UK and Germany can only become stronger in the years to come, and it is such a pleasure to speak in this debate.
Derek Twigg (in the Chair)
I am going to call the Front Benchers no later than 5.10 pm, so could Members keep their speeches to around five minutes?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr Hamish Falconer)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Preston (Sir Mark Hendrick) for securing the debate and for the contributions from other hon. Friends, hon. and gallant Friends and hon. Members. I am grateful to see the German ambassador and so many friends from Germany here to see the debate.
I am not the Minister for Germany. The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff South and Penarth (Stephen Doughty) is on his feet in the Chamber at the moment and would have been only too glad to have attended this debate. I am pleased that it gives me the opportunity to reflect, as many others have with great warmth, on my personal and constituency relationship with Germany.
As someone who has done a fair bit of Parliament over the course of the day, I reflect that this debate reflects that warmth in which Germany is held across the House, regardless of political party. I know that the proceedings of this House are not always easily understandable to our foreign friends, but I hope all those watching in Germany can see the deep affection with which they are held here. I personally feel that affection. Throughout my time at university I lived with a young man called Johannes from Frankfurt. I am incredibly proud to represent a city that has a deep twinning relationship and is home to Siemens Energy and Siemens Mobility. If their representatives are watching, they are welcome to keep the full extent of their investments in Lincoln. They employ more than 2,100 people locally and have invested around £100 million in sites across Lincoln since 2010. Lincoln’s experience is obviously matched by many constituencies across the country.
My city, along with many places in the UK, has benefited from shared British-German industrial expertise in a deep partnership. As MP for a city that considers itself the home of the Royal Air Force, I agree very much with my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Leyton and Wanstead (Mr Bailey) about the depth of the industrial partnership we have had over a range of areas, not least aviation. The Royal Air Force has particularly enjoyed that deep partnership on Eurofighter Typhoons.
I will not recap in great detail the important points colleagues have made. It is unusual as a Minister to be reminded so often of the many contributions that the Government have already made on these questions. I agree, unusually, with the shadow Minister that we built on foundations of deep friendship from the previous Government. The Kensington treaty is a landmark in an unpredictable time for world politics. The British-German partnership is ever more important and is key to advancing our shared values and interests. We were so pleased to take relations to a new level with the Kensington treaty signed last July. We consider it a modern and ambitious framework for the decades ahead. It touches on things that matter to both countries: keeping people safe, growing our economies, managing migration, backing education and clean energy, and building links between our communities.
I would say a little more about Lincoln’s twinning arrangements, but I suspect that the enthusiasm for twinning arrangements has been well heard. I would also like to touch on the science and technology partnership elements. I am so pleased that we have enabled visa-free school trips. I hear from hon. Members across the House of the value that they have taken in their visits and those we continue to enjoy.
There is an important expansion of our work in the North sea, the strengthened defence ties touched on in this debate. A direct rail link is much desired and I am pleased that planning has begun. Those are practical, tangible steps that show the real-world impact of this partnership. We will continue to build on those foundations. The state visit in December was a hugely important and welcome moment; I was grateful to hear so many hon. Members touch on the significance of it for them and their constituencies.
The situation in Europe today, particularly given the war in Ukraine—which is being debated in the other Chamber as we speak—underlines the importance of the partnership. Growing Russian aggression, new nuclear risks, cyber-attacks, disinformation campaigns and coercive pressure on our allies are issues that the UK and Germany face equally. We were pleased that my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary were able to lead the UK delegation to the Munich security conference last week. They met their German counterparts to discuss those issues and we stand united in our efforts to tackle them. Together with Germany and France, as driving forces behind the coalition of the willing, we are committed to supporting Ukraine. We will provide military, economic, diplomatic and humanitarian assistance for as long as necessary. We have worked together to impose sweeping sanctions, ban Russian oil, cut Moscow off from key technologies and co-ordinate the most comprehensive package of economic and punitive measures that Russia has ever faced.
There is much more to be done, but we will do it together. The Trinity House agreement referenced in the debate was signed by the Secretary of State for Defence and increases our defence and security co-operation with Germany. Chancellor Merz recently confirmed that Germany is on a path to building the strongest army in Europe. Our partnership means the UK plays a central role in equipping Germany’s military, and supporting European security and British businesses. I am pleased that, thanks to the Trinity House agreement, the German company Rheinmetall is already investing in a new artillery gun barrel factory, which will create 400 jobs in Telford.
There is much else I could touch on across the full range of contributions that have been made. I hope all those watching overseas will see the depth of partnership right across all of the key agendas that face this Government and our partners in Germany. I will return briefly to the shadow Minister’s questions about the defence investment plan. It is a priority; it will strengthen our security and grow the economy, and Defence Ministers will be returning to Parliament in due course.
In conclusion, in an era of instability we must look to our friends. The United Kingdom and Germany will continue to work together to tackle the global challenges we face. We will keep building on the Kensington treaty and strengthening the bonds between our countries and our people. It is a partnership that keeps us safe and delivers for our friends and people on both sides.