Tackling Unsustainable Debt

Lord Blunkett Excerpts

Thursday 17th July 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

That is exactly what our approach is designed to do. As I have said, multilateral action is the right way forward. The G20 common framework remains the best available tool for us to tackle debt vulnerabilities, bringing together traditional and newer creditors to co-ordinate on debt treatment, which is critical given the more diverse creditor landscape that we currently face.

[Lord Blunkett (Lab)]

My Lords, reinforcing the point that global co-operation and international institutions need to be not only defended but promoted in dealing with world debt and poverty, it is exactly 20 years since the Gleneagles agreement, which was reached in 2005 after the Make Poverty History campaign—one of the most successful democratic campaigns ever. Does my noble friend agree that we should celebrate that and see off those who would destroy those international conventions and institutions, and destroy how we can use our democracy to bring about change?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I absolutely agree with my noble friend and thank him for what he says. He and I were part of the last Labour Government who saw such historic action on debt relief, and I agree that we should celebrate that and remind the world of it. Of course, the world is a different place now; the creditor landscape is very different. Previously, most of the debt was held by Paris Club members and multilateral institutions. Now, borrowers increasingly rely on non-Paris Club members, specifically China and the commercial sector. So the action that we need to take now is different from that which was taken before. My noble friend rightly says that multilateral institutions are important; the onus is on us to strengthen those institutions, speed them up and ensure that they work better than they do currently.