Commonwealth Parliamentary Association

Lord Lexden Excerpts

Thursday 8th September 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Lexden]

My Lords, I very much agree with my noble friend Lady Benjamin about the need to rekindle enthusiasm far and wide for what our Commonwealth stands for and what it can do for all of us.

People in Britain who care deeply about the Commonwealth, and I am one of their number, have in recent years often found it difficult, I think, to overcome feelings of melancholy and restiveness. I should stress at the outset that this unease has not reflected any criticism of the work done by the myriad organisations that operate under the aegis of the Commonwealth, promoting cultural, educational and economic progress so successfully among its members. We will always be proud that the Commonwealth Secretariat is located in our midst at Marlborough House, where Edward VII as Prince of Wales tried to entice the King of Hawaii into joining the British Empire, an endeavour which, if it had succeeded, would have had interesting consequences for Anglo-American relations in more recent times. The Commonwealth is firmly embedded in our national life.

However, something serious has been missing. For far too long, the Commonwealth has been absent from our political life, as the noble Lord, Lord Anderson of Swansea, reminded us with his customary force at the outset of this debate and as did my noble friend Lord Gardiner of Kimble in more gentle fashion more recently. Winston Churchill taught us that the Commonwealth should always be one of our principal spheres of activity; in recent years, his injunction has frequently been forgotten. In politics, the Commonwealth has been widely regarded as an anachronistic embodiment of a sentimental memory. Under the previous Labour Government, no consideration was given to the importance of continuity and experience at ministerial level in our relations with key parts of the Commonwealth. Chris Mullin records in his increasingly famous diary that nine Africa Ministers held office in 12 years of Labour Government.

“How on earth can we expect to be taken seriously by our foreign counterparts?”,

he noted on 14 October 2009. It is an extremely pertinent observation, even though the word “foreign” slightly detracts from its force. The Commonwealth is family, not foreign, territory.

But now, at long last, despondency is in full retreat, which makes this debate, instigated so admirably by my noble friend Lady Hooper, a most timely affair. The coalition Government are seeking to restore the Churchillian precept. The Commonwealth is once again becoming a principal strand of British foreign policy. The Government choose to clothe their deep commitment to the Commonwealth in the fashionable jargon of the 21st century.

“The Commonwealth is a powerful global brand”,

the Foreign Secretary declares—not exactly Churchillian stuff—but it is the objective that matters, and the objective, reflecting liberal or progressive conservatism, could not be clearer. Our unique Commonwealth partnerships can, and should, bring us together on a family basis to help implement more fully in the world at large the liberal values that unite us: democracy, respect for human freedom and dignity, the rule of law and, not least, free trade, first promoted systematically by Pitt the Younger to the eventual benefit of many parts of the world that are now Commonwealth members.

We could be at a turning point in the history of the Commonwealth. This is a moment to encourage potential new members to consider the benefits of joining this unique institution, whose door is always open to newcomers as it is to former members. As the House has shown during this debate, the passing years have not diminished the sense of regret, so widely shared, that in 1949 the Republic of Ireland decided to leave the Commonwealth which, as “the restless dominion” of the inter-war years, it had done so much to shape. We are probably more conscious today than ever before that the family is incomplete without this conspicuous absentee from its ranks. So, too, are a number of influential figures active in the public life of our nearest neighbour. An open letter from them to the Irish Times on 3 March 2009 pointed out:

“When Ireland left the Commonwealth in 1949 the other member-states hoped its departure would be temporary … Ireland’s membership of the Commonwealth would, we are sure, be welcomed by the unionist community in Northern Ireland as a significant gesture of reconciliation … It would demonstrate unequivocally that the Republic has finally drawn a line under the troubled history of Anglo-Irish relations that led to Ireland’s self-exclusion from the Commonwealth 60 years ago”.

There can surely be little doubt that our fellow countrymen in Northern Ireland would rejoice if their southern neighbours returned to the Commonwealth family, and the family itself would surely rejoice to have southern Irish participation in all aspects of its affairs, from the Commonwealth Games to the advancement of human rights.

The point has been made earlier in the debate how very fitting it would be if progress could be made in the coming months, following the remarkable success of the visit paid by Her Majesty the Queen to the Republic of Ireland last May. The respect and affection felt for Her Majesty as head of the Commonwealth are boundless. It has been suggested that to mark her Diamond Jubilee next year, the means should be found to restore a royal yacht to her service. One way of doing this would be to put the project on a Commonwealth basis, raising the funds by public subscription from its members; it would work out at about 4 pence per head. The idea may be fanciful and impractical but rather magnificent in conception. The important point is to ensure that the Commonwealth never forgets for a single moment what it owes to its head.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Liddle]

My Lords, I am grateful to the House for allowing me to speak in place of my noble friend Lord Triesman without giving proper notice, and I thank the government Chief Whip for facilitating this. I apologise on behalf of my noble friend Lord Triesman for his unavoidable absence.

We all owe a sincere thank you to the noble Baroness, Lady Hooper, for initiating this debate. It has been a great debate which has triggered some absolutely fascinating and, for me, educative contributions. She summarised very well the excellent work of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, and certainly the Opposition want to join her in celebrating its work on the occasion of its centenary. There have also been some great contributions from around the House. I have learnt a lot from the noble Lords, Lord Luce and Lord Glenarthur, who both have great experience; and from the noble Lord, Lord Alton, and the noble Baroness, Lady Boothroyd, who spoke most movingly about the grass-roots work of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. We all pay tribute to that.

My own views on the Commonwealth are very similar to those of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Howe. I am pro-Europe and I am pro-Commonwealth, and I do not see one as a substitute for the other. Indeed, I think that the noble Baroness, Lady Hooper, probably feels much the same. Perhaps I may say that this was embodied in my own family. My father-in-law, who was a Member of this House before he died, George Thomson, served as a Commonwealth Secretary in the Wilson Governments and as one of our first European Commissioners, so that is as pro-Europe and pro-Commonwealth as anyone can be.

A lot of people contributing to the debate have talked about what the Commonwealth meant to them personally. It certainly does not mean to me what it means to the noble Lord, Lord Selsdon, who was conceived on a Jamaica beach, and I do not want to annoy the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of London because obviously the Commonwealth is one of the great foundation stones of the Anglican Communion. However, the notable features of this debate were speeches from two Methodist ministers—my noble friend Lord Griffiths of Burry Port and the noble Lord, Lord Roberts of Llandudno. It was in chapel in my home town of Carlisle that I learnt the virtues of the Commonwealth. We had fairly well drummed into us, although it did not have to be drummed very much, the problems of world poverty and the essential need for racial equality, both of which were seen through the prism of the Commonwealth. These values, plus those of democracy and human rights, were for me as a youngster what the Commonwealth was all about.

Let me make one general point before I ask the Minister some questions. I think that we need to be clear about what the Commonwealth is and what it is not. The noble Baroness, Lady Flather, described the Commonwealth as a voluntary association of nations, but I think that it is more than that. I think that the Commonwealth should aspire to be a living network of values, sustained not just at the political level but at the people-to-people level, which many Members of the House have stressed. However, to be honest, I disagree with the noble Lord, Lord Lexden, that the Commonwealth is a kind of fool’s substitute for a proper foreign policy in the modern world. It is not a defence and security organisation or a trade bloc; it is not NATO or the EU, which are vital pillars of our economic security and our position in the world.

[Lord Lexden]

In describing the Commonwealth, I applauded the fact that, under this Government, it was becoming a major strand of foreign policy. I certainly did not intend to suggest—and I do not think that I did—that that was to the exclusion of many other important strands.

[Lord Liddle]

Of course, I was not trying to suggest that, but there is a little bit of a danger in the present Government’s discourse if you think about the three circles of influence of the past 60 years. There is clearly a weakening of the transatlantic tie with the United States, in that America is looking more Pacific-wards, it has its own economic problems and it does not think that Europe has stood up to the plate in world conflicts. Then we have all the problems with our relationship with the European Union, from which many Members of the party opposite would like to distance us. Given that that is happening to two of the three circles, I do not think that we can imagine that the Commonwealth is a substitute for those. I see the Commonwealth as playing a very big supplementary role in foreign policy because, as a multilateral organisation, it is an instrument of soft power. We should see it as a network of influence and values that can aid us in achieving our objectives.

On questions for the Minister, I want to ask first about the people-to-people aspects of the Commonwealth. I was very struck by the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Luce, that about 50 per cent of the Commonwealth’s citizens are young people. What ideas do the Government have for strengthening links between young people within the Commonwealth? That brings me to the point about higher education made by the noble Lord, Lord Kakkar, because there is no doubt that in the last few decades our universities have lost out in appealing to Commonwealth students—he mentioned the case of postgraduate medical students. How do we once again make our universities the first choice? Of course, we need to make sure that Immigration Rules do not stop that happening, which is a very important point.

On civil society links, the noble Lord, Lord Gardiner of Kimble, gave as a good example the Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth. We need those kinds of links. How can we build on the initiative that the noble Baroness, Lady Boothroyd, spoke of so warmly in terms of raising consciousness about the need for girls’ education, which is an absolutely vital development issue?

On the government-to-government aspect of the Commonwealth relationship, what leverage can we exercise and what issues will the British Government put on the table as they try to strengthen the influence and role of the Commonwealth? As we have seen in this debate, there is clearly a role in climate change, both in highlighting the risks to the very survival of the island states in the Pacific and, as the noble Lord, Lord Hunt of Chesterton, mentioned, in persuading rich countries that they cannot become climate deniers—we have to be blunt with people like the Canadians, who have to live up to their responsibilities.

On the human rights issues that the noble Lord, Lord Black of Brentwood, mentioned, on migration which the noble Baroness, Lady Prashar, mentioned, and on the corruption issues that the noble Baroness, Lady Flather, mentioned, how are we going to prioritise these topics for discussion? How are we going to use positively the opportunity of membership of the Commonwealth to improve people’s situation—the noble and learned Lord, Lord Howe, spoke about Somaliland’s membership? Conversely, how can the Commonwealth be used as a sanction? The noble Lord, Lord Griffiths, gave the example of the actions taken by the Fijian Government against the Methodist Church and we have the very big example of Zimbabwe. How in future do we play this mix of incentives and sanctions? What are the Government’s proposals for strengthening the Commonwealth secretariat, including its funding, as I think the noble Lord, Lord Chidgey, mentioned?

This has been an excellent debate, which has shown the value of the House of Lords, has been well attended and has included some excellent contributions. It has celebrated the cross-party work of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association—long may that continue—and it has demonstrated that the Commonwealth remains a good and great cause. Like the noble Baroness, Lady Benjamin, I would like to see the sun rise once again on the Commonwealth, but it will do so only on the basis of a proper analysis of its true potential as a unique instrument of benevolent influence in our very troubled world.