Rhodes Wildfires: Repatriation of Holidaymakers
Debate between Earl of Courtown and Baroness Smith of Basildon
The Earl of Courtown (Con)
My Lords, we should pay tribute to the people of Greece who have opened their homes to many holidaymakers in their area. The FCDO travel advice should not impact people’s ability to claim insurance for things such as cancelled hotel bookings or flight changes, depending on their policy and level of cover. However, we recognise that some travel companies use FCDO advice as a reference point to their policies. Our travel advice is focused on ensuring the safety of British nationals and is designed to give people the detail they need to make an informed decision. Of course, our travel advice is always under review.
Baroness Smith of Basildon (Lab)
My Lords, can I ask the Minister to rethink this matter in the light of the information from the noble Lord, Lord Young? It seems quite poignant. We are all ready to go off on our summer holidays—last year I went to Rhodes for a week; it is a marvellous place—and our hearts go out to those people who are there and struggling, or are about to go and are worried about the consequences, and the people of Rhodes whose livelihoods rely, in many cases, on a robust and busy holiday season.
When the Minister at the FCDO was asked whether he would go to Rhodes on holiday, he admitted that he would not travel there. The Government’s lack of advice is not helpful to those who are not sure whether they should fly this week, or what the financial consequences could be. With the cost of living crisis, many people make sacrifices for their annual week-long holiday. I ask the Minister to reconsider the reply he gave to the noble Lord, Lord Young. I am not convinced he entirely understands the position of insurance companies and the struggle that many families have faced to pay for these holidays.
The Earl of Courtown (Con)
My Lords, I quite understand the point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Smith of Basildon. The situation in Rhodes is stabilising at the moment. The vast majority of the island is not affected by these fires and, as I said, our travel advice is kept under constant review. I understand the situation for people taking valued holidays in difficult times; they really want some certainty. I will take that back.
The Earl of Courtown (Con)
The noble Lord’s question revolves around travel advice issued by the FCDO, which I mentioned earlier. That is always kept under review.
Baroness Smith of Basildon (Lab)
My Lords, I bring the Minister back to a point I made at the beginning, which he did not respond to. If individual insurers and independent travellers are looking for travel advice, does he think that the Minister’s comment that he would not travel to Rhodes will assist them in any claims they make?
The Earl of Courtown (Con)
I am not aware that this would affect any claim that may or may not be made. Every individual has their own choice of where they go on holiday; I will be staying at home over the next six weeks. I understand the point the noble Baroness made, but the advice given to travellers is always to check the FCDO to see what its travel advice is.
Departure of the Previous Home Secretary
Debate between Earl of Courtown and Baroness Smith of Basildon
Baroness Smith of Basildon (Lab)
My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Earl for repeating the earlier statement about the crisis in government. I had intended to ask a number of questions about the resignation or sacking of the Home Secretary and, indeed, ask whether he could say anything more about the resignation or sacking of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. We have had one of the shortest-serving Chancellors of the Exchequer in history, the shortest-serving Home Secretary ever and now, as we were sitting in the Chamber waiting for the statement, the Prime Minister has announced her resignation.
What an utter shambles this Government are. Crisis after crisis is heaped on this Government and yet, who is paying the price for that? It is the people of this country, who are seeing food prices go up and increased fuel bills, and they do not know what is happening to their mortgage payments. The Government think the answer to all this is to reshuffle the deck chairs on the “Titanic”. Perhaps the noble Earl is answering questions today because he is the only member of the Government left. This is not a game of pass the parcel, whereby the office of Prime Minister is in the personal gift of the Conservative Party, which can keep passing it on like it is Buggins’s turn. That is not how it works.
I said yesterday at the Dispatch Box on another issue that the Prime Minister’s job is one of the most important in the country. It is a job that brings enormous responsibility, particularly when the country is in such a state. This Government now have no mandate to govern. Replacing the top person with another top person who has been around the Cabinet table for all the years that have led to this crisis will not address it. The next Prime Minister who serves this country needs to have the consent of the British people. It is a straightforward issue: no Government should be able to govern without consent.
This morning I did an interview on BBC Essex with a very articulate and distressed member of the Conservative Party and a Liberal Democrat. The lady from the Conservative Party came on to defend the Government and say that there should not be a general election. She had changed her mind overnight after the shenanigans in the other place. So, there are a number of questions to be asked about the resignation of the Home Secretary, but there is a greater and more fundamental question that the Government need to address as a matter of urgency. There is no mandate for this Government any longer. It is not just a case of taking one person from the top and putting in someone else. Each time we have seen the change, there has been a fundamental shift in policy. This is not what the people of this country voted for. It is time for the Government to seek a mandate, move over and let somebody else run the country who can do it better.
The Earl of Courtown (Con)
My Lords, I note what the noble Baroness has to say on various issues that are not really relevant to this exact Urgent Question. She mentioned the situation relating to the former Home Secretary and the former Chancellor of the Exchequer. The fact is that it was clear that there was a breach in Cabinet confidentiality and a breach of the Ministerial Code. This was accepted by my right honourable friend the former Home Secretary, who immediately resigned. As far as my right honourable friend the former Chancellor of the Exchequer is concerned, as noble Lords know, the Prime Minister can request a resignation for any number of reasons. Details of the former Chancellor’s resignation were shared in the exchange of letters last Friday. These are different cases with different causes.