Tributes to the Speaker

Debate between Lord Bellingham and John Bercow

Thursday 31st October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Sir Henry Bellingham]

Well, that is certainly not a fault with you, Mr Speaker. Your memory and recollection of every single name and detail regarding every colleague is beyond extraordinary.

I have spent the last fortnight or so on the Speaker election hustings. The candidates have not agreed on everything, but one thing that all nine of us have agreed on is that you have done the most superb job for Back Benchers. You have done this through the urgent question revolution, through Back-Bench debates and through calling colleagues to speak when you know that they have a particular constituency interest.

We also agree that what you have done for outreach, for children and for schools has been transformational. In the past, when school parties came down from Norfolk, they would meet me in Central Lobby and we would struggle to find a Committee Room and there was nowhere to go for a cup of coffee. Now, they can go to the Jubilee Café and to the new Education Centre, and it is a completely different experience, thanks to you. You have made the lives of those children much more fulfilling in terms of their understanding of democracy than was ever the case before.

I entirely agree with the Leader of the House that you look out for colleagues who have individual constituency cases. When there is a real issue, you come to the rescue of those colleagues and help them to get justice and some form of satisfaction for their constituents. The hon. Member for Gateshead (Ian Mearns) and I were both on the HS2 Select Committee, and during that inquiry we spent a lot of time going along the route of HS2. That included a number of days in your constituency, Mr Speaker, where we had meetings with action groups and residents in communities and villages. One of the things that struck me—and, I am sure, the hon. Member for Gateshead—was that, whenever you arrived at a meeting of distraught village residents, you not only knew the name of every single one of them, but you knew everything there was to know about the village. You were the local MP who was on their side, and you were admired and respected in a way that few of us could aspire to achieve. You were able to do that in spite of also carrying out your duties here as Speaker.

I thank you for the way in which you have helped me on a lot of different issues, to do with my constituency and elsewise, both in my capacity as a Minister and as a Back Bencher. You can leave this place confident and secure in the knowledge that you are leaving behind a powerful, special and long-lasting legacy.

[Mr Speaker]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for what he has said.

Libya

Debate between Lord Bellingham and John Bercow

Monday 8th April 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Not a doctor, but a former Minister, no less: Sir Henry Bellingham.

[Sir Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. First, I declare my interest as the Prime Minister’s trade envoy to Libya. I congratulate the Minister and the UK on the role they played in helping to secure the recent UN Security Council resolution condemning the military advance. Does he agree that it is extremely disappointing that Haftar ignored the recent EU delegation at Benghazi that urged him to allow the forthcoming national conference to go ahead? He has mentioned this already, but will he give more details about those countries—the UAE, Egypt and Russia in particular—that have actively supported General Haftar? What more can we do to ensure that they play a constructive role?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Bellingham and John Bercow

Tuesday 26th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Sir Henry Bellingham]

Does the Minister agree that, first, the elections in Zimbabwe were seriously flawed, and secondly, the recent repression of peaceful protests was completely unacceptable and outrageous? Can she confirm that there is currently no question of Her Majesty’s Government’s supporting Zimbabwe’s return to the Commonwealth, and does she agree that we should now consider extending targeted sanctions?

[Mr Speaker]

According to my assessment, two agreements and one confirmation are required.

European Union (Withdrawal) Act

Debate between Lord Bellingham and John Bercow

Monday 14th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Sir Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Hove (Peter Kyle), who voted against article 50 and is in a stronger position than his Front Bench. It is also a pleasure to follow hot on the heels of my neighbour, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Sir John Hayes).

My constituency, like the constituencies of my right hon. Friends the Members for South Holland and The Deepings and for South West Norfolk (Elizabeth Truss), voted overwhelmingly to leave—68% on a massive turnout. I voted leave myself, and I stood at the last election on a pledge to honour the referendum. I think it is my duty to deliver on that pledge.

Would I prefer a perfect, clean Brexit with no backstop, no ongoing role for the ECJ and a chance to break away in one swoop? Yes, of course I would. I was in my constituency a lot before Christmas and, like my right hon. Friend the Member for New Forest West (Sir Desmond Swayne), I had many conversations with constituents. I was struck by how much support and respect there is for the Prime Minister and her tenacity and determination in difficult circumstances.

One chap said to me, “Henry, would you like a 100% Brexit?” And I said, “Of course I would. I voted for Brexit. Wouldn’t you like a 100% Brexit?” He said, “Yes, I would, but we actually got 52%, so it was always going to be a compromise.” After 46 years of ever-closer integration, after spending 10 years negotiating our entry into the EU, a 100% Brexit was never a realistic expectation.

The agreement before us is the result of many months of incredibly diligent work. Yes, it is easy to criticise a lot of it, and I am far from satisfied, but if one looks at some of the plus points in the agreement, 80% of the key elements on research, skills, education, cultural links, citizenship, security and intelligence were agreed with little fuss as a result of our negotiating team.

I do not accept the idea that the EU is somehow indifferent to the outcome of this agreement and whether it gets through the House. If it fails, the EU would see it as an appalling indictment of EU diplomacy, having put so much into it. As my right hon. Friend the Member for New Forest West points out, the agreement stops the vast payment, closes down free movement and gives us control again of our fisheries and agriculture, and we will no longer be bound to implement future EU legislation. Above all else, it gives us a crucial stepping-stone to the next stage, which is the most important part of all—our future trade agreements and the future political relationship. Frankly, if I had been offered this agreement in 2016, when I campaigned with my right hon. Friend the Member for South Holland and The Deepings and many other colleagues during the referendum, I would have taken it.

Unfortunately, this is not a binary choice between this deal and a no-deal Brexit. I could live with a no-deal Brexit, but I am concerned that we have not properly prepared for it and that it could lead to a constitutional stand-off between the Government and Parliament. A second referendum would be a complete disaster. People would say to us, “We voted in the referendum, at your request. We then spoke and we asked you to implement it. You then asked us again at the last election and 82% of you campaigned on a platform to implement the result, and now you are coming back to us to ask us again.”

I am going to vote reluctantly for this agreement tomorrow night, but I am also reminded of what a lot of constituents have said to me—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The hon. Gentleman has the benefit of the clock. I am sorry to stop him, because I enjoy listening to him.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Bellingham and John Bercow

Monday 9th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Sir Henry Bellingham]

I am grateful to the Secretary of State for that reply. Obviously, many veterans will listen carefully to what he has said, particularly Dennis Hutchings, a Northern Ireland veteran who was arrested in a dawn raid and charged with attempted murder in respect of an allegation from 1974 which had already been fully investigated four times and completely closed—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The hon. Gentleman must not go into detail about that case, which is sub judice. I know that he is concluding his question.

[Sir Henry Bellingham]

I would just suggest to the Secretary of State that we need to look at the situation regarding all veterans, so that veterans from all campaigns can have a statute of limitations.

European Union (Withdrawal) Bill

Debate between Lord Bellingham and John Bercow

Tuesday 12th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Sir Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

I think the right hon. Gentleman has completed his speech.

[Sir Henry Bellingham]

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The right hon. Member for Twickenham (Sir Vince Cable) cannot give way; he has concluded his oration. We await the thoughts of the hon. Member for North West Norfolk (Sir Henry Bellingham) at a later stage, perhaps.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Bellingham and John Bercow

Thursday 1st March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The hon. Members for Plymouth, Moor View (Johnny Mercer) and for Redditch (Rachel Maclean) who missed out on substantive questions can seek to catch my eye during topical questions.

[Sir Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Bellingham and John Bercow

Monday 16th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I am rather surprised that the hon. Lady remembers Fun Boy Three, as they came into great prominence long before her time.

[Sir Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

11. What steps she is taking to reduce knife crime.

Hurricane Irma: Government Response

Debate between Lord Bellingham and John Bercow

Tuesday 12th September 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I gently point out that a Member who toddled into the Chamber after the statement started should not then stand expecting to be called. That is in defiance of our conventions.

[Sir Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

I am grateful to the Minister for his statement. I would like to reinforce his heartfelt comments about all the personnel who have been involved in sorting out this horrendous damage. For example, in the BVI and Anguilla, there has been total destruction of all the schools. All 15 schools in the BVI have been destroyed. Does he agree that there is a need for a comprehensive, five-year reconstruction package? Does he also agree that one of the lessons coming out of this disaster is the need for a permanent naval base in one of the OTs? If the French and Dutch can do that—they both had two warships on standby before the hurricane—then surely we should. It would send a really strong signal of solidarity to the OTs.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Bellingham and John Bercow

Wednesday 5th July 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

One sentence: Sir Henry Bellingham.

[Sir Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

T7. Further to my earlier question about students fraudulently voting twice, may I ask whether, when my hon. Friend meets representatives of the Electoral Commission, he will ensure that the police are involved as well?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Bellingham and John Bercow

Thursday 20th April 2017 Commons Chamber

[Sir Henry Bellingham]

I was recently rummaging through my wife’s collection of shampoos, and to my horror I found a plastic container of Olay anti-wrinkle, anti-ageing lotion, complete with exfoliating microbeads. Obviously, neither the Secretary of State nor her Minister would ever need to use such a product, but will the Minister get on the telephone to the chief executive of Procter & Gamble and tell him that selling that sort of product is completely outrageous and that it should be withdrawn from the market at once?

[Mr Speaker]

The leisure pursuits of the hon. Gentleman are truly extraordinary.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Bellingham and John Bercow

Thursday 23rd March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I should say for the benefit of the House, because there was a quizzical air in the Chamber, that Question 2 was withdrawn. That is a situation which is not dissented. I can see that the hon. Member for Weaver Vale (Graham Evans) is in his place, but the question was withdrawn.

[Sir Henry Bellingham]

I am very grateful to the Secretary of State for the work he is doing to try to secure a bespoke trade deal, and to his Ministers for the work they are doing as well. We do not want to fall back on to WTO rules, but, if we did, what would happen to airlines, digital data flows and trade and services?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Bellingham and John Bercow

Thursday 26th January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Colleagues, may I point out that there are a lot of questions on the Order Paper that I am keen to reach, but exchanges at the moment are quite ponderous? We need to speed up a bit.

[Sir Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

4. What recent discussions he has had with farmers’ representatives on support for agriculture after the UK leaves the EU.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Bellingham and John Bercow

Tuesday 15th November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Or even admonition.

[Sir Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

2. What progress has been made on turning around hospitals in special measures.

Counter-Daesh Campaign: Iraq and Syria

Debate between Lord Bellingham and John Bercow

Thursday 3rd November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call John Redwood. [Interruption.] It is very unusual for him not to be here—[Interruption.] He was here, indeed. I call Sir Henry Bellingham.

[Sir Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

The crimes committed by Daesh, including crimes against children, and hangings and crucifixions, are beyond brutal and horrendous. What more can be done to use UK expertise to help to bring those people to justice? Has my right hon. Friend discussed the matter with the Department for International Development in terms of funding specialist teams?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Bellingham and John Bercow

Monday 31st October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Sir Henry Bellingham]

Does the Minister agree that this country has always been very compassionate and understanding towards children fleeing persecution? Does he also agree, however, that every young adult over 18 whom we admit means one fewer child in desperate need being allowed in, and that we could extend checks to social media and university records, for example, to ensure that our generosity is not abused?

[Mr Speaker]

Or that my generosity is not abused by a Member asking two questions, rather than one. It seems a bit rum.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Bellingham and John Bercow

Wednesday 6th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Question 3—I call Sir Henry Bellingham.

[Sir Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

3. What plans he has to meet Ministers of the Scottish Government to discuss defence installations in Scotland.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Bellingham and John Bercow

Thursday 11th December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I think that the hon. Member for Bassetlaw (John Mann) was operating in the spirit of a poet, and we are obliged to him for that.

[Mr Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

13. What plans she has to encourage communities to contribute towards flood defences; and if she will make a statement.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Bellingham and John Bercow

Tuesday 22nd July 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

It was a good question; it was just the wrong one. I am afraid that my efforts have failed. Even the Clerks, in all their distinction, cannot remotely fathom the pertinence of the inquiry by the hon. Member for Brent North (Barry Gardiner) to question No. 22, and I rather doubt whether the hon. Member for Torbay can either. But there we go—it is the last day, and there will be some latitude.

[Mr Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

Tributes to Nelson Mandela

Debate between Lord Bellingham and John Bercow

Monday 9th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Moray (Angus Robertson). I too send my heartfelt condolences to Nelson Mandela’s widow and family. I will never forget the first time I met Nelson Mandela. Opposition Members have spoken of his extraordinary warmth and I certainly witnessed that.

I was lucky enough to visit South Africa on what I think was the first all-party parliamentary group visit after the 1994 elections, a delegation led by the hon. Member for Nottingham North (Mr Allen). The Conservatives on the delegation felt a degree of apprehension and unease before the meeting in Shell house in Jo’burg. We could hardly have been seen by the ANC as great historic allies, and we were not exactly on the right side of the struggle against apartheid. But I will never forget three things from that first meeting with President Mandela, as he was then. First was his extraordinary warmth. Secondly, he seemed to understand intuitively that the Conservatives on the delegation felt uneasy. He went out of his way to put us at ease, and when we went around the table introducing ourselves he said to the Conservatives, “I’m really grateful to Margaret Thatcher for what she did, and I am very grateful to your current Prime Minister, Mr Major, for all he’s done for our country.” It was as though he wanted to go out of his way to put our minds completely at ease. Thirdly, when the hon. Member for Nottingham North started the conversation he said, “Mr President, your Excellency, we are hugely honoured to be here,” and the President said, “No, no, I’m honoured to have you here.” I do not think anyone who met him ever forgot his incredible charm and his impeccable manners.

A lot of people have spoken about his magnanimity, his ability to forgive, his dignity and his desire for reconciliation, and I want to just pick up two incidents that are really quite extraordinary. First, he appointed his former jailer, Jannie Roux, who went on to become a prison commissioner, as ambassador to Austria. The other example testifies to his extraordinary ability to forgive: he organised an official lunch for Percy Yutar, who was the official prosecutor in the Rivonia trial and who was calling for his execution during that trial.

As my right hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt) mentioned, it is easy to forget the sense of pessimism in South Africa in the ’80s and very early ’90s. Indeed, 70% of South Africans believed that the situation would end in an appalling civil war and a bloodbath. I believe that Nelson Mandela was personally responsible for preventing that from happening and for preventing an utter catastrophe. Also—what an example this is to other African leaders—he never, ever went out of his way to try to better himself at the expense of his fellow countrymen. He never let power go to his head and he was never, ever corrupted. What an absolute tragedy that more leaders on that continent are not following his extraordinary example.

While we mourn a remarkable man, we must give thanks for a truly extraordinary life.

[Mr Speaker]

We are extremely grateful to the hon. Gentleman for that speech.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Bellingham and John Bercow

Wednesday 6th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. It would be helpful if the House listened to the questions and, indeed, to Ministers’ answers.

[Mr Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

T7. Further to the question asked by my hon. Friend the Member for Epping Forest (Mrs Laing) about small and medium-sized enterprise procurement, does the Minister agree that it is not just a question of giving contracts to small firms but that it is essential that the public sector pays its bills on time?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Bellingham and John Bercow

Tuesday 4th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Bellingham]

I assure the hon. Gentleman that we are completely committed to a reinvigorated Commonwealth. We feel that it will be one of the most important organisations in the world going forward. That is why we welcome the work being done by the ministerial action group and some of the other initiatives. For example, there is a proposal for a Commonwealth commissioner for human rights. We also want to see the new strategic plan. I pay tribute to the work of the eminent persons group—including my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Kensington (Sir Malcolm Rifkind), who did so much work on that group—to help to move the Commonwealth in what will be a much more dynamic direction.

[Mr Speaker]

May I remind Members that exchanges at this point are supposed to be brief? They need to be if I am to accommodate as many colleagues as possible.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Bellingham and John Bercow

Tuesday 29th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Bellingham]

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for raising that. Although we are talking about Equatorial Guinea, I was in Zambia recently and had a chance not to visit Malawi, but to have an assessment of what was going on there. We are very concerned indeed about the way in which the Malawi Government evicted our high commissioner, but a high level delegation from Malawi recently came to the Foreign Office and we were able to have candid discussions with them. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made it clear that there are certain measures that need to be put in place before we resume normal diplomatic relations.

[Mr Speaker]

The Minister is both well travelled and, as he has just shown, dextrous in his response to questions.

[Paul Flynn (Newport West) (Lab)]

May we assume from the Minister’s reply that the Government’s policy now is to encourage contacts with countries with records on human rights as despicable as that of Equatorial Guinea, and that hon. Members should accept private invitations for five-star business class visits paid for by the Governments?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Bellingham and John Bercow

Tuesday 9th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Bellingham]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her question and for her special interest in Zimbabwe, which is due to the fact that a constituent of hers is an expert on it. I entirely agree with her. It is essential for any forthcoming elections to be properly monitored and observed. It is also essential for monitors and observers to be in place at an early stage to monitor the electoral registration process, to have full access to all the remote areas, to monitor the poll on the day and to monitor the count. We are working with the Southern African Development Community and other organisations to ensure that there is no repeat of 2008.

[Mr Speaker]

Let me just say to the hon. Member for Devizes (Claire Perry) that what I said earlier was a compliment.

I am sorry that I have not been able to call every Member, but there is a great deal of interest and no time.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Bellingham and John Bercow

Tuesday 14th September 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Ivan Lewis (Bury South) (Lab)]

I do not regard deciding to attack Pakistan when in India as a great foreign policy triumph, particularly on the part of a Prime Minister of this country.

When we were in government, we took every opportunity to highlight and campaign against the horrendous human rights abuses perpetrated by the Burmese regime, to demand the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and more than 2,000 political prisoners, and to apply maximum pressure on the international community to challenge that regime. May I ask the Minister what his Government are doing to put pressure on the Burmese regime? Does he accept that the November elections were entirely illegitimate, and that there is a flawed constitution? Can he tell us what progress is being made on an arms embargo against the Burmese regime, and will he guarantee no dilution of the BBC’s World Service output in Burma?

[Mr Speaker]

That was three questions, but I know the Minister will be able to provide a single pithy reply.

[Mr Bellingham]

The Prime Minister recently met the Foreign Secretaries of India and China to express our concern about Burma and to urge them to use their good offices to push for change. I certainly agree with the shadow Minister, because for elections to take place on 7 November and to be credible in any way Aung San Suu Kyi must be released, as well as 2,100 other political prisoners.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Bellingham and John Bercow

Tuesday 6th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Bellingham]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that question. To say that Rwanda has come back from the abyss would be an understatement. We should pay tribute to the extraordinary progress that Rwanda has made. What we want to do the day after the election is call the new President of Rwanda, congratulate him on his election and say that he has enhanced credibility and trust with the world community by winning a completely free and fair election against proper opposition.

[Mr Speaker]

My apologies to Stuart Andrew.