Commonwealth Parliamentary Association

Lord Flight Excerpts

Thursday 8th September 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Flight]

My Lords, first, I would like to add my own tribute to Her Majesty the Queen who, it seems to me, has done more than anybody else over the last 50 years to keep the Commonwealth together and to provide a wonderful focus of leadership. I also congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Hooper, on her excellent speech and for bringing this debate, which I think is particularly important at this time.

The Commonwealth is clearly the most international association in the world. On the one hand, it reflects 400 years of British history, engaging with the other parts of the world, but I think it should also be a much more important force in the future. I have always regretted the fact that 100 years ago Britain lost the opportunity that was sought by quite a lot of politicians to create a federal structure.

Britain is privileged to be at the centre of the Commonwealth but, as has been alluded to, should be careful not to be patronising in its attitude. I remember and was extremely embarrassed by the shoddy treatment that particularly Australia and New Zealand received in the 1970s in the wake of unrealistic expectations of EU membership. I remind the House that last time round, in the early 1930s, when Governments and central banks in Europe and America messed up their economies, the UK was able to recover very strongly in the second half of the decade, with the highest growth rates of the 20th century, on the back of a great strengthening of Commonwealth trade and indeed domestically of housebuilding.

I am very pleased that the Government have upgraded the importance of the relationship with the Commonwealth—indeed, it should have been upgraded long ago—and have commissioned a new Commonwealth strategy paper. I understand that the FCO has trebled the size of its Commonwealth Unit. To me, the Commonwealth’s economic and political co-operation and influence are still extremely underdeveloped, and a much greater development would actually be appropriate to the global world we are now in, where the relationships—trading, commercial and even political— between mature economies and new, fast-growing economies is ever more important.

My great interest—indeed, I made my maiden speech on the subject—is India, where I worked in the 1970s, a country for which I have huge love and affection. I have long taken the view that the UK and India in particular represent virtually the perfect relationship between mature and new, growing economies. I also lived in Hong Kong. Noble Lords have referred to Ireland, but I have always hoped that a way could be found for Hong Kong to become some kind of member of the Commonwealth. There is of course the sovereignty issue, but all things are possible and Hong Kong has been perhaps the greatest economic success of all the economies that grew and arose from British connections in the past.

The Commonwealth is not just about the amazing ties of history and culture and personal and family relationships but about what can be achieved with much more important political and economic co-operation in the future. I believe Commonwealth trade could grow from $3 trillion to $10 trillion within five years without that much difficulty. Reference has been made to the fact that the combined GDP has doubled in the last 20 years and could well double again in the next 10 or 15 years. The share of world GDP that the Commonwealth represents is in the course of growing by 15 per cent through to 2015. There has been a massive increase in what one might call middle-class consumers, and not just in India. There are some 1 billion in the Commonwealth as a whole, and, as mentioned, the Commonwealth represents over 30 per cent of the world’s population. This is a huge club that I think is being underexploited politically and economically. I would like to see completely free trade within the Commonwealth, as within the EU. It is potentially just as important to the British economy as is the EU.

Finally—reference has been made to this—it is important that the Commonwealth addresses some of the problems. We have heard the story of the Methodist Church in Fiji. We all know about the problems of Zimbabwe. There should be a mechanism for the enforcement of law and, with reference to the comments made by the noble Baroness, Lady Flather, there should be some machinery to address corruption. Britain has just passed its anti-bribery legislation. It would be inappropriate and meaningless if that influence did not go international. I hope that the Government’s commitment is very much in earnest, and in the difficult times in which we live I believe that the UK is extremely fortunate in having its Commonwealth relationship, which could be of enormous economic help over the next few years.