Jammu and Kashmir: Human Rights Abuses

Lord Paul Excerpts

Monday 23rd July 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

I assure the noble Lord that we continue to raise the importance of the issues in Kashmir with the Indian Government. In one of my visits towards the end of last year, I raised the issue of Kashmir and the need for Pakistan and India to find a resolution to this long-standing issue. Equally, with reference to the report and the importance of some of its findings, we encourage all states, including India and Pakistan, to respond positively to the request by the UN—in this case, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights—to a right to visit.

[Lord Paul (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, both India and Pakistan are very active members of the United Nations. Will the Government say what purpose it will serve to discuss this point here?

Commonwealth

Lord Paul Excerpts

Thursday 17th October 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Paul (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, I, too, congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Luce, on introducing this very timely debate.

I have shared my life almost equally between two member states of the Commonwealth and have been an ardent supporter of it. At the outset, I want to express my admiration for both the concept and the institutions of the Commonwealth. Conceptually it is unique—a voluntary association embracing a diversity and fraternity unusual in today’s world. This outreach, extending to every region of the globe and including the largest spectrum of nationalities and faiths, gives the Commonwealth a rare stature. It is an invaluable asset that can and should be more vigorously employed in contributing to the resolution of international issues.

Nowadays, international opinion is at long last beginning to have a serious influence on the behaviour of states. This is evident in the situation that prevails in the host country of next month’s meeting, Sri Lanka. That is also true of other countries hitherto impervious to world sentiment. It is now timely and appropriate for the Commonwealth as a collective to be more assertive in its diplomatic endeavours. The Commonwealth would become even more persuasive if it were to mobilise and utilise the services of its many elder statesmen whose credentials carry significant authority. I therefore urge the Government’s delegation to CHOGM to think along these lines and seek the collaboration of other nations in making the Commonwealth more effective in contributing to peace, justice and freedom.

As members of a freedom-fighting family, we were surprised and delighted when, at the time of Indian independence in 1947, India’s Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru took the decision for India to stay in the Commonwealth. This encouraged the notion of a multidimensional organisation, diverse in its activities and membership. Institutionally, the Commonwealth has accomplished much through its secretariat and associated groups. I am particularly encouraged by its activities in the education sector. Being actively engaged in the work of several schools and universities in India and this country, I can testify to the value of such initiatives as the Commonwealth of Learning and the Commonwealth scholarships.

However, institutions are most successful when they engage the broadest constituencies. The Commonwealth draws its life-blood from the Governments of its members, but it has been sadly lacking in connecting with ordinary citizens—in establishing wide popular support. Therefore, I hope that the institutional structure will increasingly involve the public of the member states—for instance, in supplementing English as the official language of Commonwealth communications. This can only enrich and strengthen interactions.

The Commonwealth is at an interesting moment in its evolution. To continue its mission, it must change, adapt and grow. If it does not, it will become less relevant and marginalised. That is a fate that its distinguished record does not deserve and to which I hope next month’s gathering will give some serious consideration.

To date, the position of head of the Commonwealth has been vested in the monarch of the United Kingdom. It has been admirably filled by Her Majesty the Queen, to whom we are all indebted for her wholehearted commitment and genuine interest in the Commonwealth. She has set an extraordinary precedent. Looking to the future, I think that what needs to be considered is a clear succession protocol or procedure.

UK Industry: International Competitiveness

Lord Paul Excerpts

Thursday 5th July 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Paul]

My Lords, it is an honour to follow the noble Lord, Lord Selsdon. For the 16 years that I have been in this House, I have always been afraid to follow him, because how would I keep the House amused?

I thank the noble Lord, Lord Jenkin, for sponsoring this important and timely debate. He has great experience both in industry and in government. The noble Lord might recollect that as a very young entrepreneur I came to see him when he was Secretary of State, and he was most helpful.

As chairman of the Caparo Group, an industrial manufacturing company, I declare an interest. Competitiveness is vital for the future of our country’s economy, and nowhere is that more significant than in manufacturing. Having been intimately engaged in that activity all my life, your Lordships will appreciate why I will focus largely on that sector. After a long while, the manufacturing segment of our GDP has shown an appreciable increase in the past three years. That is intrinsically commendable, but it is not enough. Britain is now the ninth largest manufacturer in the world, although that is a far cry from our ranking in the past. My own experience and evaluation tells me that, given the appropriate encouragement, we can substantially enhance that position.

Our manufacturers are doing almost everything they can and, encouraged by the progress made in recent years, are keen to do more. However, for Britain to get the fullest benefit of their endeavours there must be a much more supportive environment. Today, many manufacturers feel that a more positive and creative approach by the Government would help to engender the conditions that would enable them to maximise their potential.

There is considerably more that the Government can do to structure the context in which manufacturers can achieve a higher level of competitiveness, a condition that would be of great benefit to the country as a whole. We live in a world of globalised interaction, a world in which many Governments encourage and support their manufacturing industries. We need to do this, and fast, otherwise others will gobble up the gains that we have so resolutely made.

Here are a few suggestions for consideration that can be implemented in short order. Above all, there is the question of inadequate access to finance. It is now almost four years since the onset of the banking crisis, with its crippling impact on credit availability, particularly to small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises. Despite government initiatives such as Project Merlin, the money is just not flowing, even from the institutions within its control such as Lloyds and RBS. In view of this, it is now imperative to create a new corporate institution dedicated to industrial finance, a high-powered, well-endowed industrial bank of a kind that I have been advocating in this House and elsewhere since this financial crisis began in 2008.

I have two other concerns in this financial domain. The first is the cost and time-consuming effect of red tape. Despite occasional reassurances, the bureaucratic tangles of regulatory consent and like procedures continue to escalate. Of course we must have protection, but our excessive foot binding is making it easier, cheaper and less risky to establish projects in countries where these burdens are less onerous. My second concern is the consequence of the current exceptionally low interest rates on the overhanging pension burdens on business. Two weeks ago in our debate on the economic growth strategy, I drew the House’s attention to the serious impact of this looming thunder-cloud over the competitiveness of industry. This needs to be addressed and addressed fast.

If our competitiveness is to be sustained, we must rethink energy pricing policy. While I strongly endorse environmental efforts to prevent the destruction of our ecological heritage, we need a sense of balance. The competitive struggle is a tough, international battle that is hard to fight with one hand tied behind our back. There are industries in which energy is a major component of production. Try as one might, it is simply not possible to avoid or reduce this. Our energy pricing is such that our production languishes while our industrial competitors’ energy costs are considerably below UK costs. Our present system of carbon taxes is basic to this problem. It is just not working. Up and down the supply chain of many remaining heavy-process industries, jobs are being lost and businesses are in trouble.

Innovation is the lifeblood of competitiveness. It can be achieved only through better skills and training and the enhancement of industrial education and research environments. There are two ways in which we can accelerate this process. Large companies already maintain their own facilities to supplement public sector education. Through appropriate tax and other incentives, we can encourage these larger corporates to mentor less well endowed mid-sized businesses to establish jointly the type of technical institutions in which innovation and creativity will flourish.

In my distant youth I was a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. There I saw how the Government and the corporate sector worked with the universities to carry out industrial research for which the universities were paid. This strengthened the financial position of the universities while providing innovative ideas and product design to the corporates and to the Government. Ever since, as your Lordships know, I have strongly endorsed these synergies. We have made some progress in this but I suggest consideration of a crash programme in which government resources anchor such interconnections. With other countries increasing their research budgets, perhaps we can offset our own financial limitations through such a pooling of resources and expertise.

Industrial investment is a long-term process and industry needs a clearer sense of economic direction in order to help that investment. The biggest issue for industry at the moment is the banking crisis. This is so fundamental to our national economy that it must be investigated intensively and resolved. A resolution must avoid any political point scoring, as the whole country needs to have its faith in the financial sector restored. The LIBOR fixing has adversely affected everyone. It has hurt the reputation not only of UK financial services but the country as a whole. We cannot afford that. The Minister is, in my view, one of the best people to give advice on this subject, and I hope that the Government will seek his wise counsel, despite his being in a different department.