Commonwealth Parliamentary Association

Lord Roberts of Llandudno Excerpts

Thursday 8th September 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Roberts of Llandudno]

My Lords, first, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Hooper, for initiating this debate. This is a great day for the Chamber. I am the fourth Welshman to be taking part in this discussion, and the second Methodist minister. It is a good day for me if it is not a good day for the House of Lords.

Some noble Lords will remember going to school in the 1940s, as I do, and seeing a map of the world showing the British Empire marked out in red, as my teacher, Miss Evans, told me. We were so delighted to see that. This weekend the “Last Night of the Proms” will take place. Spectators at that event and at home will join in singing:

“Wider still and wider shall thy bounds be set;

God, who made thee mighty, make thee mightier yet”.

Those words may be sung at the “Last Night of the Proms” but I bet that they do not appear in any party manifesto at the next general election. Everything has changed. Ploughshares now replace the sword. We are building a Commonwealth that is full of dignity and understanding. I have always dreamt—I still do—of one country being a role model for the world. At one time I thought that India or the state of Israel when it was founded in 1947-48 could provide role models of peace and decency. Of course, I have been disappointed. Perhaps the Commonwealth of Nations can provide that role model as we work together, showing respect for each other and not entertaining military or political ambitions but civilised, cultural and often spiritual ones.

Last week I was in Poland, which I think Norman Davies describes in his book as the playground of the gods or of God himself. Six million Poles were killed—not only Jews but others as well—at the beginning of the Second World War and yet they have survived and pulled through. Some may disagree with me but I suggest that that is due in large extent to the fact that they have a faith: 96 per cent of Poles are Catholic. They fill their churches and their faith keeps them going, as is the case with Israel. In 72 AD, the people of Israel were expelled from Jerusalem and scattered throughout the world. All they had was their Sabbath and their Torah—their faith. That kept them going for the next 19 centuries. We do not always agree with them but, when they came back, the state of Israel was established. Therefore, we need not only a political element but elements of culture, civilisation and faith. This means that we have to respect people who have different faiths and cultures from our own. We should look at them and say, “Isn’t it great to be in a world where people are different from one another?”. It is.

I am a vice-president of the Llangollen International Music Eisteddfod. Every year I go there and see nations coming together. They are different and colourful and they respect and love one another. This past year, I think that 14 of the competing nations were from the Commonwealth. Thanks to the CPA’s sponsorship, they will bring a bit of the Llangollen festival to Westminster. Next year marks the Commonwealth Year of Culture, Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics. On 2 July 2012 we shall have a Commonwealth carnival of music before the festival participants make their way to Llangollen. Dancers, instrumentalists and choirs from different countries will enrich all our lives. I ask noble Lords to put that date in their diaries. We will be able to celebrate the diversity of the Commonwealth at that event. Does it matter that Scotsmen have the bagpipes and Welshmen have the harp? Not a bit. We can all appreciate one another.

Finally, there is still much work for the Commonwealth to do. Within the UK Scotland wants a wee bit more independence and Wales is also trumpeting in some way, but is not the Commonwealth the framework in which nations which want to loosen their bonds with central government might be able to achieve an independence that is not political but operates at a different level—that is, the independence conferred by respect and dignity? That is what we have throughout the Commonwealth but a tremendous amount of work is yet to be accomplished by our Commonwealth of Nations.