Diego Garcia: Comments by the President of the United States
Debate between Lord Watts and Baroness Chapman of Darlington
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
No. The noble Lord is completely wrong in his assertion about the motivation for doing this deal. This is about keeping this country and its citizens safe. That will always be the first priority of this Government. It is unedifying to see His Majesty’s Opposition take any opportunity to jump on a bandwagon led by Nigel Farage, who claimed this week that the President had a point in threatening Greenland’s sovereignty. We fundamentally disagree with that position.
Lord Watts (Lab)
My Lords, is it the case that President Trump supported this measure and then changed his mind? Can I suggest not to take too much notice of a man who does not know the difference between Iceland and Greenland?
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
In all seriousness, we are speaking intensively, as noble Lords would expect, with our friends and allies in the United States. It is our understanding—and the United States’ understanding, as far as we are aware—that this is still a deal that secures our security and that of the United States, and that this is a joint project. We will continue to have those conversations, as noble Lords would want us to do, and we will resist the temptation to get into megaphone diplomacy over this. There were those here who were urging us on Monday to get into pre-emptive tariffs, inflammatory comments and all that. We did not do that, and I think that the agreements that are starting to emerge show that that approach has been right.
Ukraine: UK-USA Discussions
Debate between Lord Watts and Baroness Chapman of Darlington(2 months, 1 week ago)
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Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
That is absolutely right. Russia must not be rewarded for its actions here. That would send a bad signal to others around the world and would leave other states in the region incredibly vulnerable.
Lord Watts (Lab)
My Lords, does the Minister agree with me that it would be very naive to believe that Putin’s only ambition is to occupy parts of Ukraine? He has much wider views about where he would like to occupy. It is most important that we make sure he does not succeed.
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
We have many reasons to believe that, not least because that is what Putin himself has said. We also look at the behaviour of Russia in Georgia, Romania and Poland. There is plenty of evidence to support what my noble friend asserts.
Western Sahara Conflict
Debate between Lord Watts and Baroness Chapman of Darlington
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
I could not agree more with what the noble Lord has just said—he is absolutely right. The way that the UK is conducting itself as we move on is with pragmatism and in accordance with the things we have signed up to and the commitments we have made, alongside Morocco. Importantly, we do this with full transparency.
Lord Watts (Lab)
My Lords, does the Minister agree that the Kurdish regions are the only areas that are committed to democracy, freedom and religious freedom? Does the Minister think we are doing enough to support the Kurds, given that they could have a major impact in setting the agenda in that region?
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
My noble friend and I could have quite a long discussion about our support for the KRI and for Kurds more generally. I would be very happy to do that, although perhaps not during a Question on our agreement with Morocco.
Official Development Assistance
Debate between Lord Watts and Baroness Chapman of Darlington
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
I would be very happy to meet with the noble Baroness, especially given her track record on this agenda. She will have noted that we intend to integrate and mainstream our work on gender, particularly through our work on humanitarian and health priorities, and she will note the appointment of my noble and learned friend Lady Harman as our envoy on women and girls. I suggest that my noble friend is included in our discussions too.
Lord Watts (Lab)
My Lords, does the Minister agree that the most effective way of helping countries is to try to extend birth control in countries that currently do not have that ability? Does she agree that, in a time when there is a shortage of resources, we should concentrate on that area?
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
That is an incredibly important area to focus on. We have spent £60 million this year on the UNFPA and an additional £8 million on humanitarian family planning products because, as my noble friend says, this is such a vital issue. It can make such a difference to women and girls and to whole communities in places that really need the support.
West Papua
Debate between Lord Watts and Baroness Chapman of Darlington(1 year, 2 months ago)
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Lord Watts (Lab)
My Lords, the Minister is right to be realistic. Is there any evidence whatever that taking action against one country on trade would make any difference? Quite frankly, if we go down that road then there will be hardly any nations we can trade with.
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
Every circumstance is different. All the situations where we have concerns are unique. Sometimes it is not possible to raise concerns through dialogue. Sometimes the nature of the relationship is such that that is completely unproductive; we can all think of examples where that is the case. In the case of Indonesia, we have a good relationship with the Government there. We seek to use that relationship to raise these concerns. I think that is the right approach.
Somaliland
Debate between Lord Watts and Baroness Chapman of Darlington(1 year, 3 months ago)
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Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
We are desperately worried about what is happening in South Sudan. Minister Anneliese Dodds has visited there very recently. We will be keeping this at the front of our minds. As I said earlier in the week when these matters were discussed, my noble friend Lord Collins has been in Ethiopia in the last few days, and the noble Lord is right to urge caution and wisdom at all times in this.
Lord Watts (Lab)
My Lords, can I also urge caution on this matter? It has wider implications for places like Ukraine. Any decision made here must take into account the wider implications that will remain if a change is made.
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
The noble Lord has summarised what I have tried to say very well, and I thank him for that.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Lord Watts and Baroness Chapman of Darlington(13 years, 2 months ago)
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Mr Dave Watts (St Helens North) (Lab)
5. When he expects to announce the allocation of the transitional council tax grant to local authorities.
Jenny Chapman (Darlington) (Lab)
11. When he expects to announce the allocation of the transitional council tax grant to local authorities.