King’s Speech

Baroness Goudie Excerpts

Thursday 21st May 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Goudie (Lab)]

My Lords, I am pleased to join your Lordships today to speak in this debate on the gracious Speech as we focus our attention on foreign affairs, international relations and defence. In particular, I welcome the attention given to the United Kingdom’s role on the world stage as secure, engaged, and collaborative with our allies in a period of global uncertainty and great disruption.

Today I will touch on six key issues: sexual violence in conflict, women in peacekeeping, our relationship with Europe, Northern Ireland, hostile state threats, and the immigration and asylum systems.

First, on sexual violence in conflict, this country has a proud record of leadership, and the Labour Party, through the work of the right honourable William Hague, helped to place this issue firmly on the international agenda and keep it there. We have consistently argued that this scourge should not be treated as an unfortunate yet inevitable by-product of war but instead taken seriously as a preventable, grave violation of human rights and a serious barrier to the creation of any lasting peace. I hope that the Government will continue to put prevention, survivor support and accountability at the heart of their work abroad. I would therefore welcome continued UK commitment to international co-ordination to prevent sexual violence in conflict, working with allies, multilateral institutions and local women-led organisations to stop this atrocious violation of human rights.

Secondly, and complementary to that, we must continue to push for greater inclusion of women in peacekeeping negotiations. Women at the peace table, actively engaged, must mean more than a token woman; it also means training, capacity building and proper safeguarding mechanisms. While it is not mentioned in the gracious Speech, I hope that the Government will nevertheless use their defence, diplomacy and international standing to be firm advocates of supporting women into peacekeeping roles for the sake of global stability.

Thirdly, I welcome the Government’s commitment to deeper partnership with Europe. In a more dangerous world, practical co-operation with our European neighbours is not a luxury; it is a necessity. Whether on defence, energy resilience, sanctions, trade, migration or diplomatic co-ordination, the United Kingdom is stronger when it works closely and respectfully with those who share our security and values.

I particularly welcome the direction of travel towards a more constructive UK-EU relationship. This is a progressive step forward in our relationship with our closest neighbour and allies. It is a practical arrangement that favours our nation’s interests. I hope that, when fiscal conditions allow, we can return to a model of greater foreign aid and development partnership, in the knowledge that development is the foundation of security. When people are educated and economically empowered and health systems and fragile states are supported, the world is a far safer place for everyone.

Fourthly, I will touch on Northern Ireland. I very much welcome the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill. It is essential in confronting the ongoing legacy of the Troubles. It performs a vital role of addressing unfinished business from the Good Friday Agreement. It corrects the flaws of the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023. It reconstitutes and reforms the legacy commission. It ensures fair disclosure of information, including, jointly, the Irish Government and accountability. It provides delivery of a bilateral victim centre and a human rights-compliant approach to addressing the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland, with the aim of delivering truth and justice to victims and survivors of the Troubles, while introducing safeguards to protect Armed Forces veterans when it is reasonable to do so. We owe the Bill to the citizens of Northern Ireland and the UK service personnel who were killed, injured and bereaved during those dark days of the Troubles.

Fifthly, I turn to the hostile state activity in the world, where the boundary between war and peace is no longer neatly defined. The Government are right to take the changing nature of the threat seriously. Our response to cyber attacks, espionage and proxy groups’ pressure on disparate communities and other forms of hostile action must be firm and lawful. A country’s resilience is not just about security powers; it lies in the democratic confidence of the people and the state. People need to feel that they have a meaningful voice when they feel excluded or unheard. Hostile actors can come in and exploit grievances and divisions. So I hope that, alongside robust national security measures, the Government will continue to invest in trust, participation and civic education and protect our open democracy.