International Development

Emily Darlington Excerpts

Thursday 19th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Yvette Cooper]

I welcome the hon. Lady’s point about aid match and how we can ensure that we help to use UK Government funding to lever in additional donations and support from huge numbers of people across the country, including through philanthropy. There is a strong commitment to that support. We will continue to have aid match agreements and arrangements in different areas, just as we did on Palestine over the Christmas period. The Prime Minister and the Chancellor have confirmed our intention to return to 0.7% when the fiscal circumstances allow.

[Emily Darlington (Milton Keynes Central) (Lab)]

I recognise how difficult today’s statement is—it is not a position that any Labour Government would ever want to be in. I welcome the commitment from the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister to return to 0.7% as quickly as possible. I particularly welcome the protection and focus on women and girls, and on LGBT activity where other countries are withdrawing. As the chair of the all-party parliamentary group for aid match, will she continue to work with me to look at areas of expansion and ensure that generous people across the country have an opportunity to support and double UK efforts, particularly in fragile and conflict states, and on women and girls, and LGBT issues, where we are continuing the funding?

[Yvette Cooper]

I welcome my hon. Friend’s considerable work on the aid match programmes and on how we mobilise that support from communities across the country. She is right to highlight that there are particular issues, including in some of the most serious conflicts and humanitarian crises. That includes areas affected by the climate crisis. After Hurricane Melissa, for example, there was huge backing from communities across the country wanting to support aid for Jamaica. I am keen to work with my hon. Friend and others who want to support aid match programmes, including those for women and girls.

Jimmy Lai: Prison Sentence

Emily Darlington Excerpts

Monday 9th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Seema Malhotra]

The right hon. Gentleman will know that the appeal is a matter for Jimmy Lai, his family and his legal team, but he is right that it is important that we continue to call for an end to the national security law, and for the release of all those being held or prosecuted under it. That is our position, and it will continue to be.

[Emily Darlington (Milton Keynes Central) (Lab)]

As chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Hong Kong, I want to say on my behalf and that of many of its members how we horrified we are. This case exemplifies the systematic dismantling of Hong Kong’s judicial independence. The proceedings under the national security law do not operate within the independent or impartial judicial framework, and judges are designated by the Executive of the Hong Kong special administrative region. Trials are conducted without juries, evidential thresholds are lowered and the fundamental principle of the presumption of innocence is gone. How will the Government ensure that, on behalf of not just Jimmy Lai but all Hongkongers who live in the UK, we protect them from nefarious activity and this illegal law?

[Seema Malhotra]

We absolutely continue to be concerned about the erosion of freedoms, and my hon. Friend will have seen that expressed in the six-monthly reports published by the Foreign Office. We continue to, and always will, stand with the people of Hong Kong. It is essential that we continue to honour historic commitments made under the legally binding Sino-British joint declaration, and it is absolutely clear that China must do the same.

Rights of Women and Girls: Afghanistan

Emily Darlington Excerpts

Monday 5th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Alice Macdonald]

I thank the hon. Member for her contribution, and for everything she has done as chair of the APPG. She has been advocating for Afghan women and girls for a long time. I totally agree, and I will come on to healthcare a bit later in my speech.

To return to education, Afghanistan is the only country in the world that bans girls from attending school beyond the primary level, depriving 1.5 million girls of secondary education. Those girls are stripped of their right to learn and their hopes and dreams for the future. On employment, the Taliban have incrementally removed women from professional roles. Instead, they are confined to their home. Over the past three months, we have heard that the Afghan Ministry of Defence and the Afghan army have reportedly prevented women employees from entering the UN compound and its premises across the country, forcing them to work from home, further isolating women and impacting on the effective delivery of aid.

[Emily Darlington (Milton Keynes Central) (Lab)]

Milton Keynes is proud to host four hotels full of Afghan evacuees. I have had the pleasure of meeting many women who completed their education, become professionals, finished university and become judges, lawyers and doctors. They could no longer work in their country and were evacuated. Their fear above all was for their younger sisters, who they left behind, and who are now under this cruel regime. Their fear was that these young girls would never experience the joy of learning, the joy of practising and the joy of being able to do their job. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is unconscionable, in a world where women should be as valued as men, that these girls have no hope for the future?

[Alice Macdonald]

I completely agree with my hon. Friend. This week, girls in the UK are going to school, and it is a right that we take for granted. It is a right that so many countries take for granted. A country that bans education is putting a brake on its prospects.

According to UN Women, only 24% of women are part of the labour force in Afghanistan now, compared with 89% of men. Amid this worsening economic situation, child marriage is on the rise again, with 10% of Afghan girls under the age of 15 married.

There is also the issue of the right to travel and live in liberty. In August 2024, a Taliban edict banned women from leaving home without a mahram or chaperone. The crackdown has become even more draconian; it involves things that we could not imagine would even be possible, such as directives ordering women not to sing and the removal of windows through which women might be seen. The most recent action to cut internet connections across multiple provinces has shut down the last lifeline that many women and girls had to access learning. The young girl I referred to, Naila, said that since the internet outage

“the silence became even heavier. It felt as if the world had drifted far away, leaving us in complete isolation. No message could reach us…It felt like we were being erased”.

The impact of all these actions cannot be overstated, both for women now and for the future, and they are happening amid an ongoing humanitarian crisis: 1.4 million people face food insecurity, and 4.2 million people are internally displaced. As the Minister knows well, the crisis has been made worse by the return of Afghan refugees from Iran and Pakistan; more than 2.6 million returned in 2025 alone. A significant number had lived outside Afghanistan for generations and lacked family property or social networks to support reintegration. Women account for approximately 60% of returnees and face compounded risks. As the hon. Member for North East Fife (Wendy Chamberlain) mentioned, a chronic national health crisis is preventing women from receiving healthcare. UN Women estimates that this will increase maternal mortality by 50% this year, and that is made worse by the ban on women training to be midwives and nurses.

Yet, amid all this darkness, I take hope from the courage of Afghan women and girls who continue to fight for a better future. I was fortunate enough to travel to Afghanistan in 2011 when I worked for Harriet—now Baroness—Harman, and I met numerous women who were working hard for their rights and the rights of many others. I remember visiting a domestic abuse shelter; sadly, I cannot imagine that it can function any more, and I often think about what has happened to the women there. More recently, in Parliament, I hosted the screening of “Rule Breakers”, a film about the Afghan girls’ robotics team who rose to global fame. Led by Roya Mahboob, who I am pleased was present at the screening, those girls triumphed against adversity to fulfil their dreams, and their story is a testament to the resilience and determination of Afghan women. As one Afghan woman said to me recently, women are seeing their souls die in front of them—

Middle East and North Africa

Emily Darlington Excerpts

Monday 5th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I need to be clear that the contribution that the UK has made to the provision of aid to children will always be a tiny drop in the ocean of overall need. We are working in the ways that I have set out to try to ensure that medical assistance is provided in Gaza, with all the equipment and expertise that that involves. Where that is not possible, we have provided aid to the Egyptian healthcare system, in order to support Palestinians there; I have met some of them myself, in El Arish general hospital. As I set out to my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool Riverside (Kim Johnson), where there are specialised cases, we must look at them, and I will say more to the House in due course about that.

[Emily Darlington (Milton Keynes Central) (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for taking over an hour’s-worth of questions on the updates he has provided on the situation right across the region. He has a very difficult job to do, particularly given the decimation of the United States Agency for International Development, and the cuts in our aid. What are we doing to open the borders for those people who have family in, and connections to, the UK, so that they can escape the horror that they are in in Gaza, and can get a visa to visit family in the UK? Can he update the House on any progress in getting those borders open, or any discussions that he has had with the Home Office to stop biometrics-related restrictions, and to help people apply for visas from Gaza?

[Mr Falconer]

My hon. Friend has been a committed campaigner for cases in her constituency, and I know that there are colleagues right across the House with a constituency or personal interest in these cases. As I said to the House shortly before we rose for Christmas, there are a range of cases in which we have been able to provide support, both to Chevening students and to the injured children we have discussed. It remains a real challenge to ensure that people with a legitimate reason to travel can do so, and I am happy to take up any individual cases.

Africa: New Approach

Emily Darlington Excerpts

Tuesday 16th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Emily Darlington (Milton Keynes Central) (Lab)]

Although I do not disagree with any of the principles set out in the strategy, I am disappointed by its level of ambition and detail. It does not reflect what we did when we were last in government with the Commission for Africa, which was an all-encompassing report looking at how we work together at the university level as well as on skills, trade, women and girls—all those issues—and build democracy. Unfortunately, it also does not address the real risk from Russia and China’s role in Africa. We have 21 Commonwealth countries in Africa, and they are telling us that they desperately need us as a partner so that we can bring the stability and prosperity to the continent that we all want to see.

[Mr Falconer]

My hon. Friend has much experience in these matters. I sought earlier to address some of the questions on Russia and China. The Minister for Africa will have heard her disappointment and I am sure will be happy to discuss it further.

Official Development Assistance Reductions

Emily Darlington Excerpts

Tuesday 4th November 2025 Westminster Hall

[Emily Darlington (Milton Keynes Central) (Lab)]

Thank you, Sir Desmond, for chairing the debate, which I thank the hon. Member for West Dorset (Edward Morello) for securing. The huge amount of consensus from all parties shows that this is not a big-P political issue; it is about how we make the world, and the UK, more secure.

Development is about UK security. I agree that the new global reality means that we have to increase our defence spending, but we should be looking at how to increase our development spending at the same time, because the two serve each other. China and Russia have their own agenda, which is in conflict with our values of democracy and human rights. Their agenda is to destabilise the international rules-based system; they want to exploit, not support. I saw that with my own eyes when I lived in Kenya, where they promised roads in exchange for minerals, and also seemed to kill a bunch of elephants for their ivory on their way out.

The BBC World Service is being picked up at every opportunity, every time we step back. For so many around the world, it has been their only link to the outside world and to free and fair reporting. When we withdraw, desperate countries that need the infrastructure spend have only Russia and China to turn to, and that comes with a very heavy cost. It is destabilising our Commonwealth, which the King leads and for which we have a huge moral responsibility. Countries’ economies are collapsing and famine is returning. That drives migration, as people flee war looking for work and safety, and millions are dying.

We have an opportunity to change that. Malaria has been eradicated from many countries, HIV treatment is on the cusp, based on UK science, and polio has almost been eradicated. We could protect millions across the world, as well as in the UK—because we know that viruses know no borders. We are co-hosting the Global Fund replenishment, yet last time, under the Conservatives, the UK was the only country to cut its commitment. We risk global embarrassment by cutting it further at a time when the world needs global leadership again from the UK. Even the US is not cutting its commitment. There is a huge job ahead to rebuild Gaza and, now, Jamaica. We could demonstrate our generosity by using aid match—I should declare that I am the chair of the APPG for aid match—to show the public that, for every pound they contribute, the Government contribute too in helping to rebuild Jamaica and Gaza.

This is the time not for short-termism just to make the balance sheet work, but for long-term thinking—it is in our Labour values and our Labour history. The world needs the UK to lead. The Prime Minister said that this was one of the hardest cuts that he had to make and that it would be temporary, so what is the route out of the cut and how will we rebuild over the coming years to ensure that development spending is seen as spending on UK security, alongside our defence spend?

Oral Answers to Questions

Emily Darlington Excerpts

Tuesday 28th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Emily Darlington (Milton Keynes Central) (Lab)]

The British public are under no illusions about the level of resources needed for humanitarian aid in Gaza and the rebuild of Gaza, and they want to play their part. Have the Government considered aid-matching each £1 of public contribution with £1 of Government money to increase the proportion of British aid and rebuilding that can happen in Gaza?

[Yvette Cooper]

We are looking at different ways to ensure that we can get sufficient resources into Gaza—that will require not just immediate humanitarian assistance but long-term reconstruction aid—and we are continuing to work with our allies and here in the UK on doing so.

Oral Answers to Questions

Emily Darlington Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for raising Africa. The first thing that we did on coming into office was establish an Africa approach and a widespread consultation across the continent—that is absolutely right. We must be careful that authoritarian powers do not move in where the west exits. I reassure him that I have raised and discussed those issues with Secretary of State Rubio.

[Emily Darlington (Milton Keynes Central) (Lab)]

Given the devastation of the United States Agency for International Development, the temporary cuts in official development assistance and the growing desperate situation in areas of Africa, is the Foreign Secretary willing to meet me and colleagues who have worked in and care about the region, to understand our long-term strategy, particularly against China and Russia, which are moving in to fill that void?

[Mr Lammy]

I am grateful for the leadership that my hon. Friend showed on these issues before coming to this place; she continues to champion them now. On the Africa approach, and changes to development aid across the continent, whether they are made by us or by partners, either I or my colleague who leads on development will be very happy to meet my hon. Friend.

Middle East

Emily Darlington Excerpts

Monday 1st September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

I urge the hon. Gentleman to keep up to date with the latest. He will have seen that there have been announcements by Hamas on the terms for a ceasefire. We have not yet got that ceasefire; there remain disputes, for example, about the length of a ceasefire and withdrawal of the IDF from parts of Gaza. However, notwithstanding the concerns we all have, Hamas are in dialogue with our Egyptian and Qatari friends in particular.

[Emily Darlington (Milton Keynes Central) (Lab)]

Happy birthday, Madam Deputy Speaker. I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s comments about recognition of Palestine, which, of course, is absolutely what all Labour Members stood on in our manifesto. I would like to raise specifically the devastation and starvation of people in Gaza and the numerous reports that the IDF are targeting doctors. Will he tell the House about UK efforts to evacuate people with family links to the UK, including Dr Radi, whose case I have raised many times in the House and with Ministers?

[Mr Lammy]

It was humbling to meet once more a group of doctors in New York who have served on the ground and to hear of the hardships that they had experienced as noble humanitarians. In the coming days, my hon. Friend will see the UK’s efforts to evacuate people, particularly children, from Gaza. We rely on Israeli permits, so it is not straightforward or easy, but I am grateful that she has put the issue of doctors front and centre this afternoon.

Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Emily Darlington Excerpts

Tuesday 10th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

The settlements are not bound by the trade preferences between the UK and Israel, and products must be properly labelled. They attract different tariffs and should be traded as such. Where there are breaches of those regulations, they should be investigated.

[Emily Darlington (Milton Keynes Central) (Lab)]

I welcome the sanctions announced today by the Minister, which have been taken in conjunction with our allies, and his commitment to a Palestinian state. However, people in Gaza are starving. I want to update the Minister on one such person: Dr Radi, the elderly and frail father of my constituent Mo Radi. A few weeks ago, Dr Radi sought shelter in Al-Awda hospital with over 100 medical staff and patients, as he is a former practising doctor there. No food was allowed in, and the IDF destroyed the main water tanks. The hospital was bombed, and when Dr Radi left the hospital, he was stripped and humiliated by the IDF. He is now hungry, ill and alone, as the rest of his family in Gaza have been killed. What are we doing to protect the most vulnerable from dying? We need to increase aid and evacuations, and to end the killing in Gaza.

[Mr Falconer]

My hon. Friend describes the heartbreaking case of her constituent’s family member, which she has raised with me on a number of occasions. Members from across the House have done the same, and I am usually not in a position to discuss such cases on the Floor of the House. Where constituents and their families are affected, we will do everything that we can to try to support them. We have heard a great deal about the restrictions on aid, and it is candidly not easy to support people to leave Gaza, but where there is a UK connection, I am always keen to do what I can to try to secure people’s safety.