Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

Esther McVey Excerpts

Tuesday 10th November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Chris Elmore]

I am more than happy to explore in more detail with the hon. Gentleman individual country profiles and work, although this is published in the usual way in terms of the impact of decisions on countries. I will make a wider point, and he touched on it in his question: these are difficult decisions—I am not shying away from that—but I believe they are the right ones.

[Esther McVey (Tatton) (Con)]

Today the Prime Minister has not come to the House to answer questions on his trip to the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting. Not answering questions is becoming a pattern. The Prime Minister broke with convention by not allowing journalists with him on the trip to ask questions on this matter. Is it because he is running scared and only likes to answer soft-soap questions on social media, or is it because he is partway through changing his mind on giving reparations to these countries, just like he changed his mind on Brexit and let down the country and his Makerfield constituents?

[Chris Elmore]

It is interesting that the right hon. Lady says there were no journalists there, because I am pretty sure the political editor of the BBC was there, along with a number of other journalists, but maybe she and I have different views on what we class as a journalist. I hasten to add that the last CHOGM statement was given by my right hon. Friend the Member for Oxford East (Anneliese Dodds), not the Foreign Secretary or the Prime Minister, and that in 2022, which is the last time the statement was made when the Conservative party was in government—I hope it is the last for some considerable time—it was delivered by a Member of the House of Lords. Frankly, we have seen more leadership from my Prime Minister than the several dozen we went through in the 14 years when the Conservatives wrecked this country and left us the mess we have inherited.