Business of the House

Debate between George Howarth and Lord Hague of Richmond

Thursday 11th September 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

We are making good progress. The introduction today of the Recall of MPs Bill means that we have introduced 10 of the 11 Government Bills promised in the Queen’s Speech, and they are proceeding well through Parliament, despite the fact that we have had some additional emergency legislation, as my right hon. Friend knows. I announced in the business statement that the Committee stage will begin on Monday 20 October on the Floor of the House, so, yes, we will be taking all stages of the legislation here.

[Mr George Howarth (Knowsley) (Lab)]

At last week’s business questions, I asked the Leader of the House about local government grant cuts, particularly as they affect Knowsley. He very helpfully suggested that I take the matter up at Communities and Local Government questions on the Monday just gone, which I did: I asked a very detailed question. While it is well known that the Secretary of State does not do detail, I got a reply from an Under-Secretary that bore no resemblance to the question I asked. Having taken up the Leader of the House’s helpful suggestions so far, does he have any others that might help to resolve this problem?

[Mr Hague]

I am full of helpful suggestions—“Ask at the next DCLG questions” would be the first one. Of course, as the right hon. Gentleman, who is a very experienced Member of the House, knows, there are many other ways in which to raise issues in this House—through Adjournment debates and promoting Back-Bench business debates—and he is very well able to do so.

Business of the House

Debate between George Howarth and Lord Hague of Richmond

Thursday 4th September 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

That is undoubtedly true, and my hon. Friend always closes with a conclusion that is forceful and that we can always see coming. He raises an important issue, and I know that the debate in Committee was adjourned because a point of order was raised over whether the appropriate documents had been provided to its members. The report of the European Scrutiny Committee will be taken seriously by Ministers. My hon. Friend has pointed out that an important policy issue is involved, and I will ensure that my ministerial colleagues have their attention fully drawn to the point that he has raised.

[Mr George Howarth (Knowsley) (Lab)]

Will the Leader of the House find time to debate the support that central Government provide to local government? This would enable us to discuss the problem that some of the areas of greatest need, such as Knowsley, are having the most money cut while some of the areas that have the least need, such as West Oxfordshire, are having lesser amounts cut or even, in some cases, having their grants increased. That simply is not fair. We have just been hearing about Rotherham, and it is about time the Government recognised that adult and children’s services will be cut as a result of the reductions in expenditure that local government is having to find.

[Mr Hague]

Local government across the country has had to become considerably more efficient in recent years, and local authorities have varied in their effectiveness and ability to bring that about. The right hon. Gentleman will know that there will be questions to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on Monday, which will provide an opportunity to raise these matters on the Floor of the House next week.

Syria

Debate between George Howarth and Lord Hague of Richmond

Monday 13th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

My hon. Friend has made a very good point. This conflict has affected minorities in Syria, including Christians, particularly sharply and horribly. It is important for that point to be made, and it will be made strongly at Geneva II. It reinforces the case for seeking the political solution which alone can protect those minorities, including Christians, and for the National Coalition—the opposition—to be as broadly based as possible. I am pleased to say that there are leading Christians in the opposition ranks, and it is important for them to retain that broad support so that they do not fall into the trap of sectarianism into which so many have already fallen.

[Mr George Howarth (Knowsley) (Lab)]

The right hon. Gentleman will be aware that in recent weeks the jihadists—some of whom, as he conceded, are from these shores—have been promoting sectarian division between Sunni and Shi’a. Does he agree that any way forward must involve protecting not just the rights of Christians, but the rights of all people—of whatever faith—including their human rights? What guarantees does he think can be provided to ensure that that happens?

[Mr Hague]

The right hon. Gentleman has made an important point, which adds to the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for North Thanet (Sir Roger Gale). It must be stressed that the people of Syria, in the main, are not extreme, and have not been sectarian in their history. This is a country which, for a long time, has been able to combine happily alongside each other people of many different cultures and religions. Extremists are taking advantage of the conflict in Syria, rather than the conflict’s being a reflection of the true nature of the Syrian people, and we need a political solution to be arrived at as soon as possible so that they can return to their true nature. That is not for the benefit of any outside power; it is for them, so that they can go back to the happier solutions at which they had arrived together, living alongside each other.

Iran and Syria

Debate between George Howarth and Lord Hague of Richmond

Monday 11th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

Realistically, there is unfortunately no prospect of the Security Council agreeing a mandate for any military mission into Syria, as that would undoubtedly be resisted and blocked by Russia and China. I hope that, if this situation continues, they will at least agree to a resolution in the Security Council, requiring the Assad regime to comply with presidential statements issued by the Security Council and therefore greatly increasing legal and diplomatic pressure on the Assad regime. I think that is the next step that will become necessary on current trends.

[Mr George Howarth (Knowsley) (Lab)]

Further to the Foreign Secretary’s earlier exchange with the right hon. Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt) about state-sponsored terrorism, will he perhaps go a little further and agree that it is both unacceptable and counter-productive for the Iranians still to sponsor Hezbollah?

[Mr Hague]

Yes, I do agree with that. Close Iranian links with Hezbollah are one of the reasons Iran sends such active and enormous assistance to the Assad regime, because that is the physical connection with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Such support does not contribute—far from it—to international peace and security. I hope that in due course we will address all those issues together, but the right hon. Gentleman will understand that we must first take on the nuclear programme.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between George Howarth and Lord Hague of Richmond

Tuesday 17th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr George Howarth (Knowsley) (Lab)]

Does the Foreign Secretary agree that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations can play an important role in encouraging the Burmese to maintain the progress that he described earlier?

[Mr Hague]

Yes. That is particularly true given that Burma will have the chairmanship of ASEAN in 2014. One of the points that we made to other ASEAN nations at the United Nations General Assembly last year, before Burma’s appointment, was that the country must be pushed in the right direction—the direction in which it is now moving—if it expected to have the chairmanship, and those nations seem to be working well together.