Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Gordon McKee and Douglas McAllister(2 weeks, 2 days ago)
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Gordon McKee (Glasgow South) (Lab)
Douglas McAllister (West Dunbartonshire) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr Douglas Alexander)
City region and growth deals are having a visible and transformative impact on regional economies across Scotland. Built on more than £1.5 billion of UK Government investment, the deals play a vital role in fostering enduring economic growth, unlocking private sector investment, and improving infrastructure and job opportunities.
Israeli Settlements: Trade Ban
Debate between Gordon McKee and Douglas McAllister(3 weeks, 1 day ago)
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Douglas McAllister
Yes, I agree entirely with my hon. Friend, who makes a very good point. I think all hon. Members in the House have had the same volume of correspondence from our constituents, emphasising the strength of feeling up and down the United Kingdom.
Today, the situation in the west bank and East Jerusalem is at breaking point. Settler violence has reached an all-time high, displacing entire villages in a blatant abuse of human rights. Yet as the crisis rages on, the UK is not doing enough. I appreciate that we have finally recognised the state of Palestine, but we need to go beyond that and take decisive action.
The Charity Commission is being urged to investigate 32 British charities that have funnelled at least £28 million into these illegal territories—a figure that has been boosted even more by the British taxpayer through gift aid. We are inadvertently helping to fund infrastructure on stolen land. We should be funding peace, not obstacles to peace, and not apartheid.
Furthermore, the settlement enterprises know exactly what they are doing and they know that it is wrong. We know that because they routinely mislabel Palestinian products as being produced in Israel to sneak them into international trade markets and bolster the settler economy. Any goods or money obtained via trade with these illegal settlements are tainted by criminality, which is not something that our country should be associated with. They are the proceeds of crime that underpin Israel’s illegal occupation.
I welcome the actions that our UK Labour Government have taken so far. We have sanctioned extremist Ministers and violent settler networks, and we have updated the business risk guidance. In May last year, we also rightly suspended negotiations on a free trade agreement with Israel. But guidance and warnings are no longer enough. We must ensure that the illegal settlements have no viable economic future.
On 7 June, I proudly signed the letter co-ordinated by my hon. Friend the Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward) calling on the Foreign Secretary to introduce a ban on trade with illegal settlements. By delaying, we are falling behind our international allies: Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland and even, we hear, the EU.
Gordon McKee (Glasgow South) (Lab)
I want to place on record that my constituents feel as strongly as my hon. Friend’s constituents in Dumbarton about this: we have to ban trade with illegal settlements. Does he agree that although the Government have taken welcome steps, as he referenced, they must go further to ensure this trade is not allowed?
Douglas McAllister
I agree entirely with my hon. Friend. I am sure his point has not been lost on the Minister, and we await with great anticipation what he will say from the Dispatch Box.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I will conclude. Trade with these settlements is fundamentally incompatible with international law. It is time to turn our solidarity into decisive action, cut off the economic lifelines of this illegal occupation and implement a total trade ban.