Commonwealth Day Debate
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Hugh Bayley
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Commonwealth Day
Hugh Bayley Excerpts(10 years, 8 months ago)
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Sir Alan Haselhurst
The answer is mixed. There is a groundswell of support for doing more for women parliamentarians in the Commonwealth and for an annual youth Parliament, and the matter of the small states will be put to the test soon. The reactions may be mixed to my suggestion about the devolution of power, but I am merely floating the idea based on my experience of the past two and half years as the chairperson of the executive committee. Having seen what is happening across the piece, there is a case for considering that proposal, but it has not yet been examined in any great detail.
The powerbrokers at ministerial level in the Commonwealth and in national Parliaments should take much more seriously the Commonwealth’s parliamentary and local government arms and its associated organisations. By the time of the next CHOGM in two years’ time, I hope for some progress on what was said in Colombo in the hurried half-hour that was granted to the associated organisations. There was a feeling among Foreign Ministers that something more had to be done to engage, and I am willing to suggest ways in which that could be done. I envisage an event at the next CHOGM that highlights the civil society aspects of the Commonwealth, but which would also make clear the role that can be played by the elected partners among the associated organisations. That ought to be seen as a win-win within the Commonwealth family and would help the CPA, in particular, to aspire to a stronger sense of purpose and a sharper definition of its priorities. I hope that moves in that general direction will be encouraged by Her Majesty’s Government.
Hugh Bayley (in the Chair)
Order. We have plenty of time for the debate. The wind-ups must start by 4 pm, but may come before then.