Iran-Israel Update
Debate between Jeremy Corbyn and Baroness Winterton of Doncaster(7 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)
I say once again that I am anxious to get everyone in, but I can only do that if the questions are brief.
Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) (Ind)
Thirty-three thousand people have died in Gaza. More bombs have been dropped there than were dropped in the whole of the Iraq war. This weekend’s horrific events show the danger of a war escalating across the whole region. Does the Prime Minister recognise that the kernel of the whole issue across the region is the continued Israeli occupation of Palestine? What does he say about bringing an end to that occupation, and calling for a permanent ceasefire?
Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill
Debate between Jeremy Corbyn and Baroness Winterton of DoncasterWednesday 25th October 2023
(1 year, 1 month ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill 2022-23 View all Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill 2022-23 Debates Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts Amendment Paper: Consideration of Bill Amendments as at 25 October 2023 - (25 Oct 2023)
John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington) (Lab)
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. May I echo the comments of my right hon. Friend the Member for Barking (Dame Margaret Hodge)? If we descend into accusations that those who do not support the Bill are antisemites, or that those who support it are Islamophobic, I think we are lost, to be honest. It is important that we are careful about our language.
There is a profound misunderstanding about what we are debating. If this is about the BDS movement itself, there are mechanisms that the Government can use to proscribe an organisation. But the debate on this Bill should be about BDS as a method, a tactic. I have supported boycotting, disinvesting and sanctioning a whole range of regimes. I campaigned with and supported the anti-apartheid movement of BDS with regard to South Africa. Actually, a large number of Members on both sides of the House supported that. I also did so with regard to Saudi Arabia and its execution—tragically, it is still doing this—of members of the gay community. I have campaigned with others across the House with regard to Sri Lanka and the persecution of the Tamils, including the murder of a number of my constituents when they visited their families. I am doing the same at the moment with regard to Bahrain because of its imprisonment of the political opposition. It is the same with Russia. I was a founder member 10 years ago of the Ukraine Solidarity Campaign and we have been calling for sanctions against Russia for years—in advance of even the Government, to be honest. It is the same with Iran. I chair the Iranian workers’ movement committee, which supports trade unionists campaigning in Iran, many of whom are unfortunately in prison. There is also the Uyghurs.
On all of those, I have urged the use of BDS because when other representations and diplomacy fail, there are not many options left. One of the options, unfortunately, is the use of arms. In not promoting that, we have tried to find a middle lane, and that is economic isolation to try to influence. To be frank, it did work in South Africa. That is why we have tried to ensure that it is a mechanism that can be drawn upon. I agree, however, with my right hon. Friend the Member for Ashton-under-Lyne (Angela Rayner) on the Front Bench. The important thing is to ensure that if we use this mechanism, it is used properly and fairly and that we do not discriminate against one particular country. That is what I have not done. I have called for BDS with regard to goods coming from the occupied territories and Iran because they are against the international order.
Having sat in this House for 25 years and listened to speeches from Conservative representatives, I have learned a bit about conservatism, so what I find extraordinary is that this Bill is profoundly unconservative. Those on the Government Front Bench seem to be rejecting many of the individual amendments in front of us. I have listened to Government Members arguing that the Conservative party stands for freedom of speech, support for the law, the rights of property, the democratic rights of this Parliament, local government and other agencies, devolution of decision-making, and support for the action on the environment and human rights.
Let me turn to the amendments on freedom of speech. Amendments 28 and 3 prevent the Government introducing a gagging order on even just talking about this—having a debate about it. That is profoundly unconservative. I cannot believe that Government Members are not supporting those amendments. On the issue of rights of property, I say to the Conservative Member whose constituency I cannot remember that we are both members of the local government pension fund. The Government are overriding the rights to my property, which is my pension fund. I cannot believe that the Conservatives are doing that. That is my stored wages for over 20 years of service in local government over which I now lose control, and the amendment simply says that the members of that pension fund will be allowed to decide.
Point of Order
Debate between Jeremy Corbyn and Baroness Winterton of Doncaster
Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) (Ind)
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. During Prime Minister’s Question Time earlier today, when the right hon. Member for Hertsmere (Oliver Dowden) was responding on behalf of the Government, he made a number of erroneous references to me. I seem to be living rent-free in his head, alongside the Prime Minister. He did not inform me that he would be raising these issues during Prime Minister’s Question Time, to which I would have thought the normal courtesy of the House should apply. I should be grateful for your guidance, Madam Deputy Speaker, about what opportunities there are for the right hon. Member for Hertsmere to correct the record in the House.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his point of order. Obviously, as Mr Speaker has said on a number of occasions, it is important for information given by Ministers, Deputy Prime Ministers and Prime Ministers to be accurate. I am sure that those on the Treasury Bench have heard the right hon. Gentleman’s views and that they will be conveyed to the Deputy Prime Minister, and if any corrections need to be made, I hope that they will be made quickly.