Victory over Japan: 80th Anniversary

Debate between Jim Shannon and James Cartlidge

Monday 21st July 2025 Commons Chamber

[James Cartlidge (South Suffolk) (Con)]

It is a great privilege to respond to today’s debate. I am grateful to all hon. Members for their contributions. As many have said, the Pacific campaign of world war two is often referred to as the forgotten war, but that is far from the case today. We in Parliament remember that epic and brutal theatre of operations, honour all those who served, and reflect on the terrible loss of human life—both military and civilian. It will certainly not be the forgotten war this summer as our nation joins in the commemorations.

As was frequently remarked when we debated the anniversary of VE Day on 6 May, such events to mark VJ Day will be even more poignant and important because the living link to that time is passing. That living link has been sustained through so many family connections, as we have heard today.

[Jim Shannon]

I want to put on record the contribution of those from Northern Ireland who served in the far east. I think of Johnny McQuade, who was an MP in this House for our party from 1979 to 1983. He was an inspiration to me as a young boy back in the ’70s. I think also of Richie, a sergeant-major in the Royal Artillery Belfast Battalion, who went to camp in 1939 for two weeks but came back in 1945 having served in the far east. Those are two examples of Northern Ireland’s contribution to the far east war.

[James Cartlidge]

I totally agree with the hon. Gentleman. I always make the effort to recognise the contribution of the whole of our Union to our armed forces on all fronts in the second world war and throughout the history of our military.

As I have said, many colleagues have spoken about their family connections. I was very moved by the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Helen Maguire), who spoke about her grandfather’s service at Kohima. That was a key battle in the Burma campaign, and it is from where we get the Kohima epitaph, which we all know:

“When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave our today.”

Those are immortal words.

I understand that we are grateful to my right hon. Friend the Member for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale (David Mundell) for bringing forward this debate through the Backbench Business Committee. He spoke so vividly of the horror of the enslavement of POWs and, in his words, the “scars that never healed”.

Having said that, we also heard from the Chair of the Defence Committee, the hon. Member for Slough (Mr Dhesi), who reminded us that today we have a strong relationship with Japan through GCAP—I was proud to be part of the global combat air programme as a Minister in the MOD—and also with Italy, which was part of the Axis powers in Europe. We enjoy brighter relations now, even though, as the hon. Member for Tewkesbury (Cameron Thomas) pointed out, perhaps some in Japanese society have not fully come to terms with what happened in the second world war.

My hon. Friend the Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell) spoke very movingly about the Burma Star Association. The hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Adam Jogee) importantly stressed the role that our veterans groups will have in these festivities in the coming weeks as we remember VJ Day. I note that the hon. Member for Taunton and Wellington (Gideon Amos) spoke specifically about veterans and the issue of Northern Ireland veterans, which remains very important. We hope his speech indicates that, if legislation comes forward, he will vote in the appropriate way to stand by our veterans.

The hon. Member for Erewash (Adam Thompson), in an excellent speech, spoke very movingly of Donald Rose, who was 110 years old when he died and at one point the oldest person in the country. That was an extraordinarily brave tale, and I am grateful to him for sharing it with us. We heard from my hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Dr Spencer). No debate on the far east would be possible without mention of the Chindits, which I understand were formally known as the long-range penetration groups. He reminded us of the ravages of disease, which is the scourge of our forces in many ways. In that case it was malaria, but there was also dysentery, which we heard about from the hon. Member for Blackpool North and Fleetwood (Lorraine Beavers), and many other horrors were out there in the jungle during fighting.

The hon. Member for Birmingham Northfield (Laurence Turner) spoke about the Birmingham association for the Far East Prisoners of War, reminding us of the role of civic society in helping POWs to come to terms with the horrors that they experienced in the far east. We heard a number of colleagues speak about specific elements of our armed forces and their service. The hon. Member for Carlisle (Ms Minns) spoke movingly about the Border Regiment and described it fighting through monsoons. That was an extraordinary record.

The hon. Member for Portsmouth North (Amanda Martin) very proudly spoke about the Royal Navy. She is very proud to have a naval constituency, and she is absolutely right to stress the extremely important role of the British Pacific fleet. In fact, I believe it played a crucial role in those final months as US forces were heading towards the Japanese home island, using our own fleet to enable that military progress, which was incredibly important.

The hon. Member for Blackpool North and Fleetwood spoke of the horror of the Burma railway, which many of us have heard of. I had a great uncle who was involved in it, but he would never speak of it, so shocking was the reality, despite being such a gentle man. The hon. Lady spoke particularly about how emaciated the survivors were and how many died of starvation.

International Immunities and Privileges

Debate between Jim Shannon and James Cartlidge

Wednesday 24th July 2024 Commons Chamber

[James Cartlidge]

My right hon. Friend’s question is an interesting one. Whenever I was in front of the Select Committee—it was always a great joy and privilege to be cross-examined, particularly by my colleagues on the Conservative Benches—there was always a debate about when we withdraw platforms and when we bring in their replacements. That will never go away, and I wish the Armed Forces Minister well when he has the unique privilege and experience of going in front of the Committee. What I would say to my right hon. Friend is that we have to accept that, as a matter of avionic reality, the Typhoon will reach the end of its service life, and we as a country have to replace it. GCAP is key to that, with the construction of the new core platform.

While investing in the best combat air capability does not guarantee air superiority in the future, it offers us the chance to deny adversaries such potentially deadly freedom of operation by maintaining technological competitiveness. However, there are those who ask, “Why don’t we simply go off-the-shelf and buy more F-35s?” I noticed similar views being expressed in The Daily Telegraph this very day, and there is even a rumour that some Government Departments, such as those I mentioned earlier, may take a view along those lines. We must be clear that the F-35, while a brilliant and highly capable aircraft, is a fifth-generation platform, not a sixth-generation one. It is not optimised for the battle space that is likely to pertain by the late 2030s, and the United States—which, after all, possesses and manufactures the F-35—is itself investing in a sixth-generation programme, as are our adversaries.

[Jim Shannon]

I commend the shadow Minister for what he is saying: his great focus on the issues of modern technology, our companies and what they are involved with. I know that he has a tremendous interest in Northern Ireland—he visited there regularly in his former role in government. Can he give us some suggestions about the role that aerospace in Northern Ireland could, and will, play in finding a way forward?