Commonwealth Day 2021

Julie Elliott Excerpts

Tuesday 16th March 2021 Westminster Hall

[Julie Elliott (Sunderland Central) (Lab) [V]]

As ever, it is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Paisley. I am very proud to be the treasurer of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK branch, and I thank the hon. Member for Bridgwater and West Somerset (Mr Liddell-Grainger) for securing the debate. I associate myself with all his warm words, both to colleagues on the executive committee and to the amazing staff who make our work on the CPA UK branch possible. They do a wonderful job.

This is an incredibly timely debate, because the position that the UK holds in the world and its relationships with other countries have changed demonstrably over the last couple of years. Although we are not here to debate that change or our opinion on whether it was the right thing to do, it is undoubtedly important to refer to the incredibly positive work done through our relationship with other Commonwealth countries and through our partnerships—in this case, therefore, the incredible amount of work done through the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. I evidently declare an interest.

The CPA gives us an opportunity to work with parliamentarians across the Commonwealth, providing a forum through which we can learn from each other and talk openly about the issues we face and how to solve them. It also gives me an opportunity to connect with women parliamentarians across the world.

The representation of women in politics and democracy is an incredibly important subject to me. Through my involvement with the CPA, I have had the chance in this Session to connect with women parliamentarians in Bangladesh, Sierra Leone and Australia, to name a few. It was an incredible opportunity to learn about their relationship with their democracies and representative structures. I believe such conversations are incredibly important: we may be in different countries, but we are more often than not faced with similar barriers to progression and achievement, similar objections and similar obstructions. Through a constant dialogue, we are able to learn how others have dealt with such situations.

The debates that have happened about the place of women in society—the most recent is something of which we are all aware—show how important it is to have women in positions of decision making and supporting other women across the world. Through the Commonwealth, we are able to work with women parliamentarians and show solidarity in an increasingly fractured world, so I return to the original point that I was making about a post-Brexit world. As we reset our relationships with other countries, the Commonwealth provides existing strong bonds with a whole host of other countries. Although the UK is just one equal member among 54 other equals, it has a unique prominence and significance that must be made the most of, for a range of different reasons.

Finally, there are many issues that simply go beyond borders, much like the issues of representation and equality of women, as I have mentioned. Two further examples are climate change and modern slavery, which the CPA has done a lot of work on. These are issues that simply cannot be solved unilaterally. The Commonwealth, with the bonds and relationships that it provides, is an extremely important forum in which we can work with others, learn what works and what does not, and ensure that progress is made for the benefit of all. Even if the debate is taking place a little after it happened, this Commonwealth Day is a chance to celebrate what joins us together and the support that we give each other.