Syria

Lord Risby Excerpts

Monday 20th March 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, I understand why the noble Lord raises this question—he has diplomatic experience and background in these issues—but as I responded to him a short while ago, we have no faith in the word of Assad because he has broken his word so frequently. Indeed, he is breaking his word now on a ceasefire, for example in east Ghouta. So we do not feel that it is right to show our faith or our trust in him, which we cannot have, by opening an embassy in Damascus at the moment.

[Lord Risby (Con)]

My Lords, we all pray for the destruction of Daesh, but is my noble friend aware that some of the more moderate elements in the Syrian opposition to Assad appear to have linked up with a more radical organisation, Tahrir al-Sham, which is linked to al-Qaeda? Is my noble friend aware that this organisation has been responsible for some civilian outrages in Syria and is refusing to participate in the peace process? Can she indicate, or give some clarification of, what she thinks is happening as regards what appear to be some very unwelcome developments?

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My noble friend is right to raise the fact again that we should stand up against all those who commit outrages, whoever they may be. He is right, too, to point to the fact that the situation among the opposition groups in Syria can indeed be fluid. There can be splintering of those groups and some which appeared in the past to be moderate then change their view and join up with those with whom this country will have no truck. I can give him an assurance that we will not negotiate with those extremists. He also raises the issue of talks. We encourage all the moderate opposition to take part in the talks in Astana. The problem has been, of course, that some chose not to attend because the regime is continuing to break the ceasefire.

Syria

Lord Risby Excerpts

Thursday 9th February 2017 Grand Committee

[Lord Risby (Con)]

My Lords, I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Cox. She is absolutely right to highlight the extent of the humanitarian horror of the Syrian crisis. I applaud her for her efforts on behalf of the Christian community that is left there, and in essence agree with her vision. I personally mourn the death of a great friend, the Archbishop of Aleppo, who disappeared and was presumably killed.

In 2000 I attended the funeral in Damascus of President Hafez al-Assad, representing the Opposition. It was the first time that I met his son Bashar, and there were great hopes that he would modernise the economy. Indeed there was some progress, and the new President fully protected the minorities. However, when minor demonstrations broke out in Syria, and after some hesitation, President Assad ruthlessly cracked down, and the rest is history. It was a grotesque misjudgment and wholly unnecessary. Had we and others taken out his capacity to rain cluster bombs, barrel bombs and chemical weapons on his population by bombing his airfields, he would have been forced to the conference table. We never did, though, and our support for opposition groups was limited and sometimes wholly counterproductive.

As a result of the Russians moving in substantially in 2015, Assad is now on his way back to controlling the country. It is a tragic and ironic situation that the man who had so much to do with the destruction of his country should now be seen as part of the solution. It now appears to be recognised even by us that he is there to stay, as expressed by the Foreign Secretary. However, I immediately praise Her Majesty’s Government, who have so generously committed money to good humanitarian efforts to alleviate the plight of the refugees. We can be truly proud of the generosity, added to by private funding and care. I was very pleased personally to help in raising money for relief.

However, we are where we are, and we have to face the clear reality. When a recent meeting took place in Astana, it was essentially led by Turkey, Iran and the Russians, whose influence and role in Syria is now decisive. I therefore ask the Minister if she is in a position to clarify what the next stage will be. I understand that additional meetings in Geneva were planned, but may have been postponed to cement a ceasefire. Do we know if the anti-Assad opposition is to be involved? This would be appear to be essential to make progress, and of course it would be under UN auspices. President Trump has advocated, with the support of Saudi Arabia, the establishment of safe zones to provide some degree of security for refugees. Do we agree with this? I understand that he has commissioned a report to be ready by April.

Of course there will simply be no progress without the agreement of Russia and indeed President Assad himself. The Foreign Secretary reiterated his view that President Assad ideally should go, but we now have to accept the new reality of his staying. Indeed, all I can say in retrospect is that all of us should pray and yearn for this unspeakable horror and heart-breaking situation to end.

Populism and Nationalism

Lord Risby Excerpts

Thursday 19th January 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Risby (Con)]

My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Bruce, on introducing this most timely debate. In industrialised societies, we are seeing the rise of political movements that are challenging liberal values and the consensus that has existed for decades. Two major countries continue single-mindedly to expand their interests—namely, Russia and China—which unnerves their neighbours. In some countries, religion is being used to further sustain the control and popularity of governing regimes. At the WEF meeting this week in Davos, it is precisely these themes which are sources of discussion and concern. The rise of nationalism and protectionism challenge existing multilateral co-operation and institutions, which is particularly difficult for countries which have led enhanced international co-operation and agreement.

I say this because, however critical and concerned we may be about these themes, it seems to me that we need to delve into some of the actual reasons for this in Europe and the United States in particular. After the Second World War, a remarkable level of social cohesion developed in many western societies. In the United States, manufacturing grew apace and living standards improved markedly across economic divides, irrespective of education or skills levels. In areas described today as the rust belt, there were jobs for all. In France, there is now nostalgia for the 30 glorious years of economic and social advance in the same period. Despite frequent industrial disturbances here, a former Prime Minister said that we had,

“never had it so good”.

I believe that much of this sense of alienation today arises from the embers of the financial crash of 2008. Some Governments had concluded that, in the prosperous preceding years, fiscal caution could be de-emphasised or even abandoned. With the resulting high budgetary deficits, traditional Keynesian responses to the crash were extremely difficult to pursue. Instead, central banks pursued a policy of very low interest rates; this in turn led to high asset inflation, the beneficiaries being those who could borrow money and participate often in property booms. Many citizens felt that those in the financial sector who had recklessly contributed to the financial crash escaped any real censure. Technology changes added to the concerns of those who felt separated from economic recovery, particularly in the United States, so that the very underpinnings of social cohesion began to fracture. High-end pay became in some instances wholly disconnected from successful performance. All this made for a combustible cocktail.

Institutional structures further aggravated this. If we look at Europe, at Laeken there was a serious discussion about how European citizens could feel a greater sense of ownership of the European Union and its institutions. In what would eventually emerge, even the most enthusiastic Europhile would accept that the promised sense of ownership was simply never restored. For example, no transitional arrangements were made here for citizens of the new accession countries and the assurances given were that the numbers coming here would be minimal. I happen to have supported the remain cause in the referendum last year but now, all over Europe, there is anxiety about the consequences of globalisation in practice, unrestricted free movement of labour, migratory flows that are in part simply economic, and human rights legislation that can overturn national responses. Much of the manifestation of the resulting populism and nationalism challenges the very democratic values that we all cherish, but we need to take care that the legal and institutional structures that we have constructed to enshrine these long-fought-for values do not in themselves appear inflexible, unresponsive or intolerant of people’s genuine concerns. The remain campaign focused on the economy—usually the basis for electoral success—but this was rejected by people feeling that their identity was being challenged by forces over which they had no control.

If we look down the track at the effect of artificial intelligence, for example, this will further challenge populism, because populism offers a false hope. The change of technology is likely to disappoint those who have supported it. We look at what is happening in France with Marine Le Pen offering protectionism as a solution to high French unemployment—a similar situation is being echoed in the United States. Mercifully, we do not have extreme left or right-wing political movements in this country. We remain a remarkably liberal and open society, but we have to guard against the undermining of this. To do so, we must not permit those liberal values to morph into illiberality, which is to turn a blind eye to negative social attitudes and practices while intolerantly closing down debate and open discussion that impacts the lives of our citizens, leading to their alienation. We in this country are fortunate to be able to resist protectionism and illiberalism. It is part of our role in this Chamber to ensure that those values are continued and cherished.

Middle East

Lord Risby Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd February 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Risby (Con)]

My Lords, my noble friend Lord Hague, when he was appointed shadow Foreign Secretary, forecasted that the Middle East would be the epicentre of the world’s problems in the future. It was certainly an understatement. But more latterly, I am pleased that this country has restored relationships with the Gulf states—which were previously ignored—participated in the Iran nuclear process and welcomed President al-Sisi to London inter alia. We as a country have a unique and exceptional understanding of the region.

Very recently, the Cabinet Office Minister, Matthew Hancock, was in Israel, where he launched a most welcome cybersecurity engagement. Of course Israel’s expertise in this area is unparalleled. As my noble friend Lord Grade observed, he made a clear commitment that public authorities here would be banned from boycotts, which again is most welcome news. All this strengthens our bilateral relationship. However, according to the United Nations, more than 400 Palestinians were displaced in the first six weeks of this year because of Israeli demolitions. There have been horrific attacks on Israeli citizens and counter-attacks by Israeli armed forces. It is a tense and dire situation, but with all the horrors across the region, all eyes have moved away from the Israel/Palestine conflict.

But it is all too circular. As long as illegal settlements are being constructed, Mahmoud Abbas has no credibility to negotiate or accept the open offer by the Israeli Government, and that continues to raise tensions. The problem will fester, but surely this is precisely the time for a bold initiative to break the impasse, as inevitably it will return on the radar screen as a focus of concern. Given that in so many respects we have such an excellent relationship with Israel and are committed generously to a two-state solution, surely this is the moment for the British Government to try to promote actively such a dialogue. We do not need any information or analysis from the BBC, the Economist or anyone else. We have skilled diplomats to do this for us. I hope that my noble friend the Minister will agree.

Bilateral Trade: United Kingdom and Africa

Lord Risby Excerpts

Wednesday 11th November 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Risby (Con)]

My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend Lord Sheikh on introducing this debate. I have read his report on Ethiopia—a country that has had a difficult past but has certainly made enormous progress—with great interest, and I very much look forward to the maiden speech of the noble Lord, Lord Oates.

Looking back particularly over the past decade or so, we have seen a huge number of African success stories—I pay tribute to the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Scotland, who is trade envoy to South Africa, where such progress has been made, and my role as the Prime Minister’s trade envoy to Algeria is one that I absolutely cherish and enjoy—but the truth is that there are some difficulties on the horizon, in which I believe we can play a role in helping. Many of the economies in Africa have been based on rising commodity prices, but we are now seeing some weakness and there is some concern, and of course the question is how long this will go on for.

A number of African countries have sought to look at diversification, and here we have a unique capability. In the reform of their capital markets and their banking systems—of course, without that their growth would be inhibited—we have a unique offer. We have an outreach programme by the Stock Exchange that interfaces with other countries. We have in this country unique support systems involving lawyers, accountants and insurance specialists, and I have seen all of this on offer to our friends in Algeria. Indeed, I praise the work of the Lord Mayor, who has recently been to Africa, and the previous Lord Mayor, whom I had the privilege of being with in north Africa during her visit.

The second point that I would like to make is that many African countries have a demographic challenge of young people, and we in this country have been quite successful latterly in embracing technological change. We have seen a record start-up rate in this country by international standards, including the establishment of Tech City, and we have set about abolishing some of the red tape, regulation and overprotective employment laws that were inhibiting start-up activity. These are things that, in my role, I have been trying to point out to Algerian friends as very important, and in these aspects of our life we want to share our experience with other African countries, which I believe will welcome what we have done. As my noble friend the Minister contemplates improving business links with Africa, of course there are millions of young Africans who are extremely well educated and motivated and eager to deploy modern technology to start up their own businesses—this is something that I hear everywhere. However, as we look to commodity-rich Africa and help it to grapple with the challenge of diversification, I would just point out that, in a country such as Algeria, which is energy-dependent, it has become very necessary to improve the financial infrastructure—and, again, this is an area where we have an unparalleled advantage.

I would also mention the importance of the expansion of the British Council in a number of African countries. English has become the dominant language of modernity, telecommunications and technology, and in many African countries English is well spoken and can be a key part of our offer. I hope that this aspect, one of the key underpinnings of our relationship, can continue to be offered and expanded.

As my noble friend, who is spearheading so effectively our export effort, contemplates how we can improve our bilateral relationships with a number of African countries, I hope that all these things can be offered to supplement the dynamism and energy that exists in African countries but also to help with the challenge of diversification, which at this juncture is for many of them an important issue that they have to face.

Syria

Lord Risby Excerpts

Wednesday 24th June 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Risby (Con)]

My Lords, the tragic humanitarian crisis of biblical proportions arising out of the situation in Syria is now impacting all European countries, to add to the enormous pressures on Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey. This all arose out of a terrible misjudgment by President Assad, who, after some ambiguity, blamed social unrest on foreigners and terrorists. There were arguments as to how to respond; sophisticated voices rejected any action against the Assad regime, saying that there was no strategy. His strategy was clear: survival at any cost, no matter what the bloodshed was and despite the efforts of the United Nations and the Arab League. Today we have the incredible situation whereby ISIL is supplying President Assad with oil and he and ISIL attack moderate Syrian rebels. The notion that he is a buffer against ISIL simply is not being borne out.

Russia, which has its own preoccupations in Ukraine and elsewhere, now realises that Assad and his immediate cabal cannot win. There is a widely held view that Iran would consider sacrificing Assad if there was a nuclear deal that, in turn, would enable it to negotiate its political interests thereafter. It appears that Turkey and Saudi Arabia are willing to act as security guarantors for Syria post Assad. They appear more disposed to support the more moderate rebels—fearing ISIL more than anything else—and they might provide the best guarantee of stopping ISIL taking over Syria in totality, including Damascus.

I refer my noble friend the Minister’s attention to a recent report put together by the Atlantic Council, The Case for a Syrian National Stabilization Force. It may well be of interest and points to a clear strategy for supporting the moderate rebels and, ultimately, looking at political reforms. Of course, the political structures that could support this do not yet exist, and we must not make the mistake of dismissing everybody with political and administrative experience, as regrettably occurred in Iraq.

Assad cannot last. Iran and Russia, for different reasons, are more open to dialogue, however tortuous, and Turkey and Saudi Arabia may well be supportive. At minimum such an approach is worth encouraging and I simply do not know of any viable alternative. I greatly look forward, therefore, to hearing from my noble friend of any role that we and other European partners can have in trying to bring about fresh thinking in resolving this tragedy. There may just be some straws in the wind now to support this.

Trade and Investment

Lord Risby Excerpts

Monday 15th June 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Risby (Con)]

My Lords, it is a great personal pleasure for me to see my noble friend Lord Maude on the Front Bench and to congratulate him on a truly excellent speech. Perhaps my noble friend thought that when he came to your Lordships’ House he might be escaping me. The simple reason for that is that I was his deputy not once, not twice, not three times, but now four times—he is technically my boss since I am a trade envoy of the Prime Minister. I am absolutely delighted that that should be the case. I believe that my noble friend has now made three maiden parliamentary speeches, which is excellent too. I have worked with him in many roles over the years; he combines a stellar intellect with an extraordinary commitment to get things done with a clear sense of focus and direction. It is exactly for that reason that he will be enormously valuable in discussions and debates in your Lordships’ House, and in the crucial role that he now enjoys in government.

We have a brilliant service industry in this country—the best in the world, in many respects. This certainly is not the moment to discuss the whys and wherefores of the calamity that struck this country in 2008 and beyond, but it told us something—that we needed a different regulation of our financial services industry, but also a rebalancing of our economy. In common with other industrial countries, we have seen a decline in manufacturing in the United Kingdom. In our case, we have seen an overdependence on the financial services industry, much of it concentrated in London. Indeed, as many noble Lords have already indicated, our export performance has not matched that of others. One problem has been that accessibility of our banking and insurance services has been very difficult in some key markets.

Over the years all British Prime Ministers have tried to promote exports and inward investment, but by any objective standards, the time and energy that has been committed by this Prime Minister and this Chancellor of the Exchequer to that end has been widely and enormously appreciated by the business community, as I have heard so often. UKTI has been refashioned to develop new market opportunities and to encourage inward investment. However, the culture of export promotion remains a work in progress, as our home market has always been somewhat consumer oriented and, for many businesses, enough for their business purposes.

Let me deal first with inward investment. Our openness and attractiveness to external investment sources is simply unique in Europe. We remain the top European destination for foreign direct investment and second in the whole world, but until recently some 90% of FDI came from either America or Europe. Clearly this is now beginning to change, which is to be welcomed, as we see the new world economic order unfolding, with huge and recent investments by the Chinese, Gulf Arabs and others. We can recall with gratitude the huge investment made by the Japanese in this country in the 1980s, particularly in our car industry. It is estimated that the wave of FDI has created more than 200,000 jobs and safeguarded 260,000. It is crucial that we continue on this process, but we must do so by continuing to have low business taxes, a pro-business sentiment and flexible employment structures that continue to be attractive to people.

We, of course, as a country also benefit enormously from the English language, and our reputation as a very open and welcoming society. We can also be proud of a big change in business start-up culture, and the dynamism of our high-tech sector. An extraordinary statistic on the rate of start-ups in this country compared with France was published recently. We have much to learn from France as regards the co-operation between government and the private sector in assertively pushing the interests of France in export markets. That is to be admired in many respects. I read an extraordinary statistic which I hardly believe to be true, but it is part of our success story and must be encouraged—namely, apparently, 9,000 British people now live in Paris and 400,000 French people live in London, many of whom are the most enterprising and dynamic young French citizens who have been attracted here. In that context, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has removed or modified burdens on smaller businesses and has overseen the establishment of new enterprise zones and digital entrepreneur hubs. He has improved R&D tax credits and given extra support to exporters with the expansion of fast broadband, which is certainly much needed.

In March, the Government hit our target of signing up 3,000 medium-sized businesses to a support programme designed to help them break into new global markets. However, we still have work to do. Only one in six such businesses currently exports outside the European Union compared with one in four in Germany and one in three in Italy, so progress needs to be made. I am sure your Lordships will want to support this and perhaps my noble friend will comment further on it.

I was particularly interested in the very interesting and informed comments of my noble friend Lady Mobarik in respect of Pakistan and the opportunities there. Wearing my hat as the Prime Minister’s envoy to Algeria, I know that it is very interested in the start-up culture and high-tech sector which have developed in this country. Of course, in a country such as this there is an argument to be had about how you encourage this by cutting red tape and amending tax policy. However, a country such as Algeria is relatively new business territory for us and we have seen a substantial growth in business activity with it. In December last year, as part of the trade envoy programme, 1,000 potential investors wanted to attend a conference in London labelled “Algeria Open for Business”. Recently, we secured our first Rolls-Royce engine order there. We have had a remarkable success story with a Northern Ireland dairy company supplying farm products there, further energy construction and servicing deals and, very soon, we hope, a major hospital contract.

I pay tribute to my noble friend Lord Marland, who encouraged this whole process and drove this programme forward. However, the Prime Minister’s visit just over two years ago made a dramatic breakthrough. UKTI is now supporting trade and credit finance at a level unseen before. All this is very welcome. It is also particularly welcome that 89% of its customers are SMEs. Additionally, funding has been put in place to give support and advice to possible new SME entrants. Surely this is an area which offers the greatest promise.

I also express my gratitude for the change of attitude which evolved in our Foreign Office. Ambassadors now give considerable support and energy to export and inward investment promotion, as I have seen and admired in Algeria and elsewhere. There is simply no alternative to pursuing business-friendly policies if we are to secure the economic growth which gives businesses confidence that they are supported in their export ambitions. Business organisations are playing their part with UKTI, BIS and the FCO in encouraging this culture, and it is working. The latest British Chambers of Commerce international trade survey found that businesses that export reap better performance but there is more still to be done, and the BCC is there to assist. Its Overseas Business Networks programme links accredited British chambers with those abroad under the banner of Export Britain, offering advice on export readiness, planning, making connections and getting goods to market. I dwell on this because these activities supplement the work of government through UKTI and provide an international link that is hugely welcome.

As the relative importance of the European economy continues to shrink, identifying and targeting new markets remains a critical objective. I hope and believe that those of us who are privileged to be part of the Prime Minister’s trade envoy programme can in some measure contribute to this in markets that have been relatively unexploited historically. The Chancellor of the Exchequer said recently, I think with real candour:

“We have to tackle the endemic weaknesses in the British economy that no Government have been able to solve in the past: we are not productive enough and we do not export enough, save enough, train enough or build enough”.—[Official Report, Commons, 4/6/15; col. 798.]

In once again welcoming my noble friend to his role, I say in conclusion that he brings great experience of the private sector to this undertaking and I know that his contribution in driving forward our export promotion and continuing to attract inward investment will be greatly valued by this country.