Nepal: UK Government Support

Luke Murphy Excerpts

Wednesday 14th October 2026 Westminster Hall

[Luke Murphy (Basingstoke) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms McVey. I am particularly grateful for your latitude given my slightly tardy arrival. I am also grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Reading Central (Matt Rodda) for securing the debate.

As many hon. Members have said, the floods have caused catastrophic damage and loss of life. As my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow West (Gareth Thomas) mentioned, Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority has highlighted that 1,455 people have been confirmed dead and over 5,000 are missing. Few of us will forget the devastating scenes that we saw on our television screens as whole places were swept away as a result of the floods. Sadly, given the number of people missing, the death toll is likely to continue to rise and the flooding is likely to continue to affect many other lives. With homes, schools and health services ruined, and whole communities devastated, it will take a long time to rebuild. As hon. Members have said, that is why the long-term commitment and support of the UK Government, in partnership with the Nepalese Government, is so important.

This horrifying event has impacted not just Nepal and those in Tibet, but the Nepalese community around the world, including those in the strong Nepalese community who have proudly made the UK their home. I am proud to represent one of the largest Nepalese communities in the UK, including many Gurkha veterans, and I know how much of an impact the incident has had on our local community. I was pleased to join a local vigil organised by the Basingstoke Nepalese community. As my hon. Friend the Member for Reading Central mentioned, it was incredibly well attended by people of all backgrounds.

We reflected on not just the profound loss and impact of the floods, but the acts of heroism, small and large, that have been carried out by many people in Nepal. The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) mentioned the school principal, Rajendra Dawadi, whose quick thinking saved the lives of 900 children. There is also Chhiring Tamang, the school bus driver whose quick thinking to drive 50 children across a bridge before it was swept away saved their lives, and Priya Adhikari, Nepal’s first female helicopter pilot, who flew more than 100 rescue missions during the crisis.

Those acts of heroism came alongside small acts of support, including by those in the Basingstoke Nepalese community who have been leading fundraising efforts to support those affected by the floods back home. I pay tribute to the chair, Bijay, the general secretary, Jagadish, and the whole committee in Basingstoke for its work in leading that support.

I also welcome the support that the UK Government have given to Nepal and the British nationals affected by the floods. As others have mentioned, that includes £5 million in humanitarian assistance for emergency shelter, healthcare, food, clean water and sanitation; the longer-term partnership, which has existed for a long time, of £100 million for Nepal’s disaster resilience, humanitarian assistance and climate adaptation; and the wider financial support that others have mentioned through institutions such as the World Bank. Other acts include consular support, staffing and deployment, diplomatic engagement, ministerial visits and engagement with affected communities in the UK. The support was incredibly well received by the local community in Basingstoke and again emphasises the long-standing partnership and friendship between our two countries.

As my right hon. Friend the Member for Oxford East (Anneliese Dodds) mentioned, the disaster highlights once again the disastrous impacts of climate change. It shows the important leadership role that the UK can play, must play and is playing to combat what is the greatest threat to our economy, society and security here in the UK and around the world. I welcome the fact that the Government remain committed to meeting our climate targets here at home, and that the new Foreign Secretary has rightly placed climate and nature security at the heart of our national security and foreign policy decision making. As the floods have shown, and as the Foreign Secretary has said, climate change and nature loss are not just issues for climate and environment Ministers alone; they are defining challenges for our economy, foreign policy and national security. No one recognises that more than the people of Nepal, and it was a big theme of the vigil event that we hosted in Basingstoke.

I conclude by asking the Minister what further action the Government will take to support Nepal in recovering from the floods, seeking reassurance that the Government will remain engaged in helping the recovery in the medium to long term. To echo my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow West, because it will be such a long recovery, that long-term support will be so important. Long after the floods have been forgotten and are no longer being played on the news, we must remain a steadfast partner. I also seek reassurance that support will remain available for affected British nationals, including those who may have loved ones among the missing. I also echo the urging of my hon. Friend the Member for Reading Central for the Government to finally resolve the pensions issue, which I have been working on with the local Gurkha community in Basingstoke. Finally, I again pay tribute to the local Nepalese community that I am so proud to represent.