John Bercow
Main Page: John Bercow (Speaker - Buckingham)
Stephen Doughty (Cardiff South and Penarth) (Lab/Co-op)
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. You might be aware that we are awaiting the results of the successful elections in Somaliland, and all of us in the House and in the all-party parliamentary group on Somaliland and Somalia are watching closely and hoping that stability and peace will be maintained, and that all parties, whatever the final result, will work to establish mechanisms to resolve any grievances and help to move Somaliland forward. Have you had notice of any statements or updates from the Foreign Office on those important elections, not least in the light of the UK’s funding for the important electoral monitoring mission there?
Mr Speaker
The short answer to the hon. Gentleman is that I have not, but I hope that that will be forthcoming ere long, principally because this is a matter of great concern to the hon. Gentleman and many other Members across the House. I might add, almost in parenthesis, something I think that he did not know and at this moment does not know, but is about to know—namely, that in the distant past, I was myself a member of that all-party group and made common cause with the hon. Member for Bristol East (Kerry McCarthy). So this is a matter of considerable interest to me as well. I am sure that Ministers on the Treasury Bench will have heard what the hon. Gentleman has said, and I hope that the House will be enlightened before very long.