Human Rights in Kashmir

Will Forster Excerpts

Tuesday 7th July 2026 Westminster Hall

[Mr Will Forster (Woking) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris.

I thank the hon. Member for Bradford East (Imran Hussain) for securing the debate. It is clear where I stand on this issue, because I co-signed his letter late last month. Human rights abuses in Kashmir matter deeply to my constituents in Woking. More than half of my local Asian population have ancestry from and links with Kashmir. It is a fundamental issue that is raised with me regularly, and particularly over the last month. I am here to represent them, and to ensure that the British Government show some leadership and ensure that civil liberties are returned to normal in Kashmir.

The Liberal Democrats and I condemn the reports of the excessive and unlawful use of force against the people in Kashmir. For the last two years, the Government there have arrested, banned and clashed with people protesting over flour and electricity costs. In the last month, things have got worse still. These actions have been condemned by human rights groups such as Amnesty International, which has argued that the state has been weaponising anti-terror laws as a legal excuse to crush peaceful protest. Peaceful protesters aspiring for equal rights should never be criminalised.

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

Many of my constituents are deeply concerned about the safety and wellbeing of their loved ones in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, as tensions continue to rise and communications blackouts and obstructions persist. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that it is vital that peace negotiations take place between the relevant parties, so that we can ensure an end to the violence and see sustained stability in the region?

[Mr Forster]

I completely agree. Britain has a long history in the region. I believe we can be a force for good—for a change—in that region, to bring about peace. I will talk about that later.

Dictatorships, not democracies, trigger communications blackouts when they want to hide what is happening. I am afraid that is what is currently happening in Kashmir. The removal of access to the internet and phone networks is a tool of oppression. We have seen that in Iran; we do not want to see it in Kashmir. The communications blackout demonstrates just how dire the situation has become. I believe, given the reports, that 200 people have been killed in the last month but, because of the communications blackout, we just do not know. British Kashmiris, and UK residents with connections there, have been cut off from contacting their loved ones, including British citizens currently in the region.

Although I want to focus on the immediate issues in Kashmir, it is fair to say that a long-term and stable resolution in Kashmir can be achieved only by putting human rights, democratic aspirations and the self-determination of the Kashmiri people at the centre of our foreign policy. We need a lasting peace, and we can achieve that only with the explicit consent of the Kashmiri people.

For decades, British Governments have hidden behind the convenient diplomatic fiction that Kashmir is strictly a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan. The Liberal Democrats and I urge the Government to remember their historic and moral responsibilities as the co-author of United Nations Security Council resolution 47. The UK must champion the democratic mechanism of a free, fair and impartial referendum, as originally mandated under international law. The Liberal Democrats call on the Government to reject the unilateral changes to Kashmir’s status. We believe that any constitutional reform or future governance structure must be led by the democratic aspirations of Kashmiri people, and agreed by them, and that their human rights need to be front and centre.

Let me come back to the matter at hand and the concerns about Kashmir right now. I have some questions for the Minister. How often have the British Government raised issues in Kashmir with the Pakistan Government and the high commission? When was the last time, and when are they going to do so again? When was the last time our Prime Minister spoke to the Government in Pakistan? Finally, what steps are the Government taking to ensure that British nationals in the region, and British citizens with families there, are able to access support and maintain contact with loved ones?

--- Later in debate ---

[Taiwo Owatemi]

The UK’s position has been clear since the 1970s that it is for India and Pakistan to find a lasting resolution to the situation in Kashmir, taking into account the views of the Kashmiri people.

[Mr Forster]

The Government have had the policy for 50 years, as the Minister has outlined, but it has not worked. Does she think it is time to change course?

[Taiwo Owatemi]

I thank the hon. Member for raising that point, but I think I have been clear. I know that this is an issue that many Members feel strongly about, but the current position of the FCDO is clear, and it is abiding by the position it has had since the 1970s.

The hon. Member also asked when the Minister for the Middle East last met the Pakistani Government. In June, he met the Interior Minister and the Minister responsible for law and human rights to discuss the issue. During his visits, our Minister also heard from a number of civil society organisations about the biggest challenges in Pakistan’s human rights landscape.

The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) is an advocate for freedom of religious belief and has been chair of the all-party parliamentary group for international freedom of religion or belief for quite a long time. The UK Government are committed to defending freedom of religion or belief for all and to promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. UK programmes promote the rights of religious minorities by facilitating interfaith dialogues, supporting the Pakistani Government to develop progressive legislation, and combating hate speech against marginalised religious communities online. We will continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to guarantee the rights of all people, including those from religious minority communities, in accordance with international standards.

Lastly, there was a question about when the Prime Minister last met the Pakistani Government. He met the Pakistani Prime Minister in April to raise concerns—many of the concerns that have been raised today.

In conclusion, our Government remain committed to supporting human rights, encouraging peaceful dialogue and supporting British nationals. We will continue to monitor developments closely and to raise concerns where we have them, and we will continue to encourage a peaceful and lasting resolution that takes into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people.

Rural Pubs: Fiscal Support

Will Forster Excerpts

Wednesday 17th June 2026 Westminster Hall

[Charlie Maynard]

As my hon. Friend the Member for Lewes (James MacCleary) points out from a sedentary position, I am not suggesting that we rejoin the European Union.

Employer national insurance contributions are the single biggest nightmare. It is a tax before getting out of bed, before generating any revenue and before making any profit. It is a huge mistake by Labour, and a direct result of Labour Members straitjacketing themselves into foolish promises about not touching any of the big three taxes. It needs to be unwound.

Equally, we have strongly opposed the Government’s changes to employer NICs at every opportunity, and we have called on them to reverse the tax rise in full. We are also calling for a consultation on a new NICs band of £5,000 to £9,100, with a lower rate to better support part-time workers, on whom the hospitality industry heavily relies. I have already covered business rates, so I will not go into them further.

On energy costs, the crisis in Iran has obviously made many costs, not least fuel prices, worse rather than better in the last few months. That is causing enormous pain. We would remove the main renewables levy from household energy bills, putting £270 back into people’s pockets over 18 months. That would be funded by a new windfall tax on big commercial banks, targeting the windfall interest payments they receive from the quantitative easing-related reserves they hold at the Bank of England.

[Mr Will Forster (Woking) (LD)]

At the weekend, I visited an excellent rural pub in my constituency—the Olive Tree in Sutton Green—and met the owner, Nigel, and his staff. They are doing a great job running a pub in very difficult times. Does my hon. Friend agree that, if the Government want to reset their relationship with rural pubs and help them, they should consider cutting beer duty or increasing the draught discount?

Rail Freight

Will Forster Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd June 2026 Westminster Hall

[Lisa Smart]

I am grateful for the hon. and learned Member’s insight based on his local understanding, and I strongly agree. For the Government to look at the whole of our rail infrastructure, not just that sitting on these islands, would be good for our economy, our environment and how we relate to our European neighbours and partners. We are moving more goods than ever across the country but the share going by rail is barely shifting, and we are falling further behind our European neighbours.

[Mr Will Forster (Woking) (LD)]

My constituency has one of the busiest rail aggregate goods yards in the country, with about 300 trains delivering construction material each year. That replaces 14,000 long-distance lorries, which is 2.5 million HGV miles. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Government need to do much more to support the rail freight industry to improve our environment, to reduce congestion and, above all, to build the homes we need?

[Lisa Smart]

I very much agree with my hon. Friend. The way he lays out the scale of the impact of rail freight on his constituency and the neighbouring area shows its importance. I will come on to a couple of suggestions for the Government that I hope will address some of his point.

Rail freight provides clear environmental benefits compared with the alternatives. Even when diesel-hauled, a freight train produces around 76% lower carbon emissions per tonne-kilometre than a lorry on the road. That figure improves dramatically with electrification, as electrically hauled freight cuts emissions further still, while also consuming far less track capacity because electric locomotives accelerate significantly better than diesel ones.

Transport in the South-East

Will Forster Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd February 2026 Westminster Hall

[Mr Will Forster (Woking) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir John. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Chichester (Jess Brown-Fuller) for securing and leading this debate. She and I, with my hon. Friend the Member for Guildford (Zöe Franklin), got a train together 18 months ago to arrive in Parliament for the first time. From that day on, I knew my hon. Friend would be a strong advocate for Chichester, and for tackling her constituency’s transport problems in particular. She has certainly done that this afternoon.

I chair the APPG on South Western Railway, and I have spent a significant amount of time tackling issues on the South Western Railway network that affect the south-east so seriously. I have been particularly concerned about the network’s deterioration since nationalisation. I hope the Minister will comment on the fact that we want better transport connections, not worse, as we nationalise our railway companies. And better transport connections are not what my constituents in Woking and the wider south-east are receiving.

I am pleased that South Western Railway’s managing director and others have appeared before MPs to answer our questions, and particularly to listen to our constituents’ concerns. Their engagement has been positive, and I hope we can move forward together. However, an APPG should not be one of the only meaningful routes for parliamentary scrutiny of a nationalised operator. I hope the Minister will take action to ensure that MPs can hold our new public sector railway companies to account.

Moving on to the wider railway network, I will be visiting Woking’s signal box on Friday. I am worried that I will see the poor-quality infrastructure faced by commuters, which is why our trains into London Waterloo are constantly cancelled and delayed. The infrastructure and signalling equipment at Woking date from when I was born. It has not had any major updates since then, which is appalling. If we are to grow our economy and decarbonise our transport network, we need reliable public transport. I hope the Minister will agree investment for Woking’s signal box and its signal network—it is a regional hub for our railways.

Woking was founded on the railways, and it is a key commuter town into London. We are under 30 minutes from London Waterloo. Despite other Surrey towns having a contactless tap-in and tap-out system, Woking does not, and we deserve to be in the 21st century. I urge the Government to introduce tap-in and tap-out at Woking to stop hundreds of people a year being fined and caught out by tapping in at London Waterloo but being unable to tap out at Woking. That injustice is not acceptable any longer.

Regarding other parts of our public transport network, I have heard calls from many colleagues to reintroduce the £2 bus fare cap, to get people back on to buses that have struggled so much since covid. As the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, I fully endorse them. The £2 bus fare cap was vital, and it should never have been increased so significantly by this Government.

My hon. Friends the Members for Horsham (John Milne) and for Mid Sussex (Alison Bennett) said that their areas have seen significant housing growth, yet bus routes have not kept up with demand. In my area, that is also true. In Old Woking, a new development was built, which was great. The developer agreed, following planning conditions, to invest in bus stops and infrastructure to support the development and its transport implications. In particular, it tried to decarbonise the development. It built bus stops, but since then, not a single bus has used them. We need joined-up thinking if we are to grow our economy, provide the housing we need and improve our transport network. I hope that the Minister ensures that buses finally use those bus stops, and that that never happens again in the south-east.

I will move on to the subject of our highway network. Unfortunately, my constituents have to cope with Surrey county council’s incompetence in managing our highway network. We have not had an election since 2021, because the Government postponed their elections this year. Since 2021, under the Conservatives’ watch, the number of complaints about potholes has gone up by 106%. The council now has to pay out almost £250,000 a year in compensation because it does not fix things, and it is endangering lives.

Thankfully, we are moving to a new local authority, which will give my constituents a chance to vote out the Conservatives, who have mismanaged my local highway network so badly. I hope that the Minister will meet the new West Surrey council to understand its concerns. I am very concerned that highway spending from central Government does not take fully into account how well used our roads are—whether that is by high-usage vehicles or others. Surrey and the south-east have a significant footprint. Our roads are well used, but that is not properly taken account of in the funding formula.

Like my colleagues, I am aware of the investment that has taken place in the M25/A3 junction, which is finally, eventually, coming to a conclusion. I recently visited Woking scouts at Birchmere scout camp, which is on the edge of the M25/A3 junction. They have had to put up with disruption for years, and now their quiet, secluded scout camp is surrounded by unreasonable and potentially unsafe noise. I have urged National Highways colleagues to support them to recover from what they have gone through, and to compensate them for that. I hope that the Minister agrees, and that she agrees to look into it.

[Mike Martin (Tunbridge Wells) (LD)]

On my hon. Friend’s point about National Highways, the A21 runs through my constituency. It is the road between London and Hastings, and it is single track for most of the way, between halfway through my constituency and Hastings. That is a problem and a bad investment. It is a well-trafficked road. I wonder if it reflects my hon. Friend’s view of National Highways to say that there has been a staggering degree of incompetence around simple things such as cutting back the hedges so that the road remains safe on bends. That is not done to the standard or frequency required.

[Mr Forster]

I agree with my hon. Friend. National Highways is far too slow at tackling issues. Only this morning, I had to report a chunk of debris fly-tipped on National Highways land, which has been there for ages. It is far too slow to tackle simple things such as that, to invest in our highway network, which is so strategically important in the south-east, above all other areas.

The M25 runs through my constituency, and residents of Byfleet and West Byfleet have to cope with unbearable noise from the concrete surface of the M25 in that area. I have pressed National Highways to take action to reduce that noise, and I hope that the Minister will agree that it is about time it did so.

Liberal Democrat colleagues have spoken this afternoon about their transport issues in the south-east. I did not realise that the Liberal Democrats dominated the south-east as much as we do! We have had no Conservative Members speak at all; they clearly do not care about tackling our potholes or trying to make our roads safer and trains more reliable. I am pleased with, and proud of, the team around me who have pressed their constituencies’ issues this afternoon.

In the south-east, spending on public transport is roughly a third of that in the north-west. That is not acceptable. That unfair funding formula is why we are raising these issues, and I hope the Minister will agree to tackle that in the future. In particular, we heard from my hon. Friend the Member for South Devon (Caroline Voaden), whose A road fell into the sea this morning and who found that there is no national emergency funding. One road in Surrey has a sinkhole that has closed that road for over a year now; it has cost the county council more than £2 million and has still not re-opened. We need emergency funding to step in in those rare, exceptional situations, and I hope the Minister will take that point away.

Whether it is for my constituents in Woking who deserve safer roads without potholes or my commuting constituents who deserve a reliable bus service and trains that get them there on time, I hope the Minister will listen to my pleas, and those of my colleagues, for investment in the south-east so that we can have our fair share of transport spending and grow our economy together.

Road Safety Strategy

Will Forster Excerpts

Thursday 8th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Lilian Greenwood]

I thank my hon. Friend for the work that she has done at a local level. We are consulting on new powers to give the police precisely the tools that they need to crack down on the criminals who feel that they can get away with illegal activity by using ghost plates.

[Mr Will Forster (Woking) (LD)]

Road safety in Woking is regularly raised with me by my constituents, so I am pleased that the Government have announced ways to toughen up our drink-driving laws. However, police forces, including mine in Surrey, cannot adequately police the drink-driving laws as they are, and these changes will be less impactful if they are not able to do proper enforcement. With police forces increasingly deprioritising policing on our roads due to budgetary pressures, has the Minister conducted a review of current enforcement? If not, will she do so?

[Lilian Greenwood]

The Government have done a great deal of work in collaboration with the Home Office on road policing. We know that this strategy will be effective only if there is enforcement. I cannot instruct chief constables on how they deploy their resources, but we are determined to work in partnership to ensure that this road safety strategy is effective, including the measures around enforcement.

Oral Answers to Questions

Will Forster Excerpts

Tuesday 9th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[James Murray]

The hon. Member is right to point to the fact that people showing up in hospital can often reflect other social issues, whether homelessness, child poverty or other challenges. As a Government, we take tackling homelessness—by which I mean temporary accommodation and rough sleeping—incredibly seriously and we will publish a homelessness strategy shortly.

[Mr Will Forster (Woking) (LD)]

Ashford and St Peter’s hospital, which serves my constituency, has an £80 million repair backlog. When will the Government allocate sufficient funding to fix our crumbling hospitals, including Ashford and St Peter’s?

[James Murray]

As the hon. Gentleman will know, the coalition Government, of which his party was a part, slashed capital investment in our health service. We have restored capital investment in our health service, which is critical to getting it back on its feet. If he is requesting greater investment in the NHS, I hope that he will change his mind, correct the record and support the tax changes that we have made in order to make that possible.

Oral Answers to Questions

Will Forster Excerpts

Tuesday 9th September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Reeves]

My hon. Friend is a proud advocate for his constituents in Macclesfield and is doing great work to bring more investment into the local area. Life sciences is one of the eight sectors that this Government, as part of our modern industrial strategy, are championing. That is why we put record investment into research and development in the spending review earlier this year, and why we are supporting our universities to help create more spinouts to ensure that we can have more home-grown British businesses, as well as backing the big businesses, such as AstraZeneca, that operate in his constituency.

[Mr Will Forster (Woking) (LD)]

T5. Given that the Government are considering a dramatic increase in the landfill tax, how does the Chancellor think that this country will build the 1.5 million homes we need by the end of the Parliament if we add £24,000, on average, to the average house price? How will that help my constituents to get a home?

[Rachel Reeves]

There is a consultation going on and I welcome the hon. Gentleman and others feeding into that. However, if he is serious about backing the builders and not the blockers, why do the Liberal Democrats fail to support the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, both here and in the other House?

Spending Review 2025

Will Forster Excerpts

Wednesday 11th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Reeves]

I thank my hon. Friend for welcoming the reforms we have introduced at the Treasury—the reform to the fiscal rules to unlock money for investment, the reform of financial transactions to enable more money to be spent through public finance institutions, and particularly the reform of the Green Book. She is absolutely right to mention the importance of human capital, which is why we have announced in the spending review significant investment in skills and in the early years to ensure that children are ready for school.

[Mr Will Forster (Woking) (LD)]

As the MP for Woking, I represent the most bankrupt and indebted local authority in the country. I was very disappointed, therefore, that it appeared that the Chancellor did not mention councils or local government once in her statement. I am more disappointed, having listened to the detail of the statement, that the Government are investing only an extra 1.1% in local government next year and the year after. What does the Chancellor say to councils across the country and to my constituents in Woking to justify that lack of investment?

[Rachel Reeves]

This Labour Government are giving real-terms increases in spending to local authorities every year. Compare that with the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Administration from 2010 to 2015 that cut real spending by 2.9% every year. I am much happier to stand on my record as Chancellor than I would be to stand on what the Liberal Democrats did when they had a chance at being in government.

Christmas Adjournment

Will Forster Excerpts

Thursday 19th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Will Forster (Woking) (LD)]

People up and down the country are big fans of Formula 1, so I am honoured to congratulate McLaren, based in my constituency of Woking, on the extraordinary achievement of winning the constructors’ championship, the first time it has done so since 1998. That monumental success is an indication of the hard work and innovation of the team at McLaren. I have submitted an early-day motion congratulating McLaren on championing the UK’s leading role in Formula 1.

McLaren’s victory represents far more than a sporting win. It shows British high-quality manufacturing at its best—that is what we, as a country, do so well—and although I am focusing on McLaren and Formula 1, our high-quality manufacturing is excellent in other areas too. In Woking, we are immensely proud to be the home of a team that has not just won Formula 1, but stands at the cutting edge of technology, engineering and high-quality manufacturing. McLaren is a major employer in Woking, offering high- quality jobs and training opportunities. It embodies the kind of forward-thinking enterprise that we need more of in Woking, in Surrey and across the UK. British manufacturing is world-leading and McLaren’s success shines a light on that and shows what British firms can achieve on a global stage.

High-quality manufacturing creates the high-quality jobs that we as a country need if we are going to get people out of the cost of living crisis and help them increase their and their children’s life chances. If we attract more businesses like McLaren and give them the opportunities to establish and then thrive, we could ensure that high-quality manufacturing in Britain is here to stay. I want to see Woking continue as a hub for cutting-edge technology and world-class manufacturing. We can create that right environment by encouraging investment and attracting businesses that share McLaren’s ambition. That means supporting apprenticeships and the skills training that is needed, investing in infrastructure and funding more in research and development.

McLaren won the championship in 1998. As a small child growing up in Woking, I remember when they drove their cars around the town, led by Mika Häkkinen. They hit potholes then, and I hope they celebrate on the streets of Woking again—I have called for them to do so—though I fear they will once more hit a pothole. That is why we are proud of them in Woking. I again congratulate Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and the entire McLaren team on their remarkable achievement, and I hope to do the same next year.

Madam Deputy Speaker, I wish you and everyone on the parliamentary estate a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Finance Bill

Will Forster Excerpts

2nd reading
Wednesday 27th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Will Forster (Woking) (LD)]

This Finance Bill is bad news for my Woking constituency. In the Budget, the Government announced an extra £1.3 billion for local authorities. That might sound good, but the reality is stark. Inflation, rising wages and increased demand for services mean that councils are facing a £6.2 billion funding gap over the next two years. By failing to provide adequate funding in this Budget and Finance Bill, the Government are pushing some councils to the brink of bankruptcy.

The situation is even worse in Woking, as our local authority has already gone bankrupt. Woking borough council, a small authority in a two-tier structure, is carrying £2.1 billion-worth of debt. Members can guess which political party ran the council at the time: the Conservatives. It is an eye-watering figure, and taxpayers should never be put in the position of footing such a bill, but they will have to shoulder it. As part of the Government intervention in Woking, the borough council will have to sell a lot of its assets to try to pay off the debt. However, at current values, those assets are worth £1 billion, which is a huge gap that puts the council in massive negative equity.

The Government like to talk about a £22 billion black hole, but I fear the black hole is worse than they realise. To understand these issues, Ministers need to look at local government bad debt and off-balance-sheet debt. It is quite possible that my local authority alone will not repay £1 billion of debt that this Finance Bill assumes will be repaid. Woking is just one local authority in one constituency out of 650. This Finance Bill makes mistakes, but it could be even worse if it is built on flawed foundations.

One way for my constituency to get out of the mess we have inherited is to grow the town, so that our economy grows and improves. However, I worry that this Budget and Finance Bill undermine that goal. The measures go after small businesses, which are the lifeblood of my high street and community. I am particularly concerned that the increase in alcohol duty will hit small breweries, such as Thurstons in my constituency.

Like many of my constituents and neighbours, I use buses all the time. Buses are a lifeline for us. The £2 fare cap was helpful during the cost-of-living crisis and encouraged people back on to the buses after the covid pandemic. However, the Government are now scrapping it. A resident from Knaphill told me:

“The rise is concerning. With a £1 increase each way, it will put even more strain on pensioners like me.”

It amounts to an extra £500 a year for someone who commutes by bus every day. That is a huge burden at a time when households and families in my constituency and elsewhere are already struggling.

Buses are not just a convenience or a luxury; they are the backbone of local economies, connecting people to work, schools, colleges, shops and healthcare. If this Government are serious about economic growth, they should be investing in buses, not hitting passengers with what is effectively a bus tax on working people. In their election campaign, the Labour party promised not to increase taxes on workers, but this Budget and Finance Bill do just that. At a time when people are facing the worst cost of living crisis in decades, this Finance Bill increases the tax burden on everyone.

The Liberal Democrat manifesto and our reasoned amendment show that there is a fairer way. We have bold plans to properly fund the NHS, social care and other public services by asking big banks, oil and gas giants and big tech companies to pay their fair share. Our plan is ambitious, which is what this country needs; Labour’s Budget does not come close. The Finance Bill does not go far enough to protect people and the services that they rely on.

The Government need to get their priorities right. The Liberal Democrats are against the Bill because it does not effectively tackle the crisis in social care, or reverse cuts to winter fuel support. It does not support people with the cost of living crisis, and it introduces a shocking tax on education. Woking deserves better, and this country deserves better.