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Debate on the Address

My Lords, much has happened since we last debated the humble Address on the Queen’s Speech. We have had a new Prime Minister, a new Foreign Secretary and a new Minister for the Foreign Office in your Lordships’ House. I particularly congratulate my noble friend Lord Malloch-Brown on his initiation into the House, on his expertise and openness and on the inclusive way in which he has embraced our cross-party exchanges. I welcome, too, my noble friend Lady Taylor of Bolton, who is only the second woman ever in this country to be a Defence Minister. She brings a wide breadth of experience to her new job. She has, of course, a hard act to follow. My noble friend Lord Drayson was quite simply a first-rate Minister. I hope that she will be very happy in her new role and that she will enjoy her time in the Ministry of Defence as much as I did. The past year has been difficult and complex for those charged with foreign policy. The continuing nightmare of Darfur haunts our newspapers and television screens with the spectacle of terrible human suffering. The struggle by the brave Buddhist monks in Burma to make their voices for democracy heard, through peaceful and dignified demonstration, has been evident, as has the restraint and determination of the extraordinary and admirable Aung San Suu Kyi. There is the continuing controversy over the real nature of Iran’s nuclear ambitions and uncertainty about how the international community can sustain a united position in relation to Iran. More recently, the turn of events in Pakistan is a source of huge anxiety worldwide. This is not a straightforward issue, as any thoughtful observer can see all too plainly. Open civil strife or worse in Pakistan will be catastrophic, not only for that country but for Afghanistan and those involved in trying to improve the lot of the Afghans, and of course it will be a real issue for Pakistan’s close regional neighbours, as well as for all those engaged in dealing with security and counterterrorism across the globe. It may also make the spread of nuclear capability a very real and imminent danger. I would like to comment on a couple of points that were touched on in the gracious Speech. First, on Europe, we certainly heard fighting talk from the noble Lord, Lord Howell of Guildford. It is clear that there will be a serious and deep division when we discuss the European treaty. Those of us who debated its predecessors know that we can look forward to many hours of long and often excitable debate. I am sure that there will be accusations about the Government not holding a referendum and that this will be the subject of repeated indignation. However much such accusations are part of the political currency of the day, I hope that most of us will in the event be sensible enough not to believe the propaganda that one Conservative MEP rightly described as an exercise in politics, not democracy. The treaty is necessary in exactly the way described by the noble Lord, Lord Kerr of Kinlochard. The Prime Minister has said that Parliament will have the fullest opportunity to debate the treaty and, indeed, the charter of rights. The charter does not challenge or undermine the rights already set out in United Kingdom law. The treaty makes possible more cross-border co-operation, while safeguarding our own criminal law system and judicial process, so that the fundamentals of our common law system are not jeopardised. The treaty makes it clear that the basis of foreign and security policy will remain intergovernmental. I am bound to say that I and, I know, many other noble Lords wanted an absolute assurance that the intergovernmental basis would remain unchanged. We have it. Moreover, member states’ existing powers in maintaining our diplomatic services and our membership of the UN Security Council are expressly covered in the treaty. I hope that, although the press may seek to characterise the treaty as fundamentally reordering our relationship with Europe, most of us in this House will recognise that the specific and careful provisions that have been secured for the United Kingdom show that it is indeed an amending treaty that safeguards what we value not only in our parliamentary system but under our rule of law. The noble Lord, Lord Kerr of Kinlochard, was right: it is what the treaty actually says that matters, not what commentators would like us to believe that it says. Where we can speak with one voice as Europe in world affairs, where that is possible, we are genuinely strengthened, not diminished, by so doing. In the Middle East, for example, speaking as Europeans in the seemingly intractable search for a viable path to a two-state solution, Javier Solana has represented this country and our partners with exemplary common sense and wisdom. He has been a force for balance, for engagement and for understanding. Speaking on behalf of all of us, he has indeed strengthened our hand here in the United Kingdom. I agreed with much of what my noble friend Lady Ramsay of Cartvale said in her typically thoughtful intervention. I am sure that we all hope that next month’s conference on the peace process will make real progress. I hope that it will not be a repeated exchange about the process of negotiation, rather than an embarkation on negotiation itself; or an exercise in talking about the economic viability of a Palestinian state, rather than a discussion on how to bring such a state into being; or a discussion about Israel’s security without a discussion of how the international community can have a real role in monitoring and underwriting that security and, of course, the security of the Palestinian people. I remain convinced that we Europeans must agree to Syrian inclusion in that process soon. I agree strongly with James Baker’s argument that Syria is ready for ““tipping”” on this point. I hope that Europe’s voice will continue to encourage that process with real determination. The gracious Speech spoke of the Government’s commitment not only to reaching a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, but also to delivering security, political reconciliation and economic reconstruction to Iraq. We all know that there is no quick fix in Iraq, but I was struck by the remarks of the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister, Barham Salih, in London last month about the economic improvements in that country. There has been a budgetary improvement doubling Iraq’s spending capacity this year on its social services; GDP growing at 6 per cent, which is a remarkable figure when compared with GDP across many other countries in the region; inflation down from 60 per cent two years ago to 16 per cent now; and, most tellingly of all, unemployment down from 50 per cent 18 months ago to 19 per cent now. Iraq will continue to be a point of acute controversy—we all know that—but mostly it will be hard and laborious work. It will cost a great deal to do it properly. As the study report said last December, the US spends as much on its forces in Iraq every month as the Iraqis spend in a whole year. Will the Minister tell us in his winding-up speech how security can be maintained with that huge gulf in expenditure on security now and in the future? Finally, I shall say a word about our public servants who work on foreign and defence issues. Quite simply, we need more of them, not fewer. Our men and women in the Armed Forces need to hear our explicit thanks and appreciation for what they do for us here and overseas. They are extraordinarily good at what they do and courageous in the sacrifices that they make, and we, for our part, should reward that effort, dedication and professionalism with real and clear support. We should also do better at supporting our diplomats. Without them, we are quite simply unable to engage in multilateral fora such as the UN, NATO, the EU and the Commonwealth. They bring us closer to those with whom we disagree and they strengthen the ties with those with whom we agree. Their work is not an optional extra; it is the bedrock on which we depend for our security and, in no small measure, for our prosperity. Our foreign policy determines our defence policy and we must be more explicit about it also determining our development policy. Development should be integrated into our diplomatic process in the same way as trade and defence are. All three need strengthening. Our capacity to deliver on our high ideals may well falter on our inability to put money and clout behind our values of human rights and equality and behind our aspirations for peace and prosperity.