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The United Kingdom and the Commonwealth

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for City of York (Hugh Bayley), who has done excellent and serious work as the chair of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. His speech was very well made. I hope that he did not mind my intervention too much; as the only Scot in the Chamber at the time, I felt a duty to make the point that I made. I offer my apologies, as I will not be able to stay for the whole debate due to a commitment arranged some weeks ago. I intend to be back for the wind-ups. I also congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for North Southwark and Bermondsey (Simon Hughes) on his tenacity over several weeks in lobbying to get this debate, and I congratulate the Government on agreeing to have it in their time. Given that Commonwealth day was last Monday, the debate is timely. Last week, I had the wonderful experience of going on a trip to the United Nations organised for parliamentarians by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office—so I was in New York on Commonwealth day. On that day, the British deputy permanent representative to the UN was hosting a reception to celebrate a new report about peacekeeping. At the reception was a variety of ambassadors and figures from member states of the UN and, particularly, member states of the Commonwealth. It was particularly moving that the Ugandan permanent representative to the UN read out a statement as part of a celebration of Commonwealth day. When I talked informally to representatives from a variety of Commonwealth countries, I was struck by the great value that they too placed on this association, this network, this great organisation and this lasting set of relationships. It is important that our debate is underscored by that. Any debate entitled ““The United Kingdom and the Commonwealth”” will be wide-ranging, and it is welcome that so many different issues have been raised. I would like to confine my remarks to a few key points—the importance of the Commonwealth and the roles that it can play in resolving conflict and tackling climate change, and the rights of Commonwealth citizens in this country. We have already heard about the great importance of the Commonwealth. Two billion people live in Commonwealth countries, of which there are 53 across the globe, with a great mix of north and south, and a diversity of ethnicity, race, religions and cultures that are different across the countries and within them. They cross all the continents of the world, going from very large countries with huge populations, such as India, to very small island states. The Commonwealth provides a welcome alternative international forum for discussing a range of issues. We have already heard about the millennium development goals and about climate change. While we have our formal structures through the EU and the UN, it is complementary to have, alongside those international governance structures, different groupings of countries coming together and engaging in dialogue. We know about the great contribution that people from the Commonwealth make to the UK, with many thousands of Commonwealth citizens living and working here and contributing day in, day out, as doctors and teachers, or setting up businesses. They are choosing to make Britain their home, although, as my hon. Friend the Member for North Southwark and Bermondsey said, not always necessarily taking up British citizenship, which can create difficulties.