Monica Harding MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 15 Jul 2025 · SEND Provision: South-east England · Hansard source

  More

  Does my hon. Friend agree that it is very difficult to measure accountability in these schools? Where does accountability sit, and how do parents know that their children are achieving in those schools?

• 11 Jul 2025 · Rare Cancers Bill · Hansard source

  More

  I once more thank the hon. Member for Edinburgh South West (Dr Arthur) for all he has done to bring the Bill forward. We, along with thousands of families throughout the UK, all owe him a huge debt. I am proud to have supported the Bill from the very beginning. I also pay tribute to the ongoing work of the hon. Member for Mitcham and Morden (Dame Siobhain McDonagh), whose inspirational advocacy has set the example on these issues, particularly for new MPs like me. I do not think I need take up much time restating why the Rare Cancers Bill matters; every hon. Member who sat alongside me in the Bill Committee knows that already, which is why we reported it to the House unamended. The Minister also knows, which is why the Government have repeatedly pledged their support, and organisations working with rare cancers know too. The Brain Tumour Charity describes this legislation as “a Bill of hope” and Pancreatic Cancer UK talks of its potential to transform survival for rare cancers. That potential sits with us today. The Rare Cancers Bill takes concrete and common-sense steps to facilitate research into rare cancers, to improve the speed and quality of necessary clinical trials, and to help get orphan drugs—medicines often neglected because they target uncommon conditions—to those patients who so desperately need them. I urge the House to advance the Bill and ensure that its provisions become law as rapidly as possible. So much depends on getting this one right. To that end, I briefly remind the House what exactly is at stake today for families, including my own, throughout this country. When I spoke on Second Reading, I told the story of Group Captain Pip Harding, my brother-in-law, who was diagnosed with an aggressive stage 4 glioblastoma in February 2024. His prognosis was such that he should not be here today. Pip is married with five children. He has served in the Royal Air Force in the Indo-Pacific, in Afghanistan and in Iraq. I am immensely proud of him, not least because of his battle against this devastating diagnosis. Pip’s family, friends and those who loved him rallied around him. More than 600 of them set up a GoFundMe page to cover the cost of an experimental cancer treatment, oncothermia, which uses radio frequencies to target and treat malignant cancer cells. I am happier than I can say to be able to tell the House that Pip is alive and well, and that the tumour has shrunk from 7cm to less than 1 cm as a result of that treatment. For Pip’s loved ones, of course, that means the world—oncothermia is winning it for him. It means that there is more time for his family and more time for more treatments to come online to get his health back.

• 11 Jul 2025 · Rare Cancers Bill · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the hon. Member for all her advocacy on the issue. She makes an important point, which was made previously: rare cancers are not rare for the victims and their families. That is why we need to bring such treatments into the NHS so that they are available for all, not just for those who set up GoFundMe pages that win tens of thousands of pounds. Of glioblastoma, Pip said: “This is a very sad disease of which the cause is…unknown and seems to randomly strike individuals. It would be just amazing if the policy to support these people was changed by this vote and I am personally so grateful to all of you who are so kindly driving this forward.” His successful story and the challenge of accessing oncothermia underscore equally the importance of the legislation. In sum, innovative new treatments for rare cancers must be brought to patients as fast as possible. My constituents in Esher and Walton, particularly those whose lives have been scarred by cancer, also feel that very deeply. In the last few days, many have written to me about the legislation to share why its success matters so much to them. One told me of his very young son, who was diagnosed last year with a rare brain tumour that has turned their lives upside down. One told me about his own battle with brain cancer, the excellent care that he has received in the NHS and the fundamentally limited treatment options available to him based on the current state of research and drug development and marketing. Another constituent whose daughter has glioblastoma offered me an important reminder about our work today when they said that “every important issue or gain has to be fought over fiercely before anything is achieved.” They are absolutely right. I will take this opportunity to highlight some other people who have fought and for whom the Bill is vital. My constituent Kate Ford has been campaigning for the lobular moonshot project since she was diagnosed with lobular breast cancer two years. We have already heard how research for that disease has been entirely insufficient and how necessary that project is right now. I am proud to be one of hundreds of MPs on both sides of the House calling on the Government to support it, as we have heard. Like the hon. Members for Farnham and Bordon (Gregory Stafford) and for Bishop Auckland (Sam Rushworth), I was deeply saddened to hear of the death of Dr Susan Michaelis, the project’s founder, this week. My constituent Kate is now carrying forward Susan’s torch and will be at the meeting with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on Monday. I call on the Government to answer Susan’s call and finally back the project. While I have the Government’s attention, I will raise one more important issue. Pip was an RAF helicopter pilot. There are a growing number of veterans who served as aircrew on military helicopters and were exposed to exhaust fumes during their time in the forces, and who have now been diagnosed with rare cancers, including blood cancers. That issue has been raised in recent months by hon. Members on both sides of the House, including my hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Helen Morgan) and the hon. Member for Truro and Falmouth (Jayne Kirkham). I understand that the Ministry of Defence is currently working to test engine exhaust emissions and to develop a clearer understanding of the health challenges facing veterans, including rare cancers related to their service. Those are welcome steps, but they are insufficient. Although I am conscious that the MOD does not unequivocally recognise the link between exhaust fumes and such cancers, and that I am not addressing the Minister for Veterans, I urge the Minister to do all he can to accelerate the collation of veterans’ health data, which is an essential project that could otherwise drag on, and to support the development of cancer screening programmes for veterans who may be at risk due to their record of serving this country. Cancer can touch any life. It can come unexpectedly, and it can come cruelly. The Bill offers hope to all those whose cancer has been neglected and disregarded in drug research and clinical trials, but has upended their entire life. It offers us the chance to say to all those people, “You are not alone and you are not forgotten.” Winning the battle against rare cancers requires us to advance on many fronts at once, so I gently push the Minister, even as he supports the Bill becoming law, to consider the vital calls from the hon. Member for Mitcham and Morden to improve outcomes for brain cancer patients, which have shown too little improvement for too long. Will the Minister commit to a target of getting 200 glioblastoma patients on to promising new clinical trials every year? Will he engage with the private sector to urge pharmaceutical companies to more rapidly make their drugs available for those trials? Will he consider mandating training in brain cancer specific oncology for all doctors seeking to become medical oncologists? Will he also ensure that all neuro-oncology multidisciplinary teams have as a core member a medical oncologist able to contribute their expertise to a patient’s care? Finally, even as we advance the Bill today, we must not lose sight of the need to do far better by patients with cancer, rare or not. One of the most reassuring aspects of this Bill has been its cross-party support, but while I am here, I want to ask the Minister whether he will listen to Liberal Democrat calls and turn the current target of starting treatment within 62 days of an urgent cancer referral into an iron-clad guarantee? Will he also consider our call to expand the capacity of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency as another way of ensuring that innovative drugs are not snarled up in red tape and that they reach patients faster? There is much work left to do, but today’s legislation is a real step in the right direction. I take note of the humbleness of the hon. Member for Edinburgh South West, so I will speak about the reach of the Bill and his work. Good politics changes lives and the best politics saves lives. All of us here in this place are committed to do that. I am proud to support this Bill, and I urge Members to vote for all those lives that the Bill could help save and for those families whose lives it will change.

• 7 Jul 2025 · Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life · Hansard source

  More

  May I invite the Secretary of State to congratulate Burhill primary school in Hersham, which I visited this morning? It has been re-awarded for excellence in wellbeing for the second year in a row for providing great mental health provision. My constituency is a large contributor to the Exchequer, but it is also one of the most unequal. Headteachers see that disadvantage every year in their reception classes. Will she make a commitment that the hubs will be distributed throughout the country, in every constituency where there is need?

• 7 Jul 2025 · Actions of Iranian Regime: UK Response · Hansard source

  More

  The Iranian regime is utterly committed to destabilising the middle east and exporting terrorism globally, and under the auspices of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is focused on threatening our own citizens in the UK. The Minister mentioned the introduction of the new power of proscription to cover state threats following Jonathan Hall’s review of terrorism legislation. Will he confirm that the Government will use that new power to proscribe the IRGC? Iranian communities across the UK will perhaps feel the threat from Iran most severely. I also recently visited the headquarters of the Community Security Trust, which impressed on me just how vital it is, at a time when many Jewish people are feeling worried and afraid, that the CST continues to receive our support. Will the Minister outline what further steps the Government will take to protect these communities as well as the wider UK public from Iranian-sponsored terrorism?

• 2 Jul 2025 · West Bank: Forced Displacement · Hansard source

  More

  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Turner. I thank the hon. Member for Glasgow North (Martin Rhodes) for securing this important debate. For the almost six decades that the west bank has been occupied by Israel, the UN Security Council has been calling for Israel to withdraw, but instead it has expanded, with now more than 500,000 settlers living in the west bank and a further 200,000 in East Jerusalem—a physical barrier obstructing the realisation of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders. Palestinians are often required to seek permits to travel through the west bank; they are subjected to a combination of bureaucratic and physical barriers that consume their time and attack their dignity. Indeed, those movement restrictions constitute just one element of a patchwork of policies and laws that, taken together, have been described by the ICJ as “systemic discrimination” against Palestinians. Liberal Democrats are profoundly concerned that the deteriorating situation in the west bank, in particular during the last two years, poses a fundamental threat to a two-state solution that could finally deliver the dignity and security that both Palestinians and Israelis deserve. The UK must recognise a Palestinian state now—immediately. Will the Minister update the House on UK plans to recognise Palestine? What discussions are taking place with Canadian and French leaders regarding a possible joint recognition? There is an urgency here: from the beginning of 2024 to April 2025, more than 41,000 Palestinians were displaced in the west bank and 616 were killed. On almost 2,000 separate occasions, attacks by violent Israeli settlers resulted in Palestinian casualties or property damage. There has long been a culture of impunity around settler violence; few crimes result in indictments, and fewer still in convictions. The most recent activity has been fuelled by the far-right extremists in Netanyahu’s Cabinet, who have emboldened the most brutal settlers. It is right that two such inciters, Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, have been sanctioned, but, frankly, that took far too long. The Government have not moved quickly or strongly enough to disrupt settler violence in the west bank, so will they now clamp down on settler violence and will the Minister listen to the Liberal Democrat calls for an import ban on goods from illegal settlements? The Israeli Government have also mounted a systematic campaign against the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in the west bank. Since its banning, UNRWA has been unable to co-ordinate aid deliveries, and its delivery of health and education has been disrupted. Palestinian education has come under attack.

• 2 Jul 2025 · West Bank: Forced Displacement · Hansard source

  More

  Palestinian children have a right to education and to the chance of a decent future, as all children do. A total of 84 west bank schools are under threat from pending demolition orders. Will the Minister update us on steps being taken to support UNRWA and ensure education provision in the west bank? Israel’s actions in the west bank are illegal under international law. That was made clear in the ICJ’s advisory opinion published last July. The Court held that Israel is in breach of its obligations under international law with respect to failing to prevent or punish settler violence against Palestinians, confiscating or requisitioning areas of land for settlement expansion, and the forcible displacement of the Palestinian people and the transfer and maintenance of Israeli settlers, both of which violate the fourth Geneva convention. Almost one year after that 2024 ICJ ruling was issued, the Government still have not provided a formal response. Can the Minister tell us when, finally, we can expect it? In the interim, what steps have the Government taken to meet their obligations to support Palestinian self-determination as outlined in the ICJ advisory ruling? The Liberal Democrats’ position is iron-clad: we want the immediate recognition of a Palestinian state and a halt to the settlement activity in the west bank. The Government must affirm their commitment to that path.

• 19 Jun 2025 · Water Safety Education · Hansard source

  More

  I thank my hon. Friend for bringing attention to vehicles going into the water. In my constituency, the Thames provides our border with London, so it stretches along the entire constituency, and of course cars could go into the river. In areas like ours where rivers and open water are a daily part of life, it is essential that our children are taught how to be safe in the water. Would the Minister consider ensuring that water safety is integrated into the secondary school curriculum, so that every young person leaves school equipped with these essential skills for their safety? It is now—in a heatwave when GCSEs and A levels have just finished—that our children are most at risk. I know that because this week I sensed that my 16-year-old after finishing his GCSEs was going to do just that, and it took all my parental bribery, frankly, to ensure that he did not. Organisations like the Royal Life Saving Society, alongside the RNLI, provide expert guidance, from recognising dangerous currents and raising awareness of cold water shock to assisting people in distress in the river. By working with those partners, we can build a generation that is not only confident in the water, but capable of saving lives. These are not just water safety tools; they are universal lifesaving skills that can make all the difference in emergencies of all kinds. Countries like Australia rightly treat water safety as a national priority. Children grow up surrounded by water there, so they are taught how to navigate it, just as our children are taught to wear seatbelts and how to cross the road. The UK, an island nation flowing with rivers, should be no different. Let us work towards a future where fewer families face heartbreak and finally make water safety a priority.

• 19 Jun 2025 · Water Safety Education · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the hon. Member for Southampton Itchen (Darren Paffey) for securing this important debate today. As we have heard, every year in the UK, more than 200 lives are lost to accidental drowning. In fact, it claims more lives each year in the UK than house fires or cycling accidents. That must be a wake-up call. We have an opportunity and a responsibility in this House today to bring those numbers down. The problem is as clear as it is urgent: too many people grow up without being taught how to stay safe around water. Swimming must be a core life skill, as we have heard, and yet, according to the Royal Life Saving Society UK, one in three children leave primary school unable to swim properly. That statistic should concern us all. Of course, children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds are most likely to miss out. In other words, those at greatest risk are the least protected. This is not just about learning to swim, although that is essential; it is about knowing what to do when things go wrong—when someone panics, when cold water shock sets in and when every second counts. Every summer, every bank holiday and every heatwave, like this week, the risk increases. Rivers, lakes, canals and coastlines become magnets for young people and far too often, lives are lost. My constituency of Esher and Walton has seen three tragic drowning deaths in the past four years. Two of them occurred during the fierce heat of the summer of 2022—a heartbreaking testament to the risks that rise with each heatwave. These are tragedies with unimaginable pain for the families and profound effects for schools, emergency services and the wider community. As a river- based constituency, we owe it to our residents, visitors and local businesses to prioritise water safety. The risks are all around us, particularly this week. The Thames threads through our towns, the River Mole runs through our parks, and reservoirs sit at the heart of our communities. Addressing the root causes is so important. One of my constituents, Nell Hickman, took up the cause by leading a local water safety campaign along a stretch of the Thames between Thames Ditton and Hampton Court, which I have heard referred to by school children as the Barbados of south-west London. Determined to prevent further tragedies, Nell partnered with the RNLI, Elmbridge borough council and other stakeholders. Together, they installed safety signage and emergency throwlines. They also expanded water safety training, advising swimmers to stay parallel to the riverbank instead of swimming across the River Thames. That is a powerful example of community-led action, backed by the right support, saving lives. There is more that we can do. The RNLI plays a vital role in my constituency and I pay tribute to its tireless work. Some schools in Esher and Walton are already leading the way by teaching key life skills through personal, social, health and economic education and citizenship. However, we must do more to ensure that water safety is embedded in our children’s education, especially in areas such as mine, with rivers and open waters.

• 18 Jun 2025 · Crime and Policing Bill · Hansard source

  More

  I had meant to speak to my amendment 120 today, but that intention was superseded by the Government’s movement on this, which I really welcome. It will close a loophole so that it will now be an offence to abuse an emergency worker on the grounds of race, religion or sexual orientation in somebody’s private dwelling. I congratulate the Government on that.

• 11 Jun 2025 · Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill · Hansard source

  More

  The mandate, which we welcome, calls for only 22% sustainable jet fuel usage by 2040, while the Chancellor has said that she wants a third runway in use at Heathrow by 2035. That would mean more aviation-related health hazards to my constituents. Does the Minister agree that we should not pursue Heathrow expansion until we can turbocharge the SAF mandate and bring non-sustainable fuel usage down further?

• 10 Jun 2025 · Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories · Hansard source

  More

  The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross has said that in Gaza, “humanity is failing”. What is happening in Gaza surpasses any acceptable legal, moral or humane standard. Palestinians are being stripped of their dignity. When will the Minister pronounce that they have a state, and given that Israel continues to blockade Gaza, what more will he do? He talks about first steps—he needs to run.

• 10 Jun 2025 · USAID Funding Pause · Hansard source

  More

  Does the Minister agree, though, that after receiving a note from the Labour Government saying there was no more money left, the coalition Government increased the aid budget to 0.7%? In fact, 0.7% of gross national income has been in the Lib Dem manifesto since 1970. When we were in government, we delivered it; when we left government, it was cut.

• 10 Jun 2025 · USAID Funding Pause · Hansard source

  More

  It is indeed an honour to serve under your chairship, Mrs Hobhouse, and I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Melksham and Devizes (Brian Mathew) for securing this important debate. Since the new US Administration took office in January, President Trump and Elon Musk have gutted USAID—the world’s foremost dispenser of humanitarian funding and expertise, through which America saved the lives of many of the world’s poorest people. Trump’s budget proposals to Congress for the coming fiscal year reduce foreign assistance spend by almost 85%, all while the need for it increases. In a deadly year, when 120 armed conflicts raging across the globe, the number of people suffering from acute food insecurity has nearly tripled in six years, from 135 million in 2019 to 340 million today. The nation that previously built development’s architecture has largely disappeared almost overnight. There is an urgent need for someone to step up and assume the convening and facilitating role that America once played. Many looked to Britain, and in that month, when we all held our breath, we were blindsided instead by this Labour Government cutting development spending to its lowest level this century. It is difficult to fully comprehend the scale of the cuts to USAID or their impact. In 2024, America spent roughly $70 billion on international development. Its contribution represented 40% of all humanitarian aid recorded that year. But it is not just the money. Every other country, international NGO and development body relies on the humanitarian architecture that America built and supported. It was America that funded much of the most valuable data collection, which determined where other countries directed their resources. NGOs I have spoken to explained how American-funded analysis often provided the early warning system for looming hunger crises. Frequently it was money from the Americans that paid the administrative costs and overheads of NGOs working on the ground. That has been dismantled. The world is already paying a heavy price for Trump’s and Musk’s decision to break American development leadership. Since the cuts, Boston University has been running a mathematical model of their likely toll. The model estimates that more than 300,000 people have died already, two thirds of them children. Every hour, the model believes, around another 100 people die. One can watch the number tick up almost in real time. A leaked memo originating with USAID estimated that the cuts would result in 200,000 children each year being paralysed by polio, that 1 million cases of severe acute malnutrition, which often results in death, would go untreated and that malaria would claim an additional 166,000 lives. There is a humanitarian catastrophe unfolding before our eyes. Millions of the world’s poorest people, including the poorest children, have lost lifesaving medical care because of those cuts. Perhaps the heaviest blow of all has fallen upon the global effort to fight HIV and AIDS. The President’s emergency plan for AIDS relief, credited with saving 26 million lives in the last two decades, received a 90-day stop work order in January. The Trump Administration have now asked Congress to claw back money, some already allocated to PEPFAR. As a result, the global HIV response has been severely disrupted. Modelling by the Burnet Institute estimates that it will result in a 25% drop in funding for the global HIV response, and as many as 2.9 million excess HIV-related deaths by 2030.

• 10 Jun 2025 · USAID Funding Pause · Hansard source

  More

  The right hon. Member makes an excellent point, which I will come to later. USAID modelling suggests that the actions of Trump and Musk could result in 28,000 new cases of infectious diseases, such as Ebola, each year. When Ebola ripped through west Africa a decade ago, it had a case fatality of around 40%. It was kept from our shores thanks to a global response in which America and Britain played crucial roles. When we step back from funding and supporting global health initiatives, we put ourselves at risk. I repeat the Liberal Democrats’ call for the Government to reaffirm our commitment to the replenishment of Gavi and the Global Fund, because it is the right thing to do for British interests. There is some hope. The situation is still fluid, and I urge the Government to impress upon the US Administration the moral and strategic imperative for development. Meanwhile, the US Administration have emphasised that America will continue to provide humanitarian aid and respond to disasters, at least to a degree. That is welcome, but if the funding is to be effective it must be provided in accordance with foundational humanitarian principles: impartiality, neutrality and independence. Israel’s Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an American-backed scheme, disregards those principles. In consequence, it is dangerous, unworkable and profoundly insufficient. I hope the Minister takes this opportunity to affirm Britain’s commitment to those principles and to all allies, and to urge American counterparts to do the same. The decisions taken by the US Administration to slash and gut USAID are profoundly depressing; that our Government have followed their lead is even more so. Britain is withdrawing when our voice is needed more than ever. The slashed UK aid budget cannot fulfil our commitments. We hear that Sudan, Gaza and Ukraine are ringfenced. In the absence of the US, we wonder about those other humanitarian hotspots: Afghanistan, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, DRC, Nigeria, Myanmar, South Sudan, Mali, Haiti and Bangladesh. We hear that our Government’s priorities are conflict, climate change and health. What about women and girls, nutrition and education? At the same time, the Government toy with rhetoric and framing borrowed from the Trump playbook, saying that Britain is no longer a charity. Let us be clear and united: development serves British interests. It is not charity or a giant cash dispenser in the sky, but a deposit account for our safety and security. That is because funding global health is better than battling a pandemic; supporting peacebuilding is cheaper than fighting a war, or dealing with the terrorism that emerges out of instability; and aid in economic development and climate mitigation are better than coping with mass displacement and channel crossings. Every crisis creates opportunities, and the American withdrawal is no different. While the USA dismantles overseas assistance—ripping out 85% of it, and the plumbing, too—Britain must use its tradition of leadership and step forward as a convening power, with bold and brave thinking and a long-term vision for aid, starting by laying out a road map for returning to 0.7% of GNI, as we are required to do by statute. That law has not changed. I worry about the Government’s failure to square that with the notoriously generous British public. The impact of the UK aid cut, alongside the US cut, has not been made clear. It will mean hundreds of thousands of lives lost worldwide. Instead of short-term decision making and chasing domestic headlines, we must invest in a long-term vision for Britain and security for our future. We have yet to see any script from the Government on what Britain is for. How we behave now will define how we are seen on the world stage. We still have a seat at the table and we may say that we still have the expertise to lead, but if money does not follow, it would be arrogant to assume that we will keep that seat. Britain is compassionate. We do not have to follow America blindly; we can use our proud and long tradition in development and aid, look outwards and lead.

• 9 Jun 2025 · Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source

  More

  In my constituency, over 15,500 pensioners lost the winter fuel allowance, of whom 5,000 were over 80. Would the Minister like to apologise to the gentleman who wrote to me who had cancer and could not keep his heating on for the winter of worry he was put through?

• 4 Jun 2025 · Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories · Hansard source

  More

  As the Minister has acknowledged, Israel’s alternative aid scheme is dangerous, unworkable and profoundly insufficient. There is aid waiting on the border—UK aid that my constituents have paid for. You know the Palestinian people’s desperation. You have heard the desperation—

• 4 Jun 2025 · Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories · Hansard source

  More

  The Minister has heard the Palestinian people’s desperation. He has heard the desperation in this Chamber. What new pressure will he bring to bear on Israel to open the aid routes? What is the alternative plan? The Minister has asked for an independent inquiry into what went on in Rafah. Will he insist that the Israeli Government let the BBC and independent journalists into Gaza so that we know what is going on?

• 3 Jun 2025 · Thames Water · Hansard source

  More

  In this Chamber in September, I called for Thames Water to be put into special administration in order to protect my constituents. A portion of the bills they have paid since then has gone on lawyers and consultants to put together a deal that has collapsed. The Liberal Democrats—unlike the Conservatives, who continue to bury their heads in the sand—have fought against throwing more good money after bad, and more and more debt. The Government did not act in September. Will they act now, put us all out of our misery and put Thames Water into special administration?

• 2 Jun 2025 · Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

  More

  I would like to concentrate not just on purely rural areas, but on places like Surrey. In my constituency, the 514 bus connects Esher and Molesey, two important centres of our community, but it runs only twice on weekdays and once on a Saturday. On Sundays it is never to be seen. The service was severely cut back in 2016. To travel a distance of a mile and a half, people have to get a bus more than five miles into London and out again, which takes 40 minutes—

• 20 May 2025 · Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories · Hansard source

  More

  I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement. I also pay tribute to the humanitarian workers in Gaza, who are risking their lives to help the Palestinian people. The very powerful words by our own UN humanitarian chief have already been referenced. He said that 14,000 babies need food within the next 48 hours or they will face starvation. He also said that we have not moved fast enough in the past in the face of other war crimes. Starvation is a weapon of war and it is against humanitarian law. The Secretary of State has said that he will not stand by and that, unless aid gets in, the Government will take consequential action—so how quickly will the Government take action to save the lives of those Palestinian babies?

• 15 May 2025 · Gavi and the Global Fund · Hansard source

  More

  It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine, and I congratulate the hon. Member for Milton Keynes Central (Emily Darlington) on securing this debate. This year, as both Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Global Fund conduct their funding replenishments, it is more important than ever that we consider the indispensable value of their work, both for Britain and the world. Since its inception at the beginning of the millennium, Gavi has immunised more than 1 million children and saved in the region of 20 million lives. The UK was one of the alliance’s founders and has since constituted its largest single sovereign donor. In its short existence, the Global Fund has succeeded in driving down the death rates across AIDS, TB and malaria by 61%, saving 65 million lives. That is close to the entire population of this country and would not have been achieved without British support. That manifested most recently in a £1 billion pledge to the Global Fund’s seventh replenishment. That money is likely to avert around 1 million deaths. We have made so much progress, eliminating many diseases in some countries and reaching the edge of success in others. However, the work of Gavi and the Global Fund is being placed at risk by short-sighted cuts to international development spending. President Trump has gutted USAID, shattered the fund that fights HIV and AIDS and is poised to eliminate much American funding for global immunisation efforts. Following that playbook, this Government have decided to slash British development spending to 0.3% of our GNI, its lowest level this century. I, like many others, still remember the optimism of the last Labour Government, who pledged to make poverty history and funded Gavi and the Global Fund when they were created. This Government have rejected so much of the proud 1997 legacy, and they must not do so when it comes to global health. I hope that they put money behind their pledge to prioritise global health and vaccinations. There are so many strong and resonant moral arguments for Britain, but at the same time, the fight against disease serves concrete British interests. The war against infection is currently facing an alignment of factors that make victory more challenging than ever. Climate change is amplifying disease risk. Higher temperatures are opening up regions to mosquitoes, and the incidence of dangerous weather conditions is on the rise. Pakistan’s catastrophic 2022 floods, for example, have since led to almost 7 million additional malaria cases. At the same time, the disturbing spread and intensification of conflict across the globe is impeding efforts to treat and prevent disease. Increasingly, civilian populations are being deliberately cut off from aid, while healthcare facilities are being not only disrupted, but targeted. Consequently, we are seeing the return of once-controlled diseases like polio and upticks in those like cholera, which emerge from degraded sanitary infrastructure. Why does this matter for Britain? It is because, as we have heard, disease does not respect borders. Since covid, we are all only too aware that disease can reach our shores, putting both our NHS and our health security at risk. Resistance, particularly in strains of TB and malaria, is also an increasing threat. Both Gavi and the Global Fund are working on the development and deployment of new generations of TB vaccines, even in the face of these new headwinds. Existing interventions for fighting malaria are also seeing their efficacy decline in the face of insecticide and drug resistance. Better, sharper tools have been developed. The challenge now is getting them to where they are needed, and for that we need the Global Fund.

• 15 May 2025 · Gavi and the Global Fund · Hansard source

  More

  I thank my hon. Friend for a well-made point. I have consistently said that cuts to our international aid and development spend create the space for rogue actors to move in, including China and Russia. I know that the Government like polling, so I am happy to share that the British people understand the value of spending on vaccination. Recent Adelphi polling found that 70% of our people believe that supporting global vaccine access benefits Britain. This is about not only British funding, but British leadership. Our expertise and convening power have been continuous assets for Gavi and the Global Fund. I fear that the Government’s aid cuts have put that leadership at risk, so they must work to reverse that trend. This year, Britain will, along with South Africa, host the Global Fund’s replenishment efforts. As host nation, other countries and non-governmental organisations will look to us for leadership in making a significant pledge. I hope we will step up. In closing, I want to say a little more about what Britain’s support means to others. I recently met Botswana’s Health Minister and the special ambassador of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance. They shared with me their pride on the progress made on AIDS—with related maternal mortality falling by 80%—and on how malaria is now on the threshold of elimination. They told me that Britain’s work in this success is “always felt very warmly,” that it “ties” the two peoples, and that it is ultimately an expression of “humanity.” They told me that the collaboration fuels trade and partnership. The Minister and the ambassador worry that so much progress and so much investment risks going into reverse in the wake of the global aid retrenchment, including by Britain. They do not expect global support to last forever, but wrenching it away before countries have fully built up their own capacity is a destructive mistake that they, and we, will pay for. From the Liberal Democrat Benches, I encourage the Government to reaffirm our commitment and pledge generously to Gavi and the Global Fund. I encourage the Government to reaffirm our commitment and leadership in aid, and to reverse the savage cuts to our aid budget. This still-new Government must decide the Britain they want to deliver. Our wish is to bestride the world stage as a development superpower, consolidating our massive progress and gains, affirming our friendship, acting with compassion while delivering for our own people, providing security from conflict and disease, and controlling upstream migration to these shores. The space for leadership is now vacant, and I urge the Government to fill it.

• 15 May 2025 · Gavi and the Global Fund · Hansard source

  More

  I absolutely agree, and I was about to come on to the economic benefits of Gavi and the Global Fund. There are economic benefits: a study of Gavi-supported countries showed that, through healthcare savings alone, each dollar spent returns $21. When wider social benefits are considered, that rises to $54. Accounting for trade opportunities, healthcare savings and other economic boosts for Britain, both Gavi and the Global Alliance have generated value equivalent to hundreds of billions of dollars. So we are talking about neither a charity nor a giant cash dispenser in the sky, but instead, a deposit account for the security, health and soft power of our nation.

• 14 May 2025 · Gaza: UK Assessment · Hansard source

  More

  Israel’s continuing blockade of Gaza, now exceeding 70 days, is utterly unacceptable. Will the Government now recognise that the blockade constitutes a clear violation of international law? The Government must respect whatever determination the ICJ reaches regarding genocide. There are already clear obligations on the Government to prevent genocide in Gaza arising from the ICJ’s January 2024 order. Have the Government taken any steps to meet those obligations? Will they commit today to banning the export of all UK arms to Israel? Will they reconsider sanctions on extremist Israeli Ministers like Bezalel Smotrich, who called for Gaza to be destroyed? Will the Government commit to the immediate recognition of a Palestinian state? As the UN’s British relief chief told the Security Council yesterday, if we have not done all we could to end the violence in Gaza, we should fear the judgment of future generations. Does the Minister agree?