Extract from Commons
statement on Covid-19
(Bury South) (Con): We should rightfully be proud of
the huge national effort that is taking place to vaccinate the
British people against covid. We have seen the incredible speed and
efficiency of Israel’s vaccination drive, which is
on track to vaccinate all over-16s by the end of March, so what
discussions has my hon. Friend had with his
Israeli counterpart about replicating
Israel’ssuccess, particularly in the areas of
digitisation and accessibility?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and
Social Care (): I commend the Israeli
Government and health service for a stellar job in vaccinating
their most vulnerable communities. We have a lot to learn from
other countries, including the throughput—the speed at which they
manage to vaccinate—which is something from which we can all
learn so that we can improve our output. NHS England and the
teams on the frontline have been doing a tremendous job and is
worth us all thinking about that: we stand on the shoulders of
real heroes.
Extracts from Commons
debate on Global Britain
The Secretary of State for International Trade ():...Furthermore, we will be working with our
friends and family across the world to drive forward free and
fair trade, setting the global standard for trade in the 21st
century. We are already in deep negotiations with the United
States, Australia and New Zealand, and, this year, we will apply
to one of the most dynamic trading areas on earth—the
Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific
Partnership. Joining is part of our plan to grow our economy by
making it far easier for British goods to reach our friends in
Asia and the Americas. This high standards agreement would align
the UK with some of the world’s fastest growing economies in a
free trade area covering nearly £9 trillion of GDP. We will also
deepen our relationships with countries such as Canada, Mexico,
South Korea and Israel As well as this, we are
working closely with India, the world’s largest democracy, on an
enhanced trade partnership, reflecting our mutual interest in
technology and innovation. We are also in talks with Brazil and
our allies in the Gulf.
(Bury
South) (Con): While we are talking about the real opportunities
for growing Britain’s trade power across the globe and while my
right hon. Friend has touched on the aspect of
Israel and the Gulf, let me say that we have
rightfully been world leaders in soft power and aid during many
generations and this should continue, but that we also need to
lead in terms of diplomacy. Will she look at taking this back to
the Cabinet to consider what we can be doing to expand the
Abraham accords to bring not only peace to the middle east, but
further trade and aid to that location as well?
: My
hon. Friend makes an excellent point. He is right that trade is
the key not just to prosperity, but to peace and co-operation
between nations. I want to reassure the House that we will ensure
that no country is left behind without the benefits of free and
fair trade with the United Kingdom. Later this year, we will be
launching an emerging markets trade scheme, which will offer the
lowest-income countries a better deal when they are trading with
the UK. It will be more generous than the EU scheme and it will
help those countries on to the ladder towards prosperity through
the enterprise and ingenuity of their people...
(Oxford
West and Abingdon) (LD) [V]:...Take the example of
Palestine. The situation there is dire. Many have rightly
applauded Israel’s incredible effort to
vaccinate its population, but we should note the programme
excludes the 5 million Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories. The vaccine has been coming into illegal
settlements. Israeli settlers are being
vaccinated, but their Palestinian labourers living only a few
hundred metres away are not. It is heartbreaking, and if we can
help them in Palestine or elsewhere, then we should. We have
ordered 350 million doses of vaccine for a population of 66.5
million. Even with wastage and the need for two doses, what are
the plans for the rest? Can the Minister confirm what we will do
to support lower-income countries further?
(Birmingham, Selly Oak) (Lab) [V]:...I
want this country to be outward looking and multilateralist, and
that includes confronting difficulties. We should not retreat
from the middle east because of past conflicts, and we must be
prepared to toughen our response towards the regime in Iran. How
much effort should we expend trying to appease a corrupt
theocracy that has no regard for human rights or international
conventions? We should give more support to those who challenge
that regime. We should not tolerate Iran’s warmongering or
support for terrorism. But a multilateralist Britain also needs
to build peace in the middle east, which is why Labour Friends
of Israel has been so prominent in
making the case for an international fund for
Israeli-Palestinian peace...
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