Wendy Chamberlain MP: Climate Timeline

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Wendy Chamberlain's Climate-related Tweets, Speeches & Votes

We've found the following climate-related tweets, speeches & votes by Wendy Chamberlain

• 02 Jul 2024: Tweet

  Pleased to see that https://voteclimate.uk/ has recommended a vote for me in North East Fife as best for tackling climate change ???? #GE2024 https://twitter.com/wendychambLD/status/1808076134745022835/video/1 [Source]

• 14 Jun 2024: Tweet

  On Wednesday I visited @PlusZeroEnergy and laid out the Lib Dem’s plans to put tackling the climate emergency at the heart of our industrial strategy. While other parties abandon their climate commitments, @scotlibdems have a plan to cut emissions and drive economic recovery. https://twitter.com/wendychambLD/status/1801548364237902036/photo/1 [Source]

• 25 Mar 2024: Tweet

  Tackling the climate crisis is a priority of mine which is why I’m proud to support the cross-party Climate and Nature Bill. The #CANBill is new legislation to help tackle the climate and environmental crisis. Join me in backing the Bill! ???? @zerohour_uk [Source]

• 04 Jan 2024: Tweet

  @FifeCCAN empowers community-led action on the climate crisis, helping to drive change and strengthen climate resilience in Fife. They have several upcoming events and workshops which are free to attend, you can sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/fife-communities-climate-action-network-9869079332#events https://twitter.com/wendychambLD/status/1742893649267159322/photo/1 [Source]

• 04 Jan 2024: Tweet

  @FifeCCAN empowers community-led action on the climate crisis, helping to drive change and strengthen climate resilience in Fife. They have several upcoming events and workshops which are free to attend, you can sign up below. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/fife-communities-climate-action-network-9869079332#events [Source]

• 03 Jan 2024: Tweet

  @FifeCCAN empowers community-led action on the climate crisis, helping to drive change and strengthen climate resilience in Fife. They have several upcoming events and workshops which are free to attend, you can sign up below.https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/fife-communities-climate-action-network-9869079332#events [Source]

• 03 Jan 2024: Tweet

  @FifeCCAN empowers community-led action on the climate crisis, helping to drive change and strengthen climate resilience in Fife. They have several upcoming events and workshops which are free to attend, you can sign up below. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/fife-communities-climate-action-network-9869079332#events [Source]

• 03 Jan 2024: Tweet

  @FifeCCAN empowers community-led action on the climate crisis, helping to drive change and strengthen climate resilience in Fife. They have several upcoming events and workshops which are free to attend, you can sign up below. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/fife-communities-climate-action-network-9869079332#events [Source]

• 20 Sep 2023: Tweet

  RT @EdwardJDavey: In 2018 Boris Johnson said f*** business On Monday, Liz Truss said scrap net zero targets Today Rishi Sunak has done bo… [Source]

• 19 Sep 2023: Tweet

  It would be great if we could question the PM on this statement and the Government commitment to Net Zero in Parliament. Conveniently for them, Parliament is now in Conference recess. A policy u-turn that can't be scrutinised. Typical of this terrible Tory Government. https://twitter.com/SamCoatesSky/status/1704219783950926268 [Source]

• 5 Sep 2023: Parliamentary Speech

  The last point I will touch on is the Government’s short-sightedness regarding the scheme. Even if we ignore the benefit to each and every young person of having the chance to live and learn abroad, the Turing scheme is meant to be a core part of global Britain and how we present ourselves on the world stage. The problem is that those relationships are not one sided, yet the Turing scheme decidedly is. It does not offer any element of reciprocity, which has made it incredibly difficult for institutions to set up longer-term partnerships. That is worsened by the exclusion of professional staff from the scheme. Where previously UK education and research was promoted and strengthened through staff exchanges, now we are left in the cold. It is about being at the forefront of cutting-edge research and development, about tackling the next pandemic and responding to the climate crisis.

  Full debate: Turing Scheme

• 19 Oct 2022: Tweet

  I was glad to be at the launch of Zero Hour's report on the ambition gap in the UK's net zero strategy yesterday and hear from the world-leading scientists who co-authored it. https://x.com/wendychambLD/status/1582706833478668290/photo/1 [Source]

• 19 Oct 2022: Vote

  Ban on Fracking for Shale Gas Bill - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 21 Jul 2022: Tweet

  The Climate Change Committee has warned that the UK is on track to cut only 40% of the emissions needed to reach its net zero target. The Government should bring back a secretary of state for climate change who can be properly held to account. https://x.com/wendychambLD/status/1550071462500990977/video/1 [Source]

• 18 May 2022: Tweet

  Wonderful to attend the @christian_aid event today. Talking about tackling the climate crisis in the #CAweek We must do more to mitigate the impact of those affected on the front lines. https://x.com/wendychambLD/status/1526938869480013826/photo/1 [Source]

• 15 Feb 2022: Tweet

  RT @scotlibdems: WATCH: @agcolehamilton on Times Radio this morning. This SNP-Green coalition doesn't have the climate emergency at its co… [Source]

• 13 Jan 2022: Parliamentary Speech

  I say to the hon. Member for West Worcestershire (Harriett Baldwin) that I looked at the IPU bits, and unfortunately it felt a little bit like COP26; where we have got to is the equivalent of moving from “phase out” to “phase down”, and there is clearly more to be done there. On Valneva, which the hon. Members for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (Neale Hanvey) and for Central Ayrshire (Dr Whitford) raised, if we can develop a vaccine that does not have those storage requirements, I do not know why we are not looking at that.

  Full debate: Global Vaccine Access

• 10 Nov 2021: Tweet

  RT @EdwardJDavey: I fear this is kicking the can down the road and managing expectations after disappointing #COP26 rather than beating t… [Source]

• 09 Nov 2021: Tweet

  RT @LibDems: As the host of COP, the UK must lead the way in tackling climate change. To reduce our own emissions, and to put pressure on o… [Source]

• 8 Nov 2021: Parliamentary Speech

  Does my hon. Friend agree that this has been a distraction from one of the most important sets of debates going on at the moment, at COP26? When our constituents were tuning in to this place, that is where the focus of Parliament should have been. Instead, the focus was on the shenanigans of this Government, and that is the real tragedy here.

  Full debate: Committee on Standards: Decision of the House

• 06 Nov 2021: Tweet

  RT @agcolehamilton: Waiting for the March to start with my good friend and Welsh LibDem leader ⁦@DoddsJane⁩ #cop26 https://t.co/4Vrocotj6d [Source]

• 03 Nov 2021: Tweet

  RT @OpenResearchStA: #COP26 theme of the day is #Finance, so we are highlighting a recent #OpenAccess article co-authored by @scholtensbert… [Source]

• 02 Nov 2021: Tweet

  RT @willie_rennie: Big plans aren't enough to tackle the climate emergency, we need to deliver change fast. That is why govt procurement mu… [Source]

• 01 Nov 2021: Tweet

  RT @standardnews: The leader of the Lib Dems, Sir Ed Davey, has led COP talks on three previous occasions and his biggest fear now for the… [Source]

• 29 Oct 2021: Tweet

  RT @lokiscottishrap: As I said the other day, I'm co- hosting the big Cop26 rally in Glasgow Green, featuring international speakers includ… [Source]

• 28 Oct 2021: Tweet

  RT @scotlibdems: On the eve of COP26, Nicola Sturgeon has voted to support a third runway at Heathrow The world simply cannot take her com… [Source]

• 27 Oct 2021: Tweet

  @C_MAlexander @univofstandrews @SchoolofBiology @CuparNow @CuparmuseumC @CuparHeritage @COP26 @Sustain_Cupar Train WiFi meant I only managed part of it but lots of food for thought around how countries properly strategically plan. Thanks to Prof Sir Ian Boyd and Cupar Development Trust. [Source]

• 27 Oct 2021: Tweet

  RT @scotlibdems: On the eve of COP26 the SNP have just voted to support a third runway at the UK's biggest polluter: Heathrow aiport @Liam… [Source]

• 25 Oct 2021: Tweet

  Meeting Marcus and the other @YoungScot @KSBScotland #COP26 young people was the absolute highlight of today's @CommonsScotAffs session in Glasgow. https://twitter.com/Marcus_Flucker/status/1452627143809196035 [Source]

• 21 Oct 2021: Parliamentary Speech

  When I think of my postbag there are two policy issues that dominate the correspondence that I receive from constituents in North East Fife—climate change and making ends meet, whether that be mitigating rising costs or surviving the cuts to universal credit. Some might see those two policy areas as being in contradiction, but that is not how I and my constituents see it. Both areas are about the social contract and our obligations to each other and to future generations.

  The publication of the Government’s net zero strategy yesterday ahead of COP26 did bring some good news, not least their formal recognition of the need to limit global temperature rises to 1.5°. But, as other Members have said, there is still a lot missing. I welcome the move to phase out gas boilers, but we know that heat pumps are not perfect, that the grants are not sufficient and that they are only part of the answer without proper investment in home insultation. I welcome the increase in funding for offshore wind, but was disappointed to see nothing on the phasing out of fossil fuels. That needs to be a key focus of all Governments within the UK. We need to ensure that we are accelerating change in the demand profile across all sectors and helping people to do their bit.

  We all know that we are in a climate crisis. The real impacts may not yet be evidenced in SW1A—although I am sure that we all saw the flooding in Norman Shaw South—but they are certainly clear to those of us in rural and coastal constituencies. Freuchie Mill in North East Fife has been severely flooded multiple times in the last 18 months and coastal erosion is a real issue for areas of natural beauty such as Tentsmuir. However, that is nothing compared with what is happening in the global south, where people are experiencing the most devastating impacts of a crisis that they had the least to do with creating. I was saddened, but not entirely surprised, to read in the news today about the lobbying by developed nations against shifting away from fossil fuels and committing to the UN’s annual fund to help countries on the frontline of climate change—a fund that was agreed in 2010, but which has never been fully committed to, and that clearly needs to be readdressed at COP26.

  Full debate: COP26: Limiting Global Temperature Rises

• 21 Oct 2021: Tweet

  I spoke today for the hundreds of constituents who have written to me about climate change in the #COP26 debate today. This isn't the time for political point scoring. I call on political leaders from all parties and in all places to work together to make the changes we need. [Source]

• 20 Oct 2021: Parliamentary Speech

  4. What steps he is taking to ensure that the safeguarding of human rights in the development of clean energy projects is considered at COP26. ( 903710 )

  Full debate: Oral Answers to Questions

  Human rights abuses, such as the treatment of the Uyghurs in China, are hugely relevant to COP. An investigation earlier this year found that 40% of UK solar firms were built using panels from firms linked to forced labour in Xinjiang, China. How does the COP26 President intend to approach the need to work together with countries such as China while also meeting our moral obligations in relation to these abuses?

  Full debate: Oral Answers to Questions

• 20 Oct 2021: Tweet

  We must ingrain human rights protection in our journey to net zero. I asked today how the need for global cooperation will be balanced with preventing abuses. Reassured work has started to investigate the claim that 40% of solar panels involved forced labour but we can do more. https://x.com/wendychambLD/status/1450844752300105728/video/1 [Source]

• 24 Sep 2021: Tweet

  Staff & students at St Andrews' take part in 'Line in the Sand' demonstration ahead of COP26. The uni & students have a fantastic record on climate action, leading the world to reach Net Zero. Hearing student's depth of feeling on this issue is really encouraging for the future. https://x.com/wendychambLD/status/1441432623490818052/photo/1 [Source]

• 20 Sep 2021: Tweet

  RT @scotlibdems: We want to provide new hope for the climate emergency. If you want a party that will fight the climate emergency with fero… [Source]

• 18 Aug 2021: Tweet

  Great meet Student President, Lottie for coffee. I'm proud of the work @uniofstandrews is doing on #NetZero and protecting students. I'm looking forward to working with Lottie over the coming months to try and make a difference to the lives of students in St Andrews. https://x.com/wendychambLD/status/1427969506744406018/photo/1 [Source]

• 13 Jul 2021: Parliamentary Speech

  Slashing development spending is deeply harmful to the notion of global Britain and to us at home. The cuts to this funding also mean cuts to spending within the UK, a fact that I think is sometimes lost. ODA funding goes to many places, including our universities that are doing research into how best to tackle the entrenched causes of global inequality and how to support developing countries to be self-sufficient. St Andrews University in my constituency is looking at up to 50% cuts to some of its active projects, which will impact on the poorest today. These cuts harm not only those in need around the world but our own research and innovation industries, which are vital to our response to Brexit and to facing the climate crisis.

  Full debate: International Aid: Treasury Update

• 13 Jul 2021: Parliamentary Speech

  There is no doubt that fishing has faced and is facing a number of issues. Some of them are longer term, such as changes in consumer taste, the impact of overfishing and the climate emergency. I echo the comments of the right hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd (Liz Saville Roberts), expressing her faith in the expertise of the industry to help tackle that climate impact. We know that the short-term and more acute factors are covid over the past year and a half and Brexit. If we look to future management—the topic of the debate—it is clear that those two are the most critical and acute.

  Full debate: Fisheries Management

• 09 Jul 2021: Tweet

  RT @CommonsScotAffs: On Monday at 3.30pm we are hearing from Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP @beisgovuk about renewable energy in Scotland Find ou… [Source]

• 1 Jul 2021: Parliamentary Speech

  We know that we face a global climate crisis, which will require significant shifts in how we go about our day-to-day lives. Supporting such changes clearly requires Government direction and support, and many communities recognise the importance of proactively transitioning to green living. I am proud to have examples of that in my constituency of North East Fife.

  Also in my constituency is the University of Saint Andrews, which is North East Fife’s largest employer. The university is led in this regard by its environmental sustainability board, which is chaired by Professor Sir Ian Boyd, previously chief scientific adviser to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and now the professor of biology at the university. The university is taking on the net zero challenge, alongside community organisations and businesses, and I attended the first meeting of the outreach group back in May.

  Under complementary environmental, sustainability and carbon management plans, the scope of the group’s approach encompasses procurement activities and the travel of international students coming to the university to study. The aim is to reach net zero by 2035. A new biomass plant and a potential onshore wind farm development will deliver energy to meet the university’s needs and potentially those of the wider community, too.

  Communities are clearly vital in the move to net zero; they are best placed to know what changes work best for them. Where communities are ahead of the Government’s policies, which we are hearing today, they should be enabled to act, not blocked from acting.

  We do not have to be left behind. Just this week, I visited Orkney with the Scottish Affairs Committee, as part of our inquiry into renewable energy in Scotland. Orkney has long been home to renewable energy and it is now expanding its scope into marine renewables. It recently became the home of the European Marine Energy Centre’s orbital tidal turbine, a prototype that is the world’s most powerful marine turbine.

  The Government say they are committed to reaching net zero, in order to avert the worst impacts of the climate crisis. This is not the time to be stuck in the old ways of doing things; those ways will not work now. We must embrace new ways of working with and for our communities without delay, and community energy is part of that process.

  Full debate: Enabling Community Energy

• 15 Jun 2021: Parliamentary Speech

  As part of that innovation, St Andrews has championed sustainability for over two decades, long before it was the dominant issue that it is today. Always leading the charge, the university has pledged to reach net zero by 2035, which is a significant commitment, given not just the date, but the approach that the university is taking. The university, led by its environmental sustainability board, chaired by Professor Sir Ian Boyd FRS, chief scientific adviser to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2012 to 2019, and now professor of biology at the university, is taking on the net zero challenge, alongside local community organisations and businesses. Indeed, I attended the first meeting of the outreach group only last month. Under complementary environmental sustainability and carbon management plans, the scope of its approach encompasses procurement activities and the travel of international students coming to the university to study. I am sure that the Minister will want to join me in congratulating it on its progress to date.

  This is not just an isolated local issue. There are 782 onshore wind farms around the UK, amounting to over 11,000 turbines and up to 66 MW of energy each year—enough to power 18.4 million homes—and this trend is not slowing down. The trade group RenewableUK is predicting that onshore wind will continue to be a preferred alternative energy source as we work towards meeting net zero goals. Organisations are being encouraged by this Government to make the switch. Last year, the net zero business champion, the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs (Andrew Griffith), was appointed. Organisations are encouraged to join the United Nations’ Race to Zero campaign and are celebrated when they do. Part of these commitments will inevitably involve switching to clean energies such as wind. Simply put, there will be more applications for wind farms such as Kenly.

  The fact that more onshore wind farms are likely to seek permissions and the likelihood that a proportion will be near RAF bases shows that it is vital for the MOD to put in place a comprehensive plan to work with developers to find meaningful solutions. If the MOD is not working to support wind farms such as Kenly, I wonder what it is doing. On 30 March this year, the MOD published its own climate change and sustainability strategic approach with a foreword by the Minister himself. This includes a commitment to working sustainably, to encouraging the development of low or zero carbon solutions, and to being a partner in the UK’s green transition. In fact, it includes an action plan, which includes a pledge to:

  “Grow awareness inside and outside of Defence with a communications plan on commitments and work on climate change and sustainability, inspiring understanding among our people, the wider public, industry and international partners.”

  To me, that sounds like the sort of commitment that would involve engaging with projects such as Kenly wind farm and constructively engaging with initiatives to tackle the climate emergency.

  The MOD, it is true, is looking at mitigation solutions and novel technologies for use at offshore wind farms. I am sure the Minister will point out that there is an ongoing competition for proposals which closes this week. However, this is not relevant to the 782 onshore wind farms such as Kenly around the UK, as different mitigation solutions—different ways of using technology—are understandably used on land compared with offshore. Even if the solutions were relevant to onshore windfarms, this is a very slow process. It began when the MOD last directly engaged with St Andrews in 2015, and some six years later the competition is only just entering its second phase. Proceeding at this rate, it will be 2033 before the process finishes—too late for St Andrews and its goal to achieve net zero by 2035, and frankly too late for all of us. We all know that to limit global warming to 1.5° C we need to make significant changes now. We cannot afford to wait to finish this process to get started. Organisations that take on this responsibility—that are putting themselves forwards to tackle this challenge—should be supported and not stopped.

  It is now two years since this House declared a climate crisis, and the situation has only worsened since that time, with the UK’s contribution to global carbon dioxide emissions continuing to outstrip its share of the global population. This is an issue that my constituents in North East Fife care about deeply. As a prospective parliamentary candidate in September 2019, I took part with other candidates and the then MP for North East Fife in the Line in the Sand climate strike ably led by young people from local high schools. During the subsequent election, students supportive of the Kenly development attended the main hustings in the constituency and made their voices heard. Yes, there were local objections during the planning process, but the rapid development of wind technologies will result in a more efficient and less obtrusive development.

  The Government state that they are putting a green recovery at the front and centre of their plans, and we know that a shift to clean renewable energy has to be a key part of that process. Just this week, the Prime Minister was in Devon for the G7 summit, where commitments were made to tackle the climate crisis at home and globally, including a commitment to green energy. Later this year, the UK—Glasgow—will be hosting COP26, where I am sure pledges will again be made on green energy. We are told that it is a priority for the Government, and that may be true for some parts of it.

  The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has published a 10-point plan for a green industrial revolution, and the Scotland Office has signed up to the previously mentioned Tay cities deal, which supports sustainable initiatives. So, I hope that this is a case of the MOD just needing to catch up. However, if, as the Minister himself wrote in his foreword to the MOD strategic approach, it is determined to play its full part in helping the Government to address climate change head-on, that needs to happen now.

  Full debate: Kenly Wind Farm

• 07 Jun 2021: Vote

  Advanced Research and Invention Agency Bill — New Clause 1 - Human Rights Abuses - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 26 May 2021: Vote

  Environment Bill — New Clause 24 - Prohibition on burning of peat in upland areas - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 24 Mar 2021: Tweet

  RT @CommonsScotAffs: #ICYMI - Last week we launched an inquiry into renewable energy in Scotland. We are accepting written evidence and w… [Source]

• 17 Mar 2021: Parliamentary Speech

  Across the two debates and the two motions, the SNP has totally failed to engage with the issue that people across the UK and the world have lived with, grieved over and endured over the past year. The reality facing millions of ordinary Scots is the recovery from the pandemic. As others have said, SNP Members could have used this time to discuss the issues that matter: jobs, the economy, climate change, and education. When the SNP wants to consider elections to the Scottish Parliament, as they do in the motion, it seems that the only thing in which it is interested is the constitution. Today, a Survation poll shows that independence is one of three top priorities for only 8% of Scots. The pandemic was not deemed important enough to be mentioned in the motion. I am afraid that, after 14 years in power in Scotland, the SNP is consumed by internal problems and is out of touch.

  I will be clear. Now is the time to put recovery first—that is what Scottish Liberal Democrats want. We want investment in green jobs, high-quality education, good mental health services, and measures to tackle the climate emergency. If the SNP had focused on those things during its 14 years in power, how much better life would be for people across Scotland. Over the past year, everyone in the House has dealt with many pieces of casework from constituents struggling through the pandemic and lockdown, and from people who have tragically lost loved ones. They want our focus over the next few years, as we approach the May elections, to be on how we recover. The Scottish Fiscal Commission estimates that the Scottish economy will not recover to pre-pandemic levels until the beginning of 2024—almost two years later than the UK a whole. When does the pandemic really end? If we do not focus on recovery now, there is a risk that the 2020s will become a decade of stagnation in Scotland. After 14 years of SNP rule, we have seen so much opportunity wasted. Let us put recovery first.

  Full debate: Scotland: General Election and Constitutional Future

• 25 Jan 2021: Tweet

  RT @timfarron: Britain's hosting of #COP26 has been massively undermined by the Government giving the green light for a new coal mine in Cu… [Source]

• 13 Jan 2021: Vote

  Financial Services Bill — Schedule 2 - Prudential regulation of FCA investment firms - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 8 Dec 2020: Parliamentary Speech

  Secondly, this century poses new challenges of huge proportions. Those challenges of course include automation, an ageing population, with increasing life expectancy—I note the comments of the hon. Member for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr (Jonathan Edwards) on that—and the climate emergency. I would not normally choose to quote Donald Rumsfeld, but when we consider the profound and unforeseen impact that a global pandemic has had on our society this year, we have to recognise that it is not just the identifiable factors that we need to be concerned about; it is also the “unknown unknowns”.

  Full debate: Future of Pensions Policy

• 08 Dec 2020: Vote

  Delegated Legislation — Financial Assistance to Industry - Pro-climate vote: No - Their vote: No

• 16 Nov 2020: Vote

  Pension Schemes Bill [Lords] — Clause 124 - Climate change risk - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 12 Oct 2020: Vote

  Agriculture Bill — After Clause 42 - Contribution of agriculture and associated land use to climate change targets - Pro-climate vote: No - Their vote: No

• 7 Oct 2020: Parliamentary Speech

  Finally, the Liberal Democrats welcome clause 124—it is a welcome step—and the Secretary of State’s comments on asset managers earlier. Beyond covid, the climate emergency remains the biggest future challenge to the UK. As I said at the outset, there is much to welcome in the Bill, but I echo the comments of the SNP spokesperson, the hon. Member for Airdrie and Shotts (Neil Gray), that it does not address previous pension injustices, including the persistence of a gender pension gap and the situation experienced by previous members of the plumbers’ pension scheme; like the hon. Member for Gordon (Richard Thomson), I am a member of the APPG, and have affected constituents. I hope that those situations will be looked at further in Committee.

  Full debate: Pension Schemes Bill [Lords]

• 29 Sep 2020: Vote

  United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — New Clause 6 - Economic development: climate and nature emergency impact statement - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 18 Jun 2020: Parliamentary Speech

  For 20 years, since the success of the Jubilee 2000 campaign, there has been a consensus across the House about the importance of international development, and I commend the Churches in particular for delivering and establishing that consensus. I deeply regret that this downgrade is bringing it to an end. Does the Foreign Secretary recognise how many people in the UK profoundly disagree with his claim and believe there is a profound difference between focusing on doing good in the world—tackling poverty and dealing with the climate crisis—and what he and his colleagues regard as our own national interests?

  I thank my right hon. Friend and former Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee. Of course she will know from the equalities agenda how easy it is for cross-cutting issues to fall between the cracks of individual Government Departments. We remain absolutely committed, and she will know that I am personally committed, to our campaign to ensure that there are 12 years of quality education for every girl in the world, not just as a matter of moral duty but because it is one of the best levers to raise poverty in those countries. I also cite COP26 and climate change as another example of where we need to bring together our domestic ambitions and our international ambitions across the board and unite our diplomatic muscle and leverage with our development goals.

  No; after all that bluff and bluster, there is really only a one-word answer. Look at what this Prime Minister did when he was Foreign Secretary—his commitment to making sure every girl has 12 years’ education; the passion that he has brought to the COP26 agenda—a conference that we will host; his commitment to making sure that we promote media freedom throughout the world, as well as all those wider aid and development functions. This is someone who has direct experience of foreign policy and knows, as I understand, that we can maximise our impact in all those areas where we share aspirations and objectives right across the House and that we can get better results for the people we are trying to help across the world, but also for taxpayers’ money in this country.

  The hon. Gentleman talks about not politicising and then he comes up with a comment like that. Of course, we will look very carefully. We understand—I want to be clear about this—why NGOs are not universally, shall we say, welcoming this merger. Over £1 billion goes into NGOs’ budgets every year from the aid budget, so I understand why they take a very close interest. I have given the reassurance that we are retaining the 0.7% commitment. Ultimately, in the last analysis, we have to ensure that our policy and taxpayers’ money is brought together and invested in a way that can deliver the most effective results for the strategic objectives of alleviating poverty for the most vulnerable and delivering on climate change and on the wider international agenda that we on the Conservative Benches passionately support.

  Full debate: DFID-FCO Merger

• 18 Jun 2020: Parliamentary Speech

  I welcome the opportunity to debate these statutory instruments regarding the ADB and IDA. This is clearly a timely moment to discuss how the UK gives its aid, how much it gives and in what form. We should note that this week’s announcement has been described as a big, big blow for Africa by one African Minister. The funds the Government intend to release to the ADB will, via the African Development Fund, help the poorest countries in Africa. The general capital increase will improve the bank’s lending capacity, allowing it to have an even greater impact. We should laud the fact that the fund’s replenishment is estimated to create more than 1 million jobs. I also wish to pay a particular tribute to the leading work the fund is doing to promote clean energy and green growth, not only improving lives, but doing so in a sustainable way. It is good that further commitments have been secured from the bank towards climate finance over the next five years. Of course, that is totally in line with our commitments to help to achieve the sustainable development goals, too.

  Full debate: International Development

• 15 Jun 2020: Tweet

  RT @GreenLibDems: Can we really deal with the #ClimateEmergency without #electoralreform? Former MEP Phil Bennion and the Chair of Lib Dem… [Source]

• 8 Jun 2020: Parliamentary Speech

  As we seek to recover from the impact of covid-19, other challenges—most crucially, our response to the climate emergency—remain. Such challenges will not be solved by one side or way of thinking. They require co-operation, mutual trust, welcoming a diversity of thinking, and an ability to set aside our differences and work together for the common good.

  Full debate: Electoral Reform

• 05 Feb 2020: Vote

  Transport - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye