The comments made by Nadhim Zahawi, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the Telegraph newspaper on 10 July 2022.
I just think the pledge we should all make is that if I am Prime Minister, I will publish my accounts annually; my tax records. I think that is a good thing to do. I’ve come out of a world of business and I think it’s right for people, obviously, to scrutinise and ask questions. We should all agree that we have a clean campaign. No dirty tricks.
The speech made by Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister, on 28 June 2022.
Presiding Officer,
The campaign to establish this Parliament was long and hard.
It was rooted in the belief that self-government would improve the lives of those who live here. And so it has proved.
There were – and still are – honourable differences about the ultimate destination of Scotland’s self-government journey.
But all who campaigned to establish this place were united in and by this fundamental principle:
The democratic rights of the people of Scotland are paramount.
That principle of self-determination was encapsulated by these words in the Scottish Constitutional Convention’s Claim of Right:
“the sovereign right of the Scottish people to determine the form of government best suited to their needs.”
When the late Canon Kenyon Wright – who led the Convention – addressed Westminster’s refusal to accept the democratic demand for a Scottish Parliament with this question:
“What if that other voice we all know so well responds by saying, ‘We say no, and we are the state’?”
His answer –
“Well we say ‘yes’ – and we are the people” – was simple but powerful.
It is as relevant now as it was then.
Last May, the people of Scotland said Yes to an independence referendum by electing a clear majority of MSPs committed to that outcome.
The democratic decision was clear.
Two weeks ago, the Scottish Government started the process of implementing that decision with the first in the Building a New Scotland series of papers.
That paper presented compelling evidence of the stronger economic and social performance, relative to the UK, of a range of independent countries across Europe that are comparable to Scotland.
That should be both a lesson and an inspiration to us.
Scotland – over generations – has paid a price for not being independent.
Westminster governments we don’t vote for, imposing policies we don’t support, too often holding us back from fulfilling our potential.
That reality has rarely been starker than it is now.
The Conservatives have just six MPs in Scotland – barely 10 per cent of Scottish representation – and yet they have ripped us out of the EU against our will.
They have created the worst cost of living crisis in the G7;
And saddled us with the second lowest growth in the G20.
They are intent on stoking industrial strife, demonizing workers and provoking a trade war.
Businesses and public services are struggling for staff because freedom of movement has been ended.
Our young people have been robbed of opportunity.
Presiding Officer,
The Scottish Government will do everything in our power to mitigate the damage.
But that is not enough.
Our country deserves better.
And yet this Parliament, looked to for leadership by so many across Scotland, does not have the power to tackle the root causes of the financial misery being inflicted on millions.
We lack the full range of levers to shape our economy and grow the country’s wealth.
We are powerless to stop our budget being cut.
We can’t block the Tories’ new anti-trade union laws;
Or stop them tearing up human rights protections.
We’re not able to restore freedom of movement.
And while we invest billions in measures to help with the cost of living, tens of thousands of children can be pushed deeper into poverty at the merest stroke of the Chancellor’s pen.
Presiding Officer,
It does not have to be this way.
Independence is about equipping ourselves to navigate the future, guided by our own values, aspirations and interests.
It is about helping us fulfil our potential here at home and play our part in building a better world.
And that takes more than a changing of the guard at Westminster.
I fervently hope that the Tories lose the next election. They thoroughly deserve to.
But on the big policy issues of our time, from Europe to migration, to human rights and fairness for workers, Labour is more a pale imitation than a genuine alternative.
Labour won’t take Scotland back into the EU or even the single market. And neither will the Liberal Democrats.
They won’t restore freedom of movement for our young people.
They won’t prioritise tackling child poverty over investment in nuclear weapons.
Presiding Officer,
Independence won’t always be easy. It isn’t for any country.
But it will give us the opportunity to chart our own course.
To build a wealthier, greener, fairer nation.
To be outward looking and internationalist.
To lift our eyes and learn from the best.
Presiding Officer,
Now is the time – at this critical moment in history – to debate and decide the future of our country.
Now is the time to get Scotland on the right path – the path chosen by those who live here.
Now is the time for independence.
This parliament has a clear, democratic mandate to offer Scotland that choice.
The UK government, however, is refusing to respect Scottish democracy.
That is why today’s statement is necessary.
The UK and Scottish governments should be sitting down together, responsibly agreeing a process, including a section 30 order, that allows the Scottish people to decide.
That would be the democratic way to proceed.
It would be based on precedent.
And it would put the legal basis of a referendum beyond any doubt.
That’s why I am writing to the Prime Minister today to inform him of the content of this statement.
In that letter I will also make clear that I am ready and willing to negotiate the terms of a section 30 order with him.
Presiding Officer,
What I am not willing to do – what I will never do – is allow Scottish democracy to be a prisoner of Boris Johnson or any Prime Minister.
The issue of independence cannot be suppressed.
It must be resolved democratically.
And that must be through a process that is above reproach and commands confidence.
That is why I am setting out today the actions the Scottish Government and the Lord Advocate will take, in the absence of a section 30 order, to secure Scotland’s right to choose.
My determination is to secure a process that allows the people of Scotland – whether yes, no, or yet to be decided – to express their views in a legal, constitutional referendum, so that the majority view can be established fairly and democratically.
The steps I am setting out seek to achieve that.
They are grounded in – and demonstrate this government’s respect for – the principles of rule of law and democracy.
Indeed, these core principles – respect for the rule of law and respect for democracy – underpin everything I say today.
Respect for the rule of law means that a referendum must be lawful.
That, for me, is a matter of principle.
But it is also a matter of practical reality.
An unlawful referendum would not be deliverable.
Even if it was, it would lack effect.
The outcome would not be recognized by the international community.
Bluntly, it would not lead to Scotland becoming independent.
Presiding Officer,
It is axiomatic that a referendum must be lawful.
But my deliberations in recent times have led me to a further conclusion.
The lawfulness or otherwise of the referendum must be established as a matter of fact, not just opinion.
Otherwise – as we have seen again in recent days – opposition parties will just keep casting doubt on the legitimacy of the process, so they can avoid the substantive debate on independence which Scotland deserves, but they so clearly fear.
That is not in the country’s best interests.
Let me turn then to the detail of the steps we will now take to secure the objective of an indisputably lawful referendum.
And then ensure that, from today, we can focus on the substance of why Scotland should be independent.
Presiding Officer,
I can announce, first of all, that the Scottish Government is today publishing the ‘Scottish Independence Referendum Bill’.
I will draw attention, in particular, to three key provisions of the Bill.
Firstly, the purpose of the referendum, as set out in section 1, is to ascertain the views of the people of Scotland on whether or not Scotland should be an independent country.
In common with the 2014 referendum – indeed, in common with the Brexit referendum and the referendum to establish this Parliament – the independence referendum proposed in the Bill will be consultative, not self-executing.
Just as in 2014 – and recognised explicitly in the 2013 White Paper – a majority yes vote in this referendum will not in and of itself make Scotland independent.
For Scotland to become independent following a yes vote, legislation would have to be passed by the UK and Scottish Parliaments.
There has been much commentary in recent days to the effect that a consultative referendum would not have the same status as the vote in 2014.
That is simply wrong, factually and legally.
The status of the referendum proposed in this Bill is exactly the same as the referendums of 1997, 2014 and 2016.
The next provision of the Bill I wish to draw attention to relates to the question to be asked in the referendum.
The Bill states that the question on the ballot paper should be – just as it was in 2014 – ‘should Scotland be an independent country’.
Finally, Presiding Officer, the Bill includes the proposed date on which the referendum should be held.
In line with the government’s clear mandate this is a date within the first half of this term of Parliament.
Presiding Officer,
I can announce that the Scottish Government is proposing that the independence referendum be held on Thursday the 19th of October 2023.
These are the key elements of the referendum legislation that the Scottish Government wishes this Parliament to scrutinise and pass.
Let me turn now to the aim of establishing as fact the lawfulness of a referendum – which, as I have already indicated, I consider to be of the utmost importance.
I will start with what we know already.
We know that the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament to pass this Bill in the absence of a section 30 order is contested.
We know that legislative competence can only be determined judicially.
And we know that for as long as there is no judicial determination, opinions will differ and doubt will continue to be cast on the lawful basis for the referendum.
That benefits only those parties opposed to independence, because it allows them to avoid the substance of the independence debate
Finally, we know that if this Parliament does seek to legislate without a section 30 order, the Bill will go to court.
That is inevitable.
The only questions are: when it ends up in court, and at whose hand.
If the issue of legislative competence remains unresolved at the point of formal introduction of a Bill, the UK Government will almost certainly use section 33 of the Scotland Act to refer it to the Supreme Court after it has passed.
It is also possible that one or more private individuals will lodge a judicial review of the Bill.
Indeed, it was reported last week that Tory supporters are already planning to do so.
A challenge by private individuals could also go through successive courts, and so be a very lengthy process.
Either way, at the point of Parliament passing the Bill, there would be no certainty about when, or even if, it could be implemented.
A court challenge would still lie ahead and the timetable I have set out today would quickly become difficult to deliver.
And, of course, between now and then, claim and counter claim, good faith arguments and bad faith fearmongering about so-called ‘wildcat referendums’ will continue to muddy the water, cast up doubt and taint the process.
Presiding Officer,
That may well suit politicians opposed to independence.
But none of it would be in the interests of the country.
And none of it would serve democracy.
The fact is neither legal opinions nor political arguments will resolve this point.
We must establish legal fact.
That is why, in my view, we must seek now to accelerate to the point when we have legal clarity; legal fact.
And crucially, in doing so – I hope – establish and safeguard the ability of this Parliament to deliver a referendum on the date proposed.
Presiding Officer,
It is to this end that some weeks ago I asked the Lord Advocate to consider exercising the power she has under paragraph 34 of schedule 6 to the Scotland Act to refer to the Supreme Court the question of whether the provisions in this Bill relate to reserved matters.
This is a power exercisable by the Lord Advocate alone, not by Scottish Ministers collectively.
Whether or not she does so is accordingly a matter solely for her.
However, I can confirm that the Lord Advocate has considered this request.
She has taken into account the following factors:
This government’s democratic mandate;
The constitutional significance of this issue;
The fact that the Bill does raise a genuine issue of law that is unresolved; and
The importance of ensuring that this government and Parliament act lawfully at all times.
And she has now informed me of her decision.
I can advise Parliament that the Lord Advocate has agreed to make a reference of the provisions in the Bill to the Supreme Court.
Indeed – as I speak, Presiding Officer – the process for serving the requisite paperwork on the UK Government by lawyers and Messengers at Arms is underway.
I can confirm that the reference will be filed with the Supreme Court this afternoon.
Presiding Officer,
Whether or not the reference is accepted, how long it takes to determine, and what judgement is arrived at, are all matters for the Court to determine.
I accept that.
As I have made clear throughout, this government respects the rule of law.
However, by asking the Lord Advocate to refer the matter to the Court now – rather than wait for others to do so later – we are seeking to deliver clarity and legal certainty in a timely manner, and without the delay and continued doubt that others would prefer.
Presiding Officer,
Obviously, it is this government’s hope that the question in this Bill, proposing a referendum that is consultative, not self-executing, and which would seek to ascertain the views of the Scottish people for or against independence, will be deemed to be within the legislative competence of this Parliament.
If that outcome is secured, there will be no doubt whatsoever that the referendum is lawful.
And I can confirm that the government will then introduce and ask Parliament to pass the Bill on a timescale that allows the referendum to proceed on xxx
Presiding Officer,
It is, of course, possible that the Supreme Court will decide that the Scottish Parliament does not have power to legislate for even a consultative referendum.
To be clear: if that happens, it will be the fault of Westminster legislation, not the Court.
Obviously, that would not be the clarity we hope for.
But if that is what the law establishing this Parliament really means, it is better to have that clarity sooner rather than later.
Because what it will clarify is this:
Any notion of the UK as a voluntary union of nations is a fiction.
Any suggestion that the UK is a partnership of equals is false.
Instead we will be confronted with this reality.
No matter how Scotland votes, regardless of what future we desire for our country, Westminster can block and overrule. Westminster will always have the final say.
Presiding Officer,
There would be few stronger or more powerful arguments for independence than that.
And it would not be the end of the matter. Far from it.
I said earlier that two principles would guide what I said today.
The rule of law and democracy.
Democracy demands that people must have their say.
So, finally in terms of process, let me confirm this – although it describes a scenario that I hope does not arise.
If it does transpire that there is no lawful way for this parliament to give the people of Scotland the choice of independence in a referendum – and if the UK government continues to deny a section 30 order – my party will fight the UK general election on this single question –
‘Should Scotland be an independent country’.
Presiding Officer,
The path I have laid out today is about bringing clarity and certainty to this debate.
Above all, it is about ensuring that Scotland will have its say on independence.
I want the process set in train today to lead to a lawful, constitutional referendum and for that to take place on xxx
That is what we are preparing for.
But if the law says that is not possible, the General Election will be a ‘de facto’ referendum.
Either way, the people of Scotland will have their say.
Presiding Officer,
As the Lord Advocate is now referring the question of legality to the Supreme Court, it need no longer be the subject of sterile political debate.
Indeed, the sub judice principle and our own Standing Orders demand that the arguments on competence now be made in court and not here in this chamber.
That means we can – and should – now focus on the substance.
That is what this government intends to do.
In the weeks and months ahead, we will make the positive case for independence.
We will do so with commitment, confidence and passion.
Let the opposition – if they can – make the case for continued Westminster rule.
And, then, let the people decide.
Presiding Officer,
To believe in Scottish independence is to believe in a better future.
It involves an unashamedly optimistic view of the world.
The belief that things can be better than they are now.
Above all, it means trusting the talents and ingenuity of all of us who live here, no matter where we come from.
It is not a claim to be better than anyone else.
It is about looking around at all the other successful, independent countries in the world – so many of them smaller than we are and without the resources we are blessed with – and asking, ‘why not Scotland?’
Think of all of our talents and advantages –
Unrivalled energy resources;
Extraordinary natural heritage;
Exceptional strengths in the industries of the future;
Brilliant universities and colleges;
A highly skilled and creative population.
There is no reason at all that an independent Scotland would not succeed.
Nothing in life is guaranteed.
But with hard work – and the independence to chart our own course – Scotland will prosper.
And the people of Scotland have told us – all of us in this chamber – that they want the right to decide.
Today we have set out the path to deliver it.
The statement made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, on 23 June 2022.
Greetings to all our friends, all leaders-friends of Ukraine!
Greetings to all who support freedom!
That is how I began my address to the European Council on March 24, three months ago, when I urged you to support us.
And that’s quite a path we have come in these three months! All of us together: Ukraine, your states and the European Union as a whole.
This path is not politics. I believe this is what will always be the starting point of Europe’s new history. Europe without division. Europe without “gray” zones. Europe that is truly united and that knows how to defend itself, its values, its future.
Today you have adopted one of the most important decisions for Ukraine in all 30 years of independence of our state.
However, I believe this decision is not only for Ukraine. This is the biggest step towards strengthening Europe that could be taken right now, in our time and in such difficult conditions, when the Russian war is testing our ability to preserve freedom and unity.
On the fifth day of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, we applied to join the European Union. We provided extremely fast and high-quality answers to the questionnaire we received from the European Commission.
And here is the desired result today. Today, I would like to reaffirm that Ukraine is capable of becoming a full-fledged member of the European Union.
Then, three months ago, I addressed each country of the European Union and indicated at what stage we were, as I thought, in our relations. And today I would like to tell each and every one of you personally what our people feel, and in the same order as it was then.
Lithuania stands for us. Thank you, Mr. President! Gitanas, you know how grateful Ukraine is to your people and to you personally.
Latvia stands for us. Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister! I believe that together we will be able to strengthen the international legal order.
Estonia stands for us. Thank you, Mrs. Prime Minister Kallas! By helping one, we help everyone. Estonia has done a lot.
Poland stands for us. Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister! Your state, your people, your President – all of you on this path to Europe are truly brothers with us.
France stands for us. Thank you, Emmanuel! You can be sure that with Ukraine, Europe will really be able to be among the global leaders in the XXI century.
Slovenia stands for us. Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister! I am grateful for the unwavering protection of the common European cause.
Slovakia stands for us. Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister! We have to continue to protect each other, it makes us really strong.
The Czech Republic stands for us. Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister! I believe that we will also be together on the path to Ukraine’s full membership in the EU.
Romania stands for us. Thank you, Mr. President! Klaus, our cooperation in the region and in European structures can indeed become one of the foundations of global stability.
Bulgaria stands for us. Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister! Thank you for choosing the side of good in the confrontation that began on February 24 without hesitation. We know it’s not easy for you.
Greece stands for us. Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister! And I’m personally thankful to the Greek people, your country, which I really love.
Germany stands for us. Thank you, Olaf! Thank you for your support at a crucial moment.
Portugal stands for us. Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister! Your country knows our people well. And I am sure that we will only increase positive ties between us.
Croatia stands for us. Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister! And thank you for the help with the experience we use to protect our freedom.
Sweden stands for us. Thank you, Mrs. Prime Minister! Blue and yellow truly always stand together!
Finland stands for us. Thank you, Mrs. Prime Minister! Your willingness to resist aggression is simply amazing!
The Netherlands stands for us. Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister! You can be sure that your choice of Ukraine will definitely strengthen our common European freedom, the rule of law and our unity in diversity.
Malta stands for us. Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister! The voice of your island makes the European community complete.
Denmark stands for us. Thank you, Mrs. Prime Minister! Be sure that the protection of European values will only increase with Ukraine.
Luxembourg stands for us. Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister! We truly understand each other, and your energy inspires us to future victories.
Cyprus stands for us. Thank you, Mr. President! Thank you for the choice in favor of our people and our values.
Italy stands for us. Thank you very much, Mr. Prime Minister! Thank you for your strength, for your perseverance. Thank you for proving that the principles of decent people are truly the foundation of Europe.
Spain stands for us. Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister! I believe that we can significantly strengthen our relations.
Belgium stands for us. Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister! We hope that after our victory we will be able to see each other often in Brussels on common European affairs.
Austria stands for us. Thank you, Mr. Chancellor! I am convinced that we will be able to make Europe even safer and historically the most stable.
Ireland stands for us. Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister! This is a historic rapprochement of our nations. Your personal leadership is truly impressive.
Hungary stands for us. Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister, thank you, Viktor, together we are capable of much more than alone!
Mrs. President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola! We are grateful to you personally and grateful to the European Parliament! You were the first to support Ukraine’s candidate status the day after our application.
Mr. President of the European Council, dear Charles, Mrs. President of the European Commission, dear Ursula, I am grateful to you both for the leadership that has led us all to this day. I am grateful for the sincere help, for the faith in Ukraine, in Ukrainians, in all of us.
I have always said that we, Ukrainians, believe in the European Union. Although we remained formally outside the European Union, our country probably had the largest number of flags of a united Europe.
They were in the hands of our people during the revolutions. They have been in the hands of our people in the trenches since 2014. I believe that the flag of the European Union will be in every Ukrainian city that we have yet to liberate from the occupation of the Russian Federation.
Ukrainian and European flags will also be together when we will be rebuilding our state after this war together.
And today in the framework of our joint meeting – the summit of all European leaders, I would like to express special gratitude to our heroes – each and everyone who defends the independence of Ukraine with weapons in their hands, defends the freedom of Europe.
Thank you! Thank you for making possible a new history of Ukraine, a new history of Europe – even stronger, even freer.
Thank you all so much!
Glory to Ukraine!
The statement made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, on 22 June 2022.
Ukrainians!
Our defenders!
Today, June 22, is the Day of Mourning and Remembrance of the Victims of War. That war. A war that was to remain forever in the history of the XX century and was never to be repeated. But it is repeated.
Today there is no shortage of words that Russia did the same on February 24 as the Nazis did on June 22. Much has been said about this. And I want to add only one thing. Then 1418 days passed from the morning of the invasion to the defeat of the aggressor. We must liberate our land and achieve victory, but faster. Much faster. This is our national goal, and we must work to achieve it on a daily basis. Not only the state, but also every citizen – at the level at which it is possible.
From the very morning I continued the telephone marathon for a positive decision on the candidacy for Ukraine. 11 leaders today.
Bulgaria. I thanked Prime Minister of Bulgaria Petkov for supporting Ukraine and the development of the whole of Europe with our participation.
Latvia. We discussed with Mr. Prime Minister Kariņš the cooperation between our countries, between Ukraine and the European Union, as well as our joint opportunities to protect Europe from the crises that Russia organizes, including the food crisis.
Greece. I was glad to hear the words of sincere support for Ukraine. Mr. Prime Minister and I have the same vision of the historical significance of the decision that is expected from the European Council.
Sweden. Prospects for bilateral cooperation and cooperation at the level of European structures were discussed with Prime Minister Andersson.
Estonia. Thanked Mrs. Prime Minister Kallas for her continued support of Ukraine. The priorities of our cooperation and the agenda in the context of the NATO Summit in Madrid next week were discussed.
Czech Republic. Fruitful conversation with Mr. Prime Minister Fiala. The priorities of the Czech presidency of the Council of the European Union in the next six months were discussed. And now I am sure that the voice of the Czech Republic is in favor of Ukraine.
Belgium. I thanked Mr. Prime Minister De Croo for supporting our European perspective and invited him to visit Ukraine. I hope that Belgium will take a significant part in the post-war reconstruction of our country.
Austria. I am grateful to Chancellor Nehammer for the political and humanitarian support, for understanding the needs of Ukraine. We can do a lot to develop relations between our states.
Slovenia. We agreed with Mr. Prime Minister Golob that we can strengthen cooperation between our countries. I thanked him for the consistent support of the candidacy for Ukraine.
Moldova. I spoke with President Sandu. We supported each other on the eve of an important meeting of the European Council. And we will help each other to complete this path to the European Union faster.
Today I spoke again with President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda. I expressed full support to him over the situation around the Kaliningrad region of Russia.
Tomorrow I will continue this marathon – we must provide maximum support to our state. We expect a key European decision tomorrow night.
The occupiers struck at Mykolaiv, seven missiles. Fortunately, no one was killed. Five people were injured. There were strikes at the Kharkiv region as well. There are casualties. There were strikes at the borders of the Chernihiv and Sumy regions.
In Donbas there are massive air and artillery strikes. The goal of the occupiers in this direction remains the same – they want to destroy the whole Donbas step by step. Entire. Lysychansk, Slovyansk, Kramatorsk – they aim to turn any city into Mariupol. Completely ruined.
That is why we repeatedly emphasize the acceleration of weapons supplies to Ukraine. Parity is needed on the battlefield as soon as possible to stop this devilish armada and move it beyond the borders of Ukraine.
I am grateful to the United States for its assistance in investigating war crimes in Ukraine. I am grateful to Mr. Eli Rosenbaum for his willingness to join in the establishment of justice – he is one of those American investigators who managed to expose many Nazis. Our joint investigation team must be as strong as possible so that none of the Russian criminals avoid punishment. And this will be one of the largest contributions to the protection of international law and order of our time. Just as September 1, 1939 and June 22, 1941 ended in Nuremberg trials, February 24, 2022 must end in a fair tribunal. Russia must be held accountable for all the evil it has brought to Ukraine.
Today I signed a new decree on awarding our heroes. 195 combatants were awarded state awards, 17 of them posthumously.
Eternal memory to all whose lives were taken by the occupiers!
Eternal glory to everyone who fights for Ukraine!
We are preparing for the historic decision of the European Council, there are only a few hours left.
Glory to Ukraine!
The statement made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, on 21 June 2022.
Good health to you, fellow Ukrainians!
Today was a day of extremely active foreign policy activity – almost a marathon of phone conversations. We are increasing the number of those who stand for Ukraine’s candidacy and adding confidence that the decision on Friday will be positive.
Slovakia. In a conversation with Prime Minister Heger, we coordinated our positions on the eve of the session of the European Council.
Lithuania. I thanked President Nausėda for the decision of the Three Seas Initiative Summit to grant Ukraine the status of a partner-participant. We also coordinated our steps.
Hungary. There was a very fruitful conversation with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. I invited him to visit Ukraine and thanked him for the important support for our sovereignty and territorial integrity of our state. We agreed to develop cooperation in the energy sector.
Portugal. We agreed with Prime Minister António Costa to involve his country’s experience in our rapprochement with the European Union.
Next – Denmark. I expressed gratitude for supporting Ukraine, including with weapons. I also noted the speech of Mrs. Frederiksen in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, which took place today.
Spain. In a conversation with Prime Minister Sánchez I noted that our cooperation would strengthen both Ukraine and the entire European Union. The possible outcome of the NATO Summit in Madrid, which will take place in late June, was discussed.
Ireland. I noted Ireland’s active support for our European integration and invited Irish Prime Minister Martin to visit Ukraine.
Croatia. I am confident that we can expand our cooperation both bilaterally and at the level of European structures. I thanked Prime Minister Plenković for his support of Ukraine.
I was happy to see in Kyiv a great friend of our state – Prime Minister of Luxembourg Bettel. And I would like to draw your attention once again to the assistance from Luxembourg. 15% of the defense budget of this state – this was a contribution to the defense of Ukraine. Both the greatness and the nobility of the state are immediately felt.
Today, Mr. Bettel visited the cities of the Kyiv region that had been liberated from the occupiers. I am grateful to him for his sincere understanding of our people and for Luxembourg’s readiness to take part in the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine.
My schedule for tomorrow is as busy as today. I will do my best to ensure that the historic decision of the European Union is adopted. This is important for us.
By the way, today, without delay, I signed the law on ratification of the Istanbul Convention adopted yesterday. Protecting all people from violence and discrimination is our principle.
In all negotiations, I always emphasize that the seventh package of the European Union sanctions is needed as soon as possible. Russia must feel a constant increase in pressure for the war and for its aggressive anti-European policy. Another Russian threat to Lithuania, another wave of energy pressure, another batch of lies from Russian officials about the food crisis are all arguments to agree on the seventh package of sanctions.
The situation on the frontline is without significant changes. With the help of tactical moves, the Ukrainian army is strengthening its defense in the Luhansk region, which is really the toughest area right now. The occupiers are also putting serious pressure on the Donetsk direction. In the Kharkiv region there is brutal and cynical Russian artillery shelling. It will not give anything to the occupiers, but the Russian army is deaf to any rationality. It simply destroys, simply kills – in this way it shows its command that it is not standing still. In the south we defend our Mykolaiv region, our Zaporizhzhia, and gradually liberate the Kherson region.
And just as actively as we fight for a positive decision of the European Union on the candidacy for Ukraine, we fight every day for the supply of modern weapons for our country. We do not decrease our activity for a single day. The lives of thousands of people depend directly on the speed of our partners – on the speed of implementation of their decisions to help Ukraine.
Today I signed two major decrees on awarding our defenders. At the request of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 210 combatants were awarded, 3 of them posthumously. At the request of the Minister of Internal Affairs, 255 warriors of the National Guard of Ukraine were awarded, 41 of them posthumously, 41 border guards, 12 of them posthumously, and 45 policemen.
And I want you to realize that when I talk about signing such decrees, it’s not just a routine and not something mechanical. It is only thanks to the mass courage and wisdom of our people on the battlefield that Ukraine lives and can really count on victory.
Eternal glory to all who fight for our state!
Eternal memory to all who gave lives for Ukraine!
Glory to Ukraine!
The statement made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, on 20 June 2022.
Good health to you, fellow Ukrainians!
Step by step, we are going through a crucial week and we are doing everything every day so that no one has any doubts that Ukraine deserves the candidacy. We prove every day that we are already part of a united European, I would even say, value space.
Now the deputies of the Verkhovna Rada have already left, and I am here. And you know, I’d like to thank them today. We often criticize them, but today they did a very good job.
I am grateful to all our people’s deputies who supported our European integration. I would like to note the vote in favor of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. This Convention is often called the Istanbul Convention – according to the place of signature. It has been “undermined” in Ukraine for decades. But its main content is simple – it is the obligation to protect against violence and various forms of discrimination.
I would also like to thank the deputies who supported the Law on Waste Management. This is an important environmental document. We have been struggling for it for three years. The law has been rejected several times due to oligarchic influence, and now it has been passed. Finally. Thank you.
The Anticorruption strategy was approved today. This is also very important. I hope that the Rada will continue to work with the same significant results.
I delivered four addresses today. The first was to the participants of the Three Seas Initiative Summit. It is a powerful regional association in Europe. 12 states between the Baltic, the Adriatic and the Black Sea. Before addressing, I spoke with President Duda. We coordinated our positions with Andrzej.
And at the summit it was decided that Ukraine acquires a status that will allow it to become a full member of the Three Seas Initiative. For us, these are significant economic opportunities, modernization of transport, communications and networks. This is another line of close cooperation between Ukraine and the EU states.
By the way, we have good news from our border with Poland. In the framework of the Open Border project, the capacity of the Krakovets’-Korczowa checkpoint has been increased by 50 percent. This will significantly increase the export-import flow across the border. Modernization awaits other checkpoints on the borders with the European Union. And it is tangible, and not only for us. Allows doing global things. Fighting the food crisis provoked by Russia’s blockade of ports.
I spoke about it in an address to the leaders of the African Union. I stressed that this crisis is artificial – it would not exist if it was not for the Russian war against us. I also stressed that we can ensure the supply of agricultural products in the amount that will definitely guarantee the security of Africa, the security of Asia.
In general, we are expanding the capabilities of our state. Like all powerful European countries, we need our own policies towards Africa, Latin America, South-East Asia and other parts of the world that were previously left out of proper attention of Ukraine’s foreign policy. We are working on the agency of Ukraine.
I also addressed the participants of the Global Policy Forum in Italy. Very influential meeting. I talked about how to bring all Ukrainian migrants home.
Today I met with Ben Stiller, a well-known actor and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador who is engaged in providing assistance to displaced persons and refugees. I am grateful to Ben for his constant attention to the needs of Ukrainians.
I met with President of the General Confederation of Italian Industry Carlo Bonomi. We talked about the ties between Ukrainian and Italian business. I am grateful for the opening of the Confederation’s office in Kyiv.
And the shortest, but very important address was made to the participants of the International Festival of Creativity in Cannes – the largest such event in the world. The Cannes Lions is a special audience. These are people who know how to control attention and who are very much needed in Ukraine right now. The longer the war lasts, the harder it is to compete for the attention of hundreds of millions of people in different countries. But I will do everything possible so that attention to Ukraine does not fade. I called on the most creative people in the world to be our allies in this. And I know that the response in Cannes was very positive.
The next days of the week will also be busy. We are moving towards the main decision of the European Council, which will be adopted on Friday.
As I predicted, Russia is very nervous about our activity. Again shelling of Kharkiv, Odesa, again attempts of brutal offensive actions in Donbas. This is an evil that can only be appeased on the battlefield. We are defending Lysychansk and Severodonetsk. This whole region is the most difficult, there are the hardest battles. But our strong boys and girls are there. The occupiers receive responses to their actions against us. I am grateful to the army and intelligence that provide it.
In the evening I signed another decree on awarding our defenders. 220 combatants were awarded state awards. 27 of them posthumously.
Eternal memory to all who gave their lives for Ukraine!
Eternal glory to all who defend our state!
Glory to you!
Glory to Ukraine!
The statement made by Andrea Jenkyns, the Conservative MP for Morley and Outwood, on 9 July 2022.
On Thursday afternoon I went to Downing Street to watch the Prime Minister’s resignation speech. A baying mob outside the gates were insulting MPs on their way in as is sadly all too common.
After receiving huge amounts of abuse from some of the people who were there over the years, and I have also had seven death threats in the last 4 years. Two of which have been in recent weeks and are currently being investigated by the police, I had reached the end of my tether.
I responded and stood up for myself. Just why should anyone have to put up with this sort of treatment.
I should have shown more composure but am only human.
The speech made by Michael Ellis, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, in the House of Commons on 7 July 2022.
Mr Speaker, as the House will be aware, it is widely reported that the Prime Minister is about to make an important statement shortly. I can confirm that it is correct that the Prime Minister will speak shortly. I cannot pre-empt the Prime Minister’s statement, and the House and the nation will hear more imminently. In the meantime, the business of Government continues, supported in the usual way by our excellent civil service. There will continue to be Ministers of the Crown in place, including in all great offices of state. We must continue to serve our country, constituents and the general public first and foremost. It is our duty now to make sure the people of this country have a functioning Government. That is true now more than ever.
The civil service is the foundation on which all Governments function. The civil service continues to support across all Government Departments, and the country can be assured that that will always remain the case—I have spoken this morning to the Cabinet Secretary to that effect. Any transitional arrangements have always been made to allow for the business of Government to continue. There are constitutional mechanisms in place to make sure that that can happen. We await the Prime Minister’s statement, but the House should be reassured that the Government continue to function in the meantime. Any necessary ministerial vacancies can and will be filled; other Secretaries of State can make decisions if necessary. There is a rich reserve of people who are both dedicated and talented, and who remain dedicated to serving our country and their constituents. Calmness and professionalism are now required. Our focus now is fully on the stability and continuity of Government. Now is the time to serve in the interests of our country, as it always is, and of our constituents during the period ahead.
Angela Rayner
I hate to break it to the Minister, but we do not have a functioning Government. It would be good news for the country that the Prime Minister is to announce his resignation; he was always unfit for office. He has overseen scandal, fraud and waste on an industrial scale, but the chaos of the last three days is more than just petty Tory infighting. These actions have serious consequences for the running of our country. In the middle of the deepest cost of living crisis for a generation, with families unable to make ends meet, a dangerous war in Europe threatening our borders and a possible trade crisis in Northern Ireland, Britain has no functioning Government: no Ministers in place to pass legislation; and Bill Committees cancelled with no one to run them.
Can the Minister confirm whether the 11 Committees due to take place today will go ahead? Without Ministers, what are the arrangements to pass primary and secondary legislation, and who will answer oral questions? How will this Government continue to be democratically held to account? With the new Education Secretary resigning after 36 hours, which must be a record, there is not a single Member in the Department for Education. What does that mean for children taking their exams? What does that mean for the impending childcare cost crisis?
Our British national security is at risk, too, not least because the Prime Minister thinks that he can stay on. With the departure of the Northern Ireland Secretary, only two Ministers are left able to sign security warrants to approve secret service use of sensitive powers. What contingency plans are in place to deal with emergencies in the short term?
The Prime Minister has said that he will stay on as caretaker. How many more months of chaos does this country have to endure? With dozens of ministerial posts unfilled, who on earth will join the Prime Minister’s Government now and how will a half-empty Cabinet run the country until October? Mr Speaker, they will try desperately to change the person at the top, but it is the same old Tory party in government.
Michael Ellis
I cannot pre-empt the Prime Minister’s statement. The House and the nation will hear more very shortly, but Government and the civil service will continue to function in the meantime. The Business of the House statement will be made shortly, and Members can ask questions of the Leader of the House about the business of this place. The House will continue to function, and Government business will continue to function. Others Secretaries of State can deal with issues for other Departments, constitutionally and legally, in necessary circumstances.
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon) (Con)
Without wishing to pre-empt the Prime Minister’s statement, does my right hon. and learned Friend agree that he can be proud of a large number of achievements of his Government? May I invite my right hon. and learned Friend to pre-empt the Opposition by making it clear that Margaret Thatcher, David Cameron, Tony Blair and Theresa May all left office and were succeeded by new leaders and new Prime Ministers without a general election and that the ship of state sails on?
Michael Ellis
My right hon. Friend is, of course, completely correct.
Richard Thomson (Gordon) (SNP)
As I came into the Chamber, we were at 59 resignations and counting. A remarkable amount of leadership was shown by the junior ministerial ranks rather than by many of the Cabinet. I have been longing, since I was elected, for a Cabinet of remainers, but not necessarily of the kind that we have seen, clinging like limpets to a rock.
Today’s announcement from the Prime Minister of his intention to resign comes after two years and 348 days in office, which, by supreme irony, is the same number of days as Neville Chamberlain spent in office as Prime Minister. It is a Prime Minister who achieved Brexit under false pretences, purely as part of his game to achieve entry to Downing Street. In that two years and 348 days, he has left behind a trail of political chaos and economic destruction, leaving any reputation that the UK might have retained as a reliable international partner that stands up for the international rules-based order trampled into the dust. We regularly in Scotland have to put up with patronising lectures about how well our Government are performing, yet in Westminster we have a Department for Education with no Education Ministers, six police forces in England under special measures and a Government who seem utterly paralysed and unable to deal with the major issues of the day. The idea that the Prime Minister can stay on and preside over this until the autumn is utterly risible. How long can this farce be allowed to continue, and how is it right that 300 Tory MPs will get to choose the next Prime Minister over that time while denying the right of 5.5 million Scots to choose their own future?
Michael Ellis
The Government and the civil service will continue to function in the meantime, as they always have done and as they have done historically.
Sir Christopher Chope (Christchurch) (Con)
I thank the Prime Minister for his great service to our nation and to the people of Ukraine. I think people will rue the day he was forced to resign. Is there not a lot to be said for having a smaller Cabinet, fewer Ministers and hardly any parliamentary private secretaries? Can we have a pilot to show how successful that will be?
Michael Ellis
My hon. Friend makes a perfectly interesting point, but it is somewhat outside the range of my responsibilities.
Dame Angela Eagle (Wallasey) (Lab)
I have a list here of all the resignations from Government. I will not read them out, but there are plenty of tasty quotes in there that will be of use later on. The Minister cannot sensibly argue that we have a functioning Government when this number of people are missing. There are no Ministers to do statutory instrument Committees and legislation even as we speak. What is the way forward? He cannot just blather at the Dispatch Box when the Government are disintegrating around him.
Michael Ellis
The business of the House of Commons will continue. There are Ministers to continue in place. I cannot pre-empt the Prime Minister’s statement, but I have spoken to the Cabinet Secretary today and the Government and civil service will continue to function in their public duty.
Sir Robert Neill (Bromley and Chislehurst) (Con)
I am grateful to my right hon. and learned Friend and have great sympathy for the position he finds himself in. He and I have had to take some pretty rough cases in court in the past, and he has drawn a few short straws recently in that regard—and done so with dignity, if I may say so. May I ask him just to take this away? Whatever one’s views on the Prime Minister, and while I accept the importance of the continuity of the Government and the fact that there is no need for a general election at all—there is plenty of precedent for that—will my right hon. and learned Friend take away the serious question mark that many have about how long a caretaker Prime Minister can remain in place when there is real concern about whether the Government can be fully and effectively back? Might it not be in everybody’s interest to speed up the transition as much as possible?
Michael Ellis
I thank my hon. Friend for his kind remarks. He is right, of course, that a general election is not constitutionally necessary; the Prime Minister was before the Liaison Committee yesterday and said as much. We will await events, but I cannot pre-empt the Prime Minister’s statement.
Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland) (LD)
I am delighted to hear the Minister speaking positively about the role of the civil service. That contrasts rather well with the way the Government in recent years have done nothing but traduce and undermine its position. I must say that the Prime Minister cannot remain as a caretaker. That is just putting the bull in charge of the china shop. This is not all about Ministers and politicians; it is about our constituents and the public services on which they depend and which, for months now, this Government have been unable to deliver properly for them. That is why they all need to go.
Michael Ellis
The substantive matter that the right hon. Gentleman mentions is not a matter for me, but I will say that Ministers on this Bench and in this House will serve the Crown and this country, as they always have.
Aaron Bell (Newcastle-under-Lyme) (Con)
I thank my right hon. and learned Friend for his statement. Without wishing to pre-empt the Prime Minister, I am glad he has finally come to his senses and will be making his statement shortly. I am very sad that in the past 48 hours so many right hon. and hon. Friends have felt the need to resign from Government. If those people will not serve this Prime Minister, may I ask my right hon. and learned Friend to convey to the Prime Minister that it will not be tenable for him to continue as caretaker if he cannot fill the ministerial appointments he needs to?
Michael Ellis
I am sure that my hon. Friend’s comment has been noted.
Sir Stephen Timms (East Ham) (Lab)
It is a great relief that we will no longer have a Prime Minister who keeps on saying things that subsequently turn out to be untrue. Will the Minister reassure us that the change will take place in hours, not months, and does he recognise that effective democracy depends on Ministers telling the truth?
Michael Ellis
I can only say that the Prime Minister will make a statement shortly.
Dr Matthew Offord (Hendon) (Con)
The hollow resignations by those who enthusiastically supported decisions such as voting for Owen Paterson show how they were unfit to serve as Ministers in the beginning. But the governance of this country cannot be allowed to fail, so when are these vacancies going to be filled? They must be filled immediately and we cannot allow decisions to be made by other Secretaries of State from other Departments. The country deserves better than that.
Michael Ellis
The Government will continue to function, and I have spoken to the head of the civil service to that effect.
Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)
The Independent reports that the PM and Tory Ministers resigning are entitled to £420,000 of severance pay. At the same time we have a Government gripped by paralysis and we have a cost of living crisis. Can the Minister confirm that they will be forfeiting their right to this, because we do not reward failure?
Michael Ellis
The matter that the hon. Lady refers to is set in statute, so it is a matter for the law, and that law would have been passed by this House.
Rachel Maclean (Redditch) (Con)
It was an enormous honour to serve as a Minister in the Home Office until yesterday, tackling violence against women and girls. I know that is a cause that all Members of this House care deeply about. While we are discussing these matters, victims of rape, sexual assault, stalking and spiking continue to deserve justice and they will continue to be victims of crime. Will my right hon. Friend give his continued support to the vital work of Operation Soteria and the rape review. Will he join me in putting on record my thanks to Detective Chief Constable Maggie Blyth, Chief Constable Sarah Crew, Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe and many other serving senior police officers who I know will capably continue to drive forward this work? Will he also thank the civil servants in the Home Office who I know will continue to do this essential work?
Mr Speaker
I understand it is good to get that on the record but there are a lot of other people I have got to try and get in.
Michael Ellis
I will do as my hon. Friend says. I commend her for her championing of this very important area. The rape review and the work thereof should of course continue.
John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)
There have been times occasionally when Prime Ministers have been temporarily incapacitated. There has never been a period in British history where a Government have been incapacitated across every Department of State. We have just heard how the secret services are being undermined by the current situation, putting national security at risk. At what point are the Government going to actually start functioning again?
Michael Ellis
The Government are functioning. I have already mentioned to the House that the great offices of state are still in place. The hon. Gentleman refers to our security and intelligence services. The Home Secretary and the Foreign Secretary are in place.
Mike Wood (Dudley South) (Con)
What provisions are being put in place for the continuing operation of the EU-UK Partnership Council and the specialised committees over the coming months?
Michael Ellis
I think my hon. Friend knows that I attended a meeting of the EU-UK Partnership Council in Brussels recently. The functions of Government, including in the international sphere, will continue apace.
Tony Lloyd (Rochdale) (Lab)
Before the House—before both Houses—there are two major Bills affecting Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill is about the Prime Minister’s own decision, while the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill is very much the now-resigned Secretary of State’s province. Can we have absolute clarity, at this critical moment in the history of Northern Ireland and its relations with both the rest of the UK and Ireland, that we will get some sense from this Government about how we take these important matters forward?
Michael Ellis
I am particularly conscious of the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, to which I think the hon. Gentleman is referring. The Leader of the House will be doing the usual business questions session soon in this House.
Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)
This latest Conservative party psychodrama only emphasises what many of us already know: the UK is a failed state. This Government have shown contempt for devolution. The Prime Minister’s successor will treat the electorate of Wales with the same disdain, and in this Palace the circus will roll on. Does the Paymaster General not recognise that surely now is the time for a new constitutional settlement for these islands?
Michael Ellis
The right hon. Lady frequently traduces this country. I disagree with her—I could not disagree with her more strongly. She has a separatist agenda, of course, and she wishes for the country to split, but in my view this country is the greatest country on earth.
Dame Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)
On the anniversary of 7/7, security is of paramount importance to all in this House. With no Security Minister, a depleted Cabinet and a Home Office that was struggling prior to this chaos, what assurances can the Paymaster General give us that the intelligence agencies are receiving all the full ministerial and legal engagement and sign-off in a timely way to keep us all safe?
Michael Ellis
I cannot discuss the security arrangements of this country from the Dispatch Box, but the Secretary of State for the Home Department is in place and is responsible for the arrangements appertaining to the security services of this country.
Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)
I suggest that the Paymaster General look up the meaning of “functioning”, because his Government are not it. Will the Paymaster General confirm whether the now former Secretary of State for Education, the right hon. Member for Chippenham (Michelle Donelan) will be getting the standard severance package for Secretaries of State of three months’ salary for a job that she did for just 36 hours?
Michael Ellis
Matters such as pay and remuneration are set in statute and are not a matter for me.
Kim Johnson (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab)
The Members of Parliament who have eventually forced out the Prime Minister and who blindly stood by him during the no confidence vote have not miraculously found their principles or their voices, but are doing so out of their own naked self-interest. Does the Paymaster General agree that a damaged and failing Prime Minister should go immediately and not hang around like a bad smell until the Tory conference in the autumn?
Michael Ellis
I cannot pre-empt the Prime Minister’s statement, but the business of Government will continue functioning as normal.
Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) (SNP)
It is good to see the Paymaster General here—one of the last remaining living crew on the ghost ship HMG. In an effort to assist the burden of the skeleton crew who remain, we would like to arrange for the signing of a section 30 order to begin the process of moving some of the functions of government to a fully functioning set of Ministers in Holyrood.
Michael Ellis
No matter who forms the Government of this country, the Union of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is of paramount importance, as the people of Scotland themselves decided in the referendum in 2014.
Matt Rodda (Reading East) (Lab)
The current situation is clearly unsustainable. As we heard earlier from my right hon. Friend the Member for Ashton-under-Lyne (Angela Rayner), it is damaging crucial decision making and harming our reputation abroad. Could the Paymaster General please take this back to the Prime Minister, urge an urgent resolution and inform the House as soon as possible?
Michael Ellis
The Prime Minister will be speaking shortly.
Olivia Blake (Sheffield, Hallam) (Lab)
Clearly the idea of the Prime Minister continuing as a caretaker will be worrying many people, but it is interesting to hear from the BBC that MPs are privately briefing that they are worried, perhaps half-jokingly, that the PM might take us to war to avoid leaving office. What will be done to ensure that the Opposition can hold to account a caretaker Prime Minister who has lost the faith of the country and his Government?
Michael Ellis
I recommend to the hon. Lady that she does not listen to gossip and rumour. The fact of the matter is that responsible government in this country will continue.
Ian Mearns (Gateshead) (Lab)
With the resignation this morning of the Secretary of State for Education, following that of her entire Commons ministerial team, the Education Committee did not even have the chance to ask about her plans. It has become abundantly clear to almost the entire population that for months, if not a few years, the only functioning cabinet in No. 10 Downing Street has been the drinks cabinet. When will the remnants of the Government Front Bench team accept that they have been in collective denial for far too long?
Michael Ellis
I think the hon. Gentleman asked a rhetorical question, but I will say that the Government will continue to function as the country would expect.
Naz Shah (Bradford West) (Lab)
I am looking at many Tory MPs in the Lobby and everywhere using the word “sadness”, but each and every one of them upheld the Prime Minister and let him carry on. He should have resigned when partygate happened, when Durhamgate happened, when his ethics adviser resigned—he should have resigned a long time ago. Each and every one of them kept him here and now they are trying to take the moral high ground when he is finally on his way out. I will not feel sorry for them. Mr Speaker, how can the Opposition hold Ministers to account when there is not a governing Government?
Mr Speaker
It is not for me to answer.
Michael Ellis
The people who put the Prime Minister in place are the 14 million people who voted for the Conservative party at the general election.
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
This is one of the greatest crises that any of us can remember. In the national interest, surely we should work across the Benches to sort it out, even for the short period until recess. I do not want any laughter, but I have a great deal of experience in education. There is no Education Minister, so on a short-term basis, I would be happy to help. [Laughter.] Unpaid! Our constituents would want us to work together across the Benches, to forget these petty politics and to get the Government working again.
Michael Ellis
I thank the hon. Gentleman, but his services are not required, because there are a plethora of talented and dedicated individuals on the Government Benches who will serve in the Government.
Steven Bonnar (Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill) (SNP)
For many people in Scotland, the outgoing Prime Minister is Westminster personified: backward, unfit for purpose, delusional and in disgrace. Just like the Union that he is the Minister for, the Prime Minister is isolated, broken and bereft of ideas. His time is up. The party is over. Can the Minister tell me whether there will be a leaving do in No. 10 tonight? We will be raising a glass in Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill.
Michael Ellis
I do not think a serious answer is expected to that frivolous question.
Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith) (Lab)
Given that a majority of Government MPs now say that the Prime Minister lacks the integrity and honesty required for that post, can the Minister explain what the basis is for the Prime Minister to stay in post for a further three months?
Michael Ellis
I recommend that the hon. Gentleman awaits the statement that is due from the Prime Minister shortly.
Margaret Greenwood (Wirral West) (Lab)
The Minister will be aware that our constituents contact us about extremely important matters when they have explored every other avenue to get a resolution to their problems, and we then write to Ministers on their behalf. I am concerned on their behalf about what this situation means, not only for the casework that we have already sent to Ministers, some of which is of extreme importance for people’s health and survival, but for future casework. It is untenable that the Prime Minister should stay on until the autumn, so will the Minister please explain how we can have a situation where there is no functioning Government but the Prime Minister thinks that he can stay on?
Michael Ellis
There is a functioning Government and a functioning civil service, which will continue to do its duty in supporting the operation and functionality of the state as it always has.
Ms Karen Buck (Westminster North) (Lab)
The Government are telling us not to worry about whether a Government elected with a majority of 80 two years ago can carry on functioning because we have the civil service, but levelling up is a Government priority. The Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill is before the House of Commons at the moment. If the Government are functioning, can the Minister tell us whether the Committee is going ahead in 26 minutes’ time?
Michael Ellis
There is a business of the House statement in the usual way, and the hon. Member will be able to ask that question of the Leader of the House of Commons.
Sam Tarry (Ilford South) (Lab)
The Minister speaks about responsible government, yet we have had nearly three years of totally irresponsible government. My constituents are suffering massively. Surely the moral thing to do is not to look to the constitution, but to go to the country, call a general election and let the people of this country decide—not just on the Prime Minister, but on the rotten lot of bankrupt Government we have had for the past two and a half years since the last election. This is not about the constitution; it is about what the people of this country need. That is responsible government, and they are not going to get it from his side, even with a change of Prime Minister.
Michael Ellis
The business of government will continue functioning as the public would expect it to do. I reject the characterisation that the hon. Member makes, and I suspect that the vast majority of the general public in this country would also reject that characterisation.
Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab)
The Prime Minister should be making the statement in this House, frankly, not anywhere else, so that we could question him about the functioning of government. I think, Mr Speaker, that you would prefer that as well. Let me just ask the Minister this. There are two major crises at the moment: one is the cost of living crisis, which is facing many millions of families; and the other is the situation in Ukraine and across NATO. There is a real possibility that a Government might have to deploy further troops in the next few months, for proper reasons. A caretaker Government cannot do that—it simply cannot: the rules forbid them from doing that. Yet I fear that this Prime Minister—the disgraced, deselected Prime Minister—will be more dangerous in these next three months, if he is allowed to have another three months, than he has been in the last three years. Can the Minister please make sure that we have a proper Government soon—in other words, before the summer recess?
Michael Ellis
We have a proper Government, and proper government continues. I have to say to the hon. Gentleman that he talks about the cost of living and Ukraine, but I have hardly heard him or his hon. Friends speak of those subjects over the past six months. They have mostly been talking about personalities. It is this Government who have been getting on with the business of representing the United Kingdom in international fora and have led the way on Ukraine and, when it comes to dealing with the global cost of living crisis, having been doing that too.
Christian Wakeford (Bury South) (Lab)
Wow! What was that response to this urgent question? Is the Minister tired of propping up this Prime Minister and defending the indefensible? Minister, where was your letter? Did it get lost with your backbone?
Michael Ellis
I am not answering any questions along those lines.
Barbara Keeley (Worsley and Eccles South) (Lab)
Today, it appears that a number of Bill Committees on issues of the utmost importance will be cancelled—from national security to levelling up, as my hon. Friend the Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant) has raised, and tackling fraud—because there are no Ministers to attend them. The Minister says that the business of the House will continue, but it will not. It obviously is not doing so if Committees are being cancelled. In no other workplace would such crucial work go undone. Can the Minister explain why his Prime Minister and why his party think this is acceptable?
Michael Ellis
I say to the hon. Lady, as I have said before, that the legislative business of this House is a matter for the Leader of the House of Commons, who holds a Cabinet position and is in place. He is shortly to have his weekly question-and-answer session in this House, and she will be able to take advantage of that.
Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)
The Prime Minister has brought his office into disrepute. Our country should not have to put up with it any longer. Will the Prime Minister be leaving No. 10 this weekend?
Michael Ellis
The hon. Member will need to wait for the Prime Minister’s statement later today.
Janet Daby (Lewisham East) (Lab)
The Times reports this morning of Downing Street being like a bunker with gallows humour. This is no surprise really, given the Prime Minister’s track record. The Prime Minister is now set on staying in post until after the summer. If this happens, is the Minister concerned about what further damage the Prime Minister will do?
Michael Ellis
The hon. Member will need to wait for the Prime Minister’s statement later today; I cannot pre-empt what that statement will be.
Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck (South Shields) (Lab)
Away from this place, our constituents are waiting for answers from this Government. My constituents Lisa and Mark Rutherford and Caroline Curry had their precious children taken from them in the Manchester Arena terror attack. Due to archaic legislation, they cannot register their deaths. The Ministry of Justice advised that an answer on a possible change to that legislation was imminent. Given that the Government have collapsed, who will give them an answer and when?
Michael Ellis
I am very sorry to hear of the appalling bereavement suffered by the hon. Lady’s constituents; it is an unimaginable loss. I would like her to convey my sympathies, and the sympathies of the entire Government, for that. In answer to her question, the functioning of government continues: the civil service supports Ministers in place, Ministers are in place to support the functioning of necessary government, and that will continue.
Dave Doogan (Angus) (SNP)
May I point out to the Minister that we do in fact have functioning government within the United Kingdom: we have a functioning Government in Edinburgh and we have a functioning Government in the Senedd in Cardiff? Where Government does not function across these islands, in Westminster and in Northern Ireland, they have one thing in common: the dead, malign hand of this Tory Government. What possible confidence can the people of these islands—the people who want to stay in this broken Union and the millions of us who do not—have in who is coming next, because they all stood by and watched what this Prime Minister did for six months or more?
Michael Ellis
It is the Westminster Government who represent this country, and the Union of the United Kingdom will continue apace despite the hon. Gentleman’s opposition to it.
Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab)
The Minister praises the civil service while planning to cut 91,000 of them. I echo his praise, but they cannot be expected to cover for the lack of Ministers or, for that matter, for the British people’s lack of confidence in this dysfunctional Government. So will he say whether the missing Ministers will be replaced, and does he accept that they are all tainted by the prime Minister’s disgrace and that what is needed is a fresh start?
Michael Ellis
Ministerial appointments are not a matter for me, but the functioning of government will continue apace.
Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)
In 18 minutes I am due to sit on the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill Committee, as set out on the Order Paper. The Leader of the House will not have been before the House at that point, there are no Ministers, there is no Secretary of State, and there is a Prime Minister in office but not in government, so can the Paymaster General let me know whether that Committee is going ahead—now in 17 minutes—and when it is due to recommence if it is not going ahead then?
Michael Ellis
I am unable to answer the hon. Member’s question. The Committees of this House will continue in the normal way of business.
Jeff Smith (Manchester, Withington) (Lab)
The majority of those who left the Government have referred to the Prime Minister’s lack of integrity, honour, honesty and competence. They surely cannot return to work for such a man, even on a temporary basis. To get a functioning Government, we need a full set of Ministers and we need a swift transition. Will the Paymaster General at least convey that message to No. 10 and to his Cabinet colleagues?
Michael Ellis
It is up to each individual to decide how best to serve in Government or not, and the functioning of Government can and will continue. Having spoken this morning to the Cabinet Secretary, I can say that there are a multitude of Ministers and a plethora of items on agendas that will continue to be dealt with, with the support of the civil service, as I have said.
The comments made by the former Conservative MP Matthew Parris in an article in the Times on 8 July 2022.
We are heading into very rough water — government will not be liked but must try to be respected. Brains, experience, honesty, decisiveness, hard work, personal decency and the ability to reassure: these are what we need to see. Huge challenges need huge ability. Complex policymaking needs a superb presiding mind. Serious times need leadership that is utterly serious about itself and its duty. And a nation that has surfeited on froth, nonsense and deceit — what Sunak in his campaign video yesterday called “fairytales” — is hungry for honesty, ready to hear the truth. I see two figures who could take this upon their shoulders, but Michael Gove isn’t standing. I know Rishi Sunak and his family only slightly, but my impression is clear and strong. He’s a good man, and he could do the job.
The comments made by Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Transport, on 9 July 2022.
I have not spent the last few turbulent years plotting or briefing against the prime minister. I have not been mobilising a leadership campaign behind his back. I tell you this: for all his flaws – and who is not flawed? – I like Boris Johnson. I have never, for a moment, doubted his love of this country.