Tag: Speeches

Lisa Nandy – 2023 Speech on Spending Decisions and Capital Projects

The speech made by Lisa Nandy, the Labour MP for Wigan, in the House of Commons on 9 February 2023.

It appears that nothing is going right in this place today. I have lost count of the number of times I have had to drag Ministers from this shambolic, failing Department to the House to account for their failures—failures to deliver and failures to understand the impact of our money that is being spent. An extraordinary report in the Financial Times today suggests that the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has been banned from spending any new money on capital projects without approval from the Treasury. It follows a damning National Audit Office report, which provided evidence that the Department had no idea about the impact of the money that it was spending, and the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee made an assessment that billions of pounds of our money were being wasted, because the Government had engaged in a programme without any understanding of the impact of that programme.

If this report is true, we are in the absurd situation of having a Secretary of State who does not even have the authority to sign off on a park bench. Is this true? If so, what is the Government’s assessment of what that means for the levelling-up agenda, of which a third round of spending has just been announced, and for tackling the housing crisis? Is it true that this decision by the Treasury was prompted by unauthorised spending commitments made by the Secretary of State at the convention of the north to spend money on improving appalling housing standards, after the desperate death of a two-year-old boy in Rochdale? I understand that the Secretary of State is in Rochdale today. How can he possibly tell housing associations to sort themselves out if he cannot sort out his own Department? We deserve to know whether the Chancellor of the Exchequer believes that a Secretary of State who is finally—belatedly—spending money on improving housing standards is a Secretary of State who has gone rogue, because that would be very serious.

The rumours are swirling that there is huge underspend in the Department. We are in the midst of a housing crisis, yet I understand that the affordable housing budget has not been spent and that there are levelling-up funds that have not been spent either, which will now be clawed back by the Treasury. Is that true? Will the Government publish the correspondence between the Departments about this matter? It is our money, and we deserve to know.

Lee Rowley

I thank the shadow Secretary of State for her questions. There was a significant amount of hyperbole in there and a significant amount of suggestion and inference, but the reality remains, as I confirmed in my initial response to her question, that there has been no change to budgets, capital or revenue. There has been no change to our policy objectives, no dilution of our ambition to level up, and no implications for the Government’s policy agenda. [Interruption.] The shadow Secretary of State does what she does best, which is to heckle from a sedentary position, but I will try to answer her questions. She suggests that there has been a failure to deliver. I would talk to the communities up and down the land that have been given these funds, opportunities and possibilities. We see delivery daily. I see it in my constituency; towns are being transformed through the towns fund, which has been providing funding since 2019.

The shadow Secretary of State asked a question about capital spending; I answered it in my last response. She also asked about the implications for the levelling-up agenda. There are no implications for the levelling-up agenda.

February 10, 2023
Lee Rowley – 2023 Statement on Spending Decisions and Capital Projects

The statement made by Lee Rowley, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, in the House of Commons on 9 February 2023.

Thank you, Mr Speaker, I am glad we know what question we are being asked. Levelling up is one of the defining missions of this Government. Whether it is moving 22,000 civil servants outside of London by 2030 and backing overlooked town centres and high streets, or devolving power and money away from Whitehall and Westminster, this Government are delivering for the people of this country. There has been significant focus on the mechanics of government in recent days. Even if the question asked today was not that clear at the outset, it is absolutely the case that processes change and may apply at times in different ways.

We are working within a new delegation approach with the Treasury, which involves Treasury sign-off on capital spend. We will always work closely with the Treasury. We value its focus on value for money; it values and shares our mission to level up the country as a whole, and we will continue to do that. We are making good on our promise to spread opportunity across the country, with £9.6 billion of levelling-up funds announced since 2019, on top of the £7.5 billion commitment to the nine city-based mayoral combined authorities in England. That includes £3.2 billion of funding via the towns and high street funds, £3.8 billion from the levelling-up fund, £2.6 billion from the UK shared prosperity fund and £16.7 million from the community ownership fund.

There has been no change to the budgets of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether capital or revenue; no change to our policy objectives; no dilution of our ambition; and there are no implications for the Government’s policy agenda. Four years ago, this Government promised the British people a stronger, fairer and more united country. It was a promise embodied in levelling up, and it is a promise we are going to keep.

February 10, 2023
Brendan O’Hara – 2023 Speech on the UK Visit of Governor of Xinjiang

The speech made by Brendan O’Hara, the SNP MP for Argyll and Bute, in the House of Commons on 9 February 2023.

The right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) is absolutely right that the Government have handed a propaganda gift to Beijing.

In 2020, the Uyghur tribunal found that, beyond any reasonable doubt, China is responsible for crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide, yet today we find that someone at the heart of those crimes is coming to the UK next week—a man accused by the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China of playing a central role in the persecution of the Uyghurs.

As we have heard, the Government’s position on China has been appallingly weak and goes no further than to urge the Chinese authorities to change their approach. Given that, hitherto, they have failed to move Beijing one iota in its treatment of the Uyghur people, why does the Minister believe that allowing this man to come to the United Kingdom and to meet FCDO officials will suddenly change things? Will it not be exactly the same message that they have given before, and will the Chinese not treat it with exactly the same contempt? Given that that is what will happen, why does the Minister honestly believe that meeting this man will make the slightest difference to Beijing’s approach?

Leo Docherty

The hon. Gentleman is questioning the utility of this kind of diplomacy, and it is a reasonable question, but our judgment, institutionally, is that opportunities to send strong messages to these sorts of individuals are useful and will be taken heed of by the state apparatus. I think the expectation of officials was that an invitation should be extended to Uyghur human rights groups in the UK to enable them to engage with this individual directly and send that strong message. I think that was at the core of the judgment that was made.

Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for making it absolutely clear that this man is not getting in here, even if the Minister is going to give him space in the office. But I ask you this, Sir: is not the very fact that an announcement of his intention to travel has been made—in the language habitual to the Government of China—“a provocation”?

Mr Speaker

That is more for the Minister to answer, even though I am tempted.

Leo Docherty

I think this is an opportunity to send a robust message from our side about everything we judge completely outrageous and unacceptable in Xinjiang. We therefore judge that there is utility in the prospect of officials meeting this individual.

John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)

Is this the best we can do? This country used to have a tradition—on both sides of the House, in both major parties—of standing up to tyrants, butchers, fascists and great persecutors. That seems to have been abandoned. Is not the only conclusion to be drawn in Beijing from the actions of this Government that we will do nothing to stand up to them?

Leo Docherty

We have stood up to China when it comes to Xinjiang. We have sanctioned individuals, and we continue to make the strongest possible representations. That is in line with our policy of robust pragmatism. We will be robust, but we will also engage and send a strong message when opportunities arise.

February 10, 2023
Alicia Kearns – 2023 Speech on the UK Visit of Governor of Xinjiang

The speech made by Alicia Kearns, the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, in the House of Commons on 9 February 2023.

I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) on securing this urgent question but, Minister, I am afraid this is simply not good enough.

In Xinjiang, women are being forcibly sterilised and children are in concentration camps. There are forced labour camps and systematic rape, yet the Minister has just confirmed from the Dispatch Box that Ministers approved of this visit by one of the masterminds of this genocide. Worse, a Cabinet Office Minister claimed this week that the complicity of Chinese state-run companies, such as Hikvision, in Xinjiang is “contested.” Exactly what position are this Government taking? There is no legitimate reason to allow this man, Erkin Tuniyaz, into our country. The only meetings with him should be in a courtroom.

Will the Government now sanction Erkin Tuniyaz, as well as Chen Quanguo, the butcher of Xinjiang? We have to refuse to meet them. Like-minded EU countries have already announced that they will not meet this man when he comes to Brussels. We should not only refuse to meet him, as our like-minded friends have, but we should deny him a visa.

Will we now introduce a sanctions regime specifically for Tibet, where we are seeing the exact same thing? Millions of children have been kidnapped from their parents and put into concentration camps so that they can be assimilated and so that genocide can be committed against their culture. This is wrong. I am sorry, but the Government have to get a grip on China issues. We let Chinese officials flee this country, having given them a week’s notice, and now we are inviting them into the halls of Westminster. It is not good enough. We have to get a grip.

Mr Speaker

I do not think they will be coming to Westminster, as we would have to give permission. Let us not open that debate.

Leo Docherty

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Alicia Kearns) for her long-standing interest. She rightly mentions the suffering of women and children, specifically in Xinjiang, which has moved us all. Our judgment is that Erkin Tuniyaz is not travelling because of an invitation from the Foreign Office. Given that our expectation is that he is travelling on a diplomatic passport and will be here, because he is not sanctioned—

Sir Iain Duncan Smith

Yes—he is not sanctioned. Why is he not sanctioned?

Leo Docherty

Because he is not sanctioned, we therefore judge that this is a useful opportunity to deliver an extremely strong message to this individual. Of course, colleagues will note that there is a differential approach with regard to the US sanctions regime.

Mr Speaker

Order. I am in the Chair. Members are meant to speak through the Chair, not face towards the back of the Chamber.

Leo Docherty

The judgment of Ministers is that such opportunities are useful in offering a chance to express a very forthright condemnation of the outrages in Xinjiang. I think this reflects the Government’s policy of robust pragmatism when it comes to China, which is at the heart of our wanting to continue such dialogue.

February 10, 2023
Catherine West – 2023 Speech on the UK Visit of Governor of Xinjiang

The speech made by Catherine West, the Labour MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, in the House of Commons on 9 February 2023.

I thank the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) for bringing this urgent question to the House. The issue of Xinjiang has been debated in both Chambers of this Parliament, and following a Back-Bench motion, Members of this House voted that genocide had occurred in this area of China.

In September last year, the UN high commissioner for human rights said that the treatment of the Uyghurs may constitute crimes against humanity, and this House has made clear its view that the treatment of the Uyghurs amounts to genocide. It is therefore deeply worrying to learn of the planned visit to the UK of the governor of the very province in which these outrageous and systemic acts have taken place. Has the Minister made an assessment of the relationship between Chen Quanguo, who is an international pariah, and this particular individual?

I am acutely aware of, and in principle agree with, the general points that the Minister has made about engagement. However, we have to be very robust with regard to human rights. Is the meeting essential to UK-China relations? I do not think it is. I fear that this planned visit to the UK highlights the serious lack of political leadership at the Foreign Office. The Minister knows the views of this House and should have made it clear that this meeting was ill-judged and inappropriate.

When were Ministers first made aware of the planned visit, and did it receive personal approval from the Foreign Secretary? What assessment has been made of the moral injury that this would cause to the Uyghur minority in this country, who have come to the Houses of Parliament to tell us of their suffering? Has this decision been informed by the moral injury that it will cause? Finally, will the invitation to visit the UK now be rescinded? What action will the Foreign Office take as a result of this urgent question?

Leo Docherty

I am grateful for the constructive tone and characteristic interest that the hon. Lady shows. Is this meeting essential? We judge that this might be an opportunity to send a very strong message to someone who is involved in the governance of Xinjiang. That is at the heart of the judgment that was made about this opportunity.

The hon. Lady asked when Ministers were aware. I know that Ministers were aware in the usual, routine way and made a judgment that, on balance, it was useful to endorse the prospect of officials engaging with this individual.

The hon. Lady makes a good point about the risk of moral injury. It is important to say that, with regard to this specific proposition, FCDO officials were keen to invite Uyghur human rights groups in the UK so that they have an opportunity to express their views to this individual as a means of delivering a very strong message of condemnation. That judgment was at the heart of the decision, but she makes a good point about moral injury.

The hon. Lady asked whether the invitation will be rescinded and, of course, it is not an invitation. The FCDO did not invite this individual. Our expectation is that he is travelling on a diplomatic passport. I am grateful to have been able to answer these questions, and I am grateful for her constructive spirit.

February 10, 2023
Iain Duncan Smith – 2023 Speech on the UK Visit of Governor of Xinjiang

The speech made by Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the Conservative MP for Chingford and Woodford Green, in the House of Commons on 9 February 2023.

I find that response from my hon. Friend, for whom I have the highest respect, to be a very weak turn from the Foreign Office. The Uyghur region in north-west China has been the site of severe human rights violations, crimes against humanity and genocide for more than six years. In 2017, satellite imagery confirmed that a network of internment camps had been set up throughout the region. Throughout this time, Erkin Tuniyaz has been responsible for the murderous and repressive policy, alongside its architect, Chen Quango.

Testimony from camp survivors—who are absolutely appalled to hear that a Foreign Office official will meet this individual—and leaked official Chinese Government documents, satellite images and drone footage indicate that the camps are sites of severe mass arbitrary detention and severe human rights abuses, including systematic sexual violence against women, torture and the forced sterilisation of many women. Reports of cultural and religious oppression, mass digital in-person surveillance, forced labour, mass sterilisations and abortions and a system of mass criminalisation and arbitrary detention are also completely documented.

The weak response from the Foreign Office hides something. It is not that it has invited him here, but it has made it clear that when he comes, he will be welcome to see officials. Whether or not the Foreign Office is tough, this is a propaganda coup for the Chinese Government. Governor Tuniyaz has defended the use of mass detention centres and doubled down and expanded their use. During his tenure, more than 1 million Uyghurs and other people from predominantly Muslim minorities have been detained in Xinjiang. A man who declares that nothing is going on is hardly likely to be bothered by a Foreign Office official telling him, “Now, now, you’ve got to stop this.”

I remind my hon. Friend the Minister that in 2021, the House of Commons in this United Kingdom declared for the first time that genocide is taking place against the Uyghurs and other minorities in the Xinjiang region of China. Let us compare our response with that of the United States. The UK has sanctioned only three rather junior people. The US has introduced 107 punitive sanctions, five new laws, 11 specific investment bans and 10 sanctions on individuals, including Chen Quanguo and Erkin Tuniyaz. I call on the UK Government to rescind this invitation and sanction Erkin Tuniyaz and Chen Quanguo for their role in this crime against humanity and genocide. The place to deal with these individuals is in a tribunal or court of law, not in the quiet office of a Foreign Office official.

Leo Docherty

I appreciate sincerely the long-standing interest of my right hon. Friend in this issue, and he speaks with great sincerity and power. He draws a comparison with the sanctions regime in the US. The numbers might be different, but that reflects our desire and approach to use these opportunities to deliver a very strong and robust message. It is institutionally the judgment of the FCDO that we are better off not denying ourselves the opportunity to send extremely robust and strong messages of condemnation of the brutality that has been carried out by the Chinese state in Xinjiang. He alluded to that difference of approach, but we are confident in its utility.

My understanding is that, in advance of the suggestion of this meeting, the invitation was extended to human rights groups in the UK to afford them the opportunity to send a very strong message to this individual about their view of repression in Xinjiang. That was at the heart of what was judged to be useful about the prospect of such a meeting.

February 10, 2023
Leo Docherty – 2023 Statement on the UK Visit of Governor of Xinjiang

The statement made by Leo Docherty, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, in the House of Commons on 9 February 2023.

We understand from the Chinese embassy that the governor of Xinjiang may visit the UK next week. To be very clear, he has not been invited by the UK Government or the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and we have no confirmation that he will, in fact, travel. Our expectation is that he will travel on a diplomatic passport, and therefore he has not yet been granted a visa. If he does visit, I assure this House that under no circumstances will he be dignified with a ministerial meeting.

China’s actions in Xinjiang are abhorrent and we will not legitimise them in any way. However, robust engagement to challenge human rights violations and to stand up for the rights of the oppressed is at the core of the UK’s diplomatic work around the world. We must be prepared to use diplomatic channels to achieve that end, hence officials would be prepared to offer him a meeting. In line with that principle, there is only one reason why such a meeting would take place—to make absolutely clear the UK’s abhorrence of the treatment of the Uyghur people and to say that we will not relent from exposing the horrors to which they are subject. That point needs to be set out clearly to China. It is only right that people responsible for human rights violations are confronted on these issues.

The UK has played a leading role in international efforts to hold China to account on Xinjiang. In 2019, we became the first country to step up to lead a joint statement on China’s actions in Xinjiang at the UN. Since that first statement, which was supported by 23 countries, we have worked tirelessly through our global diplomatic network to broaden the caucus of countries speaking out. Our leadership has sustained pressure on China to change its behaviour and consistently increase the number of countries speaking out. Most recently, our diplomatic effort helped to secure the support of a record 50 countries for a statement on Xinjiang at the UN third committee in October.

We have imposed sanctions on four individuals and one entity in Xinjiang, and have introduced robust measures to tackle forced labour in supply chains. We have consistently raised our concerns at the highest level in Beijing. Let me be absolutely clear that we will continue to emphasise at all levels that the world is watching what China’s authorities say and do in Xinjiang. They cannot hide their abuses. The UK and our allies will not turn away.

February 10, 2023
Zac Goldsmith – 2023 Speech on the Arctic Policy Framework (Lord Goldsmith)

The speech made by Zac Goldsmith, Lord Goldsmith, on 9 February 2023.

Good morning and thank for joining us for the launch of ‘Looking North’ – the UK Government’s new Arctic Policy Framework.

We have drafted it through engagement with our Arctic partners, for which I offer our sincere thanks.

Thanks also to colleagues across Government from other Departments for their valued contributions.

Throughout this document we reaffirm our commitment to the Arctic region.

Of course, the UK is not an Arctic state, but the Arctic is absolutely critical to our interests, because our climate, weather and biodiversity are all inextricably linked.

The UK Government produced its first Arctic Policy Framework in 2013. And in that, we affirmed ‘Respect, Cooperation and Appropriate Leadership’ as the guiding principles of the approach that the UK takes in the region. And those principles absolutely remain true today.

In ‘Looking North’, we have adapted our approach in response to the evolving influences on the Arctic.

The region is at the mercy of ever shifting forces, increasingly buffeted by climate, environmental and also geopolitical headwinds.

So I am going to briefly talk you through some of the key security, environmental and economic challenges, and how the UK is addressing them through our expertise and partnerships.

Security

First of all, security. While it remains our strategic aspiration for the Arctic to be an area of high cooperation and low tension, clearly that vision is at risk.

Melting sea ice has provided greater accessibility to a wider range of players. And Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has undermined the stability of its entire neighbourhood.

The UK Government is committed to working to ensure that the Arctic remains secure and peaceful.

We have strong relationships with almost every one of the Arctic states.

And through NATO, the Joint Expeditionary Force, the Northern Group, and through the Arctic Security Forces Roundtable, we have intensified work with our partners to preserve stability and security across the region.

Last year we publicly set out the UK’s Defence Contribution in the High North, in a paper of the same name.

And we set out our readiness to protect, and where appropriate, assert our rights, against those who wish to challenge the international order, threaten the stability of the region, or restrict freedom of navigation.

We are the nearest neighbour to the Arctic, and so regional security is central to our own security as well.

Climate Change and the Environment

Secondly, climate change.

Without doubt, climate change poses the clearest and most significant existential threat to the Arctic as we currently know it.

In 2021, the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme reported that Arctic temperatures are increasing three times faster than the global average.

A new study last year raised this to four times faster than the global average.

And we know that warming temperatures have profound implications for the people who live in the Arctic, for biodiversity, and for the whole world.

Climate change is devastating Arctic ecosystems and communities. Sea ice and the Greenland ice sheet are rapidly melting. Permafrost is thawing.

And nature is already showing signs of struggling to adapt. Migratory patterns are already shifting.

And changes to the Arctic will have profound consequences for the UK, for example increasing the frequency of extreme weather, flooding and denigration of our shared and valued biodiversity.

The UK government has made tackling climate change a key priority. That was reflected in the Integrated Review; it will be reflected in the shake-up of the Integrated Review; it’s been reflected in the International Development Strategy.

And in Glasgow the year before last, COP26 was a collective acknowledgement of the work required globally to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.

We are delivering our pledge to provide up to £11.6bn of International Climate Finance over 5 years, and we are working with partner countries to help them reduce emissions, protect their nature without which we don’t have any prospect of tackling climate change, and helping them to adapt to the unfortunate, inevitable changes associated with climate change.

So addressing the biodiversity crisis remains a priority issue for me, but also for the wider UK Government.

The UK played a leading role shaping the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in December. We wanted a ‘Paris moment’ for nature, and it is.

The agreement contains an ambitious package of global goals and targets, and a central mission to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, to put the natural world on a path to recovery by the end of this decade.

We have consistently fought for better international regulations to protect the ocean, and we will continue to do so.

And to support the protection of fragile marine ecosystems, we will seek to join the Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement as soon as we possibly can.

People and Prosperity

Of course – Fishing is extremely important to the Arctic economy, and a reminder that the region is, first and foremost, a home to nearly 4 million people.

It is a region of vibrant and diverse communities, cultures, languages and traditions.

The UK Government recognises the diversity of Arctic Indigenous communities, and respects their rights, their views, their interests, their culture and their traditions.

We have invested £7.6m in a multi-partner research programme to address the impact of environmental change in Inuit Nunangat – their traditional homelands in Canada, putting Indigenous communities at the heart of Arctic science.

Of course changes in the Arctic do also open up new commercial avenues. And the people of the Arctic should benefit from those opportunities.

The UK has a lot of expertise to offer, including professional maritime and financial services.

We have a clear vision for a prosperous Arctic, where economic development is achieved in a way that is safe, responsible and sustainable, and that does not damage the Arctic’s natural and fragile, unique environment.

Extractive industries in particular, as well as the increasing opportunity for navigation within the Arctic Ocean, must be carefully managed to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems. We’re going to have to think very hard, collectively, not just in the UK but with our friends and allies around the world, about whether or not we want to see deep sea mining in the Arctic Ocean.

The UK Government is committed to working with partners to ensure that effective governance, and environmental protections, are in place to regulate ships operating in Arctic waters.

We also participate in the Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative, and the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights in the Extractive Industries, which apply to mines in the Arctic just as they apply to everywhere else.

And we will continue to encourage all countries to adopt the highest possible standards of environmental and social governance.

Partnering and Collaborating

The challenges and opportunities facing the Arctic can only be managed through effective international cooperation.

The UK Government, and our science and research sector, has strong relationships with Arctic partners, and we will strengthen those ties.

UK Science has played a key role in building our understanding of the Arctic.

In terms of published research, UK-based scientists are ranked first among non-Arctic states in the number of published articles.

And since 2012, UK researchers have received over £56 million in Arctic science funding, on top of investments in their infrastructure and other assets.

The Government’s Science and Innovation Network has played an important role facilitating collaborative international Arctic research, and empowering Indigenous researchers to play a full part.

The Arctic Council remains the preeminent intergovernmental forum for cooperation in the Arctic. The UK has been an observer to the Council since its first meeting, and has contributed significant expertise to its work.

We fully supported last year’s decision to pause the work of the Arctic Council following Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. And we have been grateful to continue contributing to Council projects, where it has been appropriate.

We look forward to engaging with the incoming Norwegian chair, and will seek further opportunities for UK experts to be a part of the Council’s work.

Conclusion

So to conclude: ‘Looking North’ sets out the UK’s approach to being a trusted and active partner on the Arctic.

We have an enduring interest in the region, and a lot to offer in terms of expertise.

We have a vision of a cleaner, greener, more secure, safe and prosperous Arctic.

And we will continue to collaborate with our Arctic partners to realise that vision.

Thank you so much.

February 9, 2023
Volodymyr Zelenskyy – 2023 Speech to the European Parliament

The speech made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, to the European Parliament on 9 February 2023.

Dear Mrs. President, dear Roberta!

I thank you for these powerful words and I thank you for your personal attention, an extremely important attention for Ukraine. I thank you for your integrity and energy, two qualities that we see invariably in the current struggle for Europe and whose combination is always a prerequisite for progress. Europe is fortunate that in this hall, in the largest parliament in Europe, the European Parliament, principled and energetic people are an absolute majority. I thank you.

Dear representatives of Europe!

Dear leaders of Europe!

All of us, Europeans, each and every one of the hundreds of millions of people on our continent, combine these two statuses – representatives of Europe and leaders of Europe. This combination reflects what our Europe, a modern Europe, a peaceful Europe, gives to the world. European way of life. European path of life. European manner of life. European rules of life.

When everyone matters. When the law rules.

When states strive to be social and societies strive to be open. When diversity is a value and the values of the different are united by fair equality.

When the borders are inviolable, but their crossing is not felt.

When people believe in tomorrow and are willing to take to the streets to fight for their tomorrow. When there is only one single barrier between the president and the protesters, and that is fair elections.

This is our Europe. These are our rules. This is our way of life.

And for Ukraine, it’s a way home.

Now I am here to protect the way home for our people. All Ukrainian men, all Ukrainian women. Of different ages and different political beliefs, different social status, different views on religion, with different personal stories, but common European history with all of you.

There is an attempt to destroy the Ukrainian European way of life by all-out war. But what for?

For the destruction of the European way of life as such after the Ukrainian European way of life is destroyed.

For each of all twenty-seven elements of the European way of life. The twenty-seven countries of the European Union.

We will not allow that.

This total war that has been unleashed by Russia is not just about territory in one part of Europe or another.

Its threat is not only in the fact that there is a dictator with huge stockpiles of Soviet weapons and weapons inflow from other dictatorships, in particular the Iranian regime.

In order to be able to wage this war, the Kremlin has been consistently destroying, step by step, year after year, what we see as the basis of our Europe.

The sacred value of human life has been completely destroyed in Russia as well. No one matters to the authorities there, except those inside the Kremlin walls, their relatives and their wallets. For them, for the Kremlin, all others, all one hundred and forty million citizens are just bodies capable of carrying weapons – carrying weapons to Ukraine, carrying weapons on the battlefield, keeping others in line or being in line themselves.

The rule of violence and obedience are the rules there instead of law.

The Russian regime not only hates everything, any sociality and any diversity, but also deliberately invests in xenophobia and tries to make all the inhuman things that happened in the 1930s and 1940s part of the norm on our continent.

But will it last forever? This is a question for all of us. The answer is no! No!

Europe! We are defending ourselves against the most anti-European force in the modern world. We are defending ourselves. We, Ukrainians, are on the battlefield with you.

I thank you for the fact that we are defending ourselves together!

And we must defend ourselves!

And this is important not only for European countries. Not only for the communities of Europe.

No matter who we are, we always fight against contempt. Wherever we live, we always rely on good faith. Whatever we dream of for our children, for our grandchildren, the unconditional background for these dreams is peace – peace and security.

Will all of this be possible if we do not defeat the anti-European force that seeks to steal Europe from us, from all of us? No. It is only our victory that will guarantee all of this – each of our common European values. Our imperative victory!

Dear representatives of Europe! Dear leaders of Europe! Dear ladies and gentlemen of the parliament!

Dear employees of the European Parliament and other European institutions!

Dear journalists! Dear security officials, military! Police officers, rescuers!

Dear municipal employees! Diplomats! Teachers! Professors! Scientists! Dear doctors, drivers and port workers! Farmers!

Dear industrialists and workers of industrial enterprises! Owners of small and large businesses, banks!

Dear power engineers and railway workers!

Dear students, pupils! Trade union activists, representatives of non-governmental organizations!

Dear directors and artists! Lawyers, judges, environmentalists, human rights activists!

The fate of Europe has never depended on politicians alone. There should be no such illusion now as well.

Each and every one of you is important. Each and every one of you is strong. Each and every one of you can influence our common result. Our common victory.

This applause is definitely not for me. This applause is for gratitude – I want to thank everyone in Europe, in hundreds of cities and towns, who supported Ukraine in this historic struggle. Thank you!

I want to thank you – everyone who has helped our people, our ordinary people, our displaced persons. Those who called on their leaders to increase support for the protection of these ordinary people. Who took to the streets, who asked questions, who spread the truth about Russian aggression. Who refrained from the temptations of Russian disinformation and who stand with us in the fight for life. In the fight for Europe. I thank you!

I thank everyone who is helping Ukraine with vital supplies. Weapons and ammunition. Energy equipment and fuel. Thousands of things that are essential to survive this all-out war.

I thank you, dear ladies and gentlemen of the parliament, and you personally, Roberta, for consistently defending the European way of life with your decisions. For consistently defending the Ukrainian European way of life.

You have made bold decisions and strengthened the European ambition to be the home of justice and freedom.

I recall the first days of the full-scale invasion, when Russia’s ambition to break us and the whole of Europe was still audacious. When Russian aggression was just beginning to break its teeth on our defense.

Already then, on March 1, on the sixth day of the full-scale war, the European Parliament adopted a resolution supporting not just our country, but the status of a candidate for accession to the European Union for our country.

It was a vision that motivated us to be resilient and stay on our path. Thank you.

Today, at a meeting of the European Council, I will have the opportunity to personally thank the heads of state and government of Europe, whose decisions over the past year have allowed our continent to do what the previous wave of leaders thought impossible.

Europe is finally freeing itself from destructive dependence on Russian fossil fuels.

Europe is cleaning itself of the corrupt influence of Russian oligarchic business.

Europe is defending itself against the infiltration of agents of the Russian special services, who have even considered Europe as a place to hunt for opponents of the Russian dictatorship already.

For the first time in its history, the European Union is providing military assistance of such magnitude. And for the first time in history, I believe, it is preparing a positive assessment of internal reforms in a European country that is defending itself in this all-out war and at the same time – while fighting – modernizing its institutions.

We are getting closer to the European Union.

Ukraine will be a member of the European Union!

A victorious Ukraine! A member of the European Union – a victorious European Union!

Dear friends!

Perhaps some of you have not experienced the full power of the European way of life before. But now, together, Ukraine and the EU countries have made our power evident.

Why is this possible? Because we combine integrity and energy. We are all equal in representing Europe, and we are diligent as each of us is a leader of Europe in our own particular life.

We do not rely on words – we act. We do not cower before the enemy – we stand. We do not waste time – we change ourselves and we implement changes.

Europe will always remain free. As long as we are together and as long as we care about our Europe!

Care about the European way of life.

I thank you all! I invite you all to Ukraine!

Glory to all Ukrainian men and Ukrainian women who are in combat!

Glory to Ukraine!

February 9, 2023
Lee Waters – 2023 Statement on Rural Transport in Wales

The statement made by Lee Waters, the Welsh Deputy Minister for Climate Change, on 8 February 2023.

Wales’ rural communities make up around a third of our population, and are spread across all parts of the country. Providing access to sustainable, safe and reliable public transport is vital not only to achieving our climate change goals but to help people access the services, employment, cultural and education opportunities to enable them to thrive.

I was pleased to be able to host a series of round tables with local authority leaders and transport experts from across Wales at the end of last year to discuss our plans in more detail, and would like to thank them for helping to shape our approach.

We recognise that the transport needs of communities in rural Wales will be different to those in more urban areas, and it is important to work with those communities to plan the types of public transport services they will need. It can’t be a ‘one size fits all’ solution; each community has its own requirements and challenges that will impact what works best for the people that live, work and visit them.

I was heartened to see the focus on rural transport in the North Wales Transport Commission, who identified the need to prioritise schemes that demonstrate better handling of key rural-to-rural connections. It recommends that new and more sustainable travel options such as car clubs, car sharing, cargo cycles, e-scooters and e-cycles. It also suggested effective workplace travel planning should be considered, an essential step in enabling people to think and act differently about the way they travel.

Llwybr Newydd – the Wales Transport Strategy – sets out our approach to developing a series of pathways centred on topics which are of strategic importance. They cut across different modes and sectors and are designed to pull together our commitments and plans on these topics in a way that allows people to easily track the progress both we as Welsh Government are making along with our local, regional and national delivery partners.

It is vital that we seek to find sustainable public transport models which are both tailored to the needs of rural communities, but also interface with more urban transport networks so that people can travel from urban to rural areas and vice versa with as little friction as possible.

Our Rural Pathway takes a hub-and-spoke approach. It will help those in the most isolated communities better access their local village or town. From there they will have a wider range of public transport and active travel choices to travel locally or to connect them to their nearest transport interchange for longer journeys.

The development and delivery of our rural pathway is already underway. We will be submitting a proposal shortly to the UK Government’s Union Connectivity Fund to develop plans to increase capacity along the Cambrian and Heart of Wales rail lines, and in doing so increase cross-border connectivity.

Working with Sustrans, our e-move pilot has shown the potential of free medium-term e-bike and e-cargo bike loans to support local communities. We will continue to develop out long-term approach to support people to take advantage of e-bikes for local journeys across Wales, including support for them to purchase them.

The new Sherpa service in Snowdonia, which sees electric busses minimising the use of cars within the National Park, is already providing new opportunities for local residents and visitors to see Snowdonia in a new and greener way. It is an approach which we will take and look to roll out in other areas of outstanding natural beauty and national parks across Wales.

Buses are the backbone of our public transport service. They carry three times as many passengers as trains, getting people across Wales to work and school, allowing us to meet family and friends, and offering a key lifeline for people in Wales who do not have access to a car. Our Bus Reform legislation will enable us to deliver a bus system which is governed and designed to serve the public interest, not just those routes which are commercially viable.

As well as new technologies, new service models will play an important part in allowing people to access public transport in a way and at a time that best suits their needs. Our Fflecsi pilots have shown that demand-responsive travel can provide a more flexible and adaptable service, with particular success in rural communities. We will examine the findings of this pilot carefully and embed them into our rural pathway framework for regions across Wales to exploit.

Electric car clubs also offer a new way of looking at car usage; both for those who want to use their car less, or may only use it some of the time, and for people who may struggle to afford the high cost of running a car. We are working in partnership with Powys County Council, Transport for Wales, and a range of partners to look at how we can increase provision of community-based car clubs.

Community transport is an important part of our transport system in Wales, supporting vulnerable people to access essential services. We will, through Transport for Wales, work with our Community Transport partners to look at ways we can best support both the people who use this vital service and those who give their time to run it.

We understand the importance of the strategic road network for rural Wales. Our roads are important assets and must be maintained. They also play a vital part in enabling modal shift to active travel and public transport. We will shortly publish the report from the independent roads review plus our position on the future of road investment to ensure that projects we fund are aligned to the delivery of our transport strategy ambitions and priorities.

Our delivery pathways also provide a framework to support the development of Regional Transport Plans, which will be developed for North, West, Mid and South East Wales by the regional Corporate Joint Committees (CJCs). It will allow each region to easily identify the different range of interventions they could make, and how they can implement them in a way that is consistent with Llwybr Newydd. These will be live frameworks, being updated as we test and develop new and innovative services and infrastructure solutions.

We are literally taking a Llwybr Newydd – a new path. The Wales Transport Strategy sets out a new way of thinking that places people and climate change at the front and centre of our transport system. This is something that we have to do; if we are going to protect the lives of our children, we need to achieve net zero by 2050. And in order to do that, we need to both change the way we travel, and rewire the system so it supports us to do this. Our rural pathway is one of many steps on the journey to achieve this.

February 9, 2023