Tag: Speeches

Volodymyr Zelenskyy – 2022 Statement on the Situation in Ukraine (28/09/2022) – 217 days

The statement made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, on 28 September 2022.

Good health to you, fellow Ukrainians!

Our key task now is to coordinate actions with partners in response to sham referenda organized by Russia and all related threats. This is not 2014. Everything is clear for everyone. And there will certainly be actions.

I’ve held a whole series of negotiations today. President of Türkiye Erdoğan, Chancellor of Germany Scholz, Prime Minister of Canada Trudeau, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Truss, Secretary-General of the UN Guterres, President of the European Council Charles Michel.

Thank you all for your clear and unequivocal support. Thank you all for understanding our position. Ukraine cannot and will not put up with any attempts by Russia to seize any part of our land.

I once again thanked President Erdoğan today for his help in freeing our people from Russian captivity. Commanders from Azovstal, who are in Türkiye, will soon be able to see their relatives. We are working on it.

Also, by the way, the implementation of the plan to help each of those recently released from captivity has already begun. They receive priority elements of assistance. First of all, it is medical support – they all need recovery after what they had to go through in captivity. This work is under the control of the Ombudsman, representatives of the Office, intelligence, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Security Service of Ukraine, the Ministry of Health, and the command of the Medical Forces. And we will extend the appropriate measures, which are being worked out in detail now, to all our people whom we free from the captivity of the occupiers.

I will emphasize once again: we remember all our people and try to free each and every one of them from captivity, not a single Ukrainian has been forgotten.

We discussed today with President Erdoğan our further defense cooperation, our response to all the aggressive steps that Russia has already taken and is still preparing to take.

We discussed a wide range of issues with the Chancellor of Germany – political, financial, defense, energy. In the defense topic, I emphasized that we are waiting for an anti-missile defense system from Germany – I’m grateful for the willingness to help with air defense. Other points of defense cooperation were also discussed in detail – there are quite a lot of them, they are clear. Of course, energy issues were touched upon, including the supply of gas to Europe and sabotage at the Nord Stream gas pipeline.

We discussed with Mr. Chancellor the preparation of the new sanctions package of the European Union – together we must make it really powerful, not symbolic. As of today, there is still something to add to the eighth sanctions package.

The conversation with the Prime Minister of Canada was, as always, very specific and concerned primarily how Canada can increase support for Ukraine. Among other things, demining was discussed. Canada has both the appropriate technology and the appropriate humanitarian ambitions.

I invited Prime Minister Trudeau to lead a global effort to clear our land of Russian mines and projectiles. Due to the Russian war, Ukrainian land is one of the most contaminated by mines in the world. And while there are similar examples of large-scale mine contamination around the world, we must do what others have not done: we must set a precedent for rapid and large-scale demining, not leave this problem for decades. I thank Canada for its willingness to help us.

With Mrs. Liz Truss, we discussed the possibilities of Britain in enhancing sanctions on Russia, as well as in increasing defense aid for our country. I am grateful for the principled condemnation of the Russian farce under the guise of a referendum, for the full support and willingness to move with us towards the return of freedom to all our people – in all parts of Ukraine, without any exceptions.

The conversation with the Secretary-General of the UN also concerned sham referenda and Russia’s apparent preparation of the ground for an attempt to annex our territory. These brutal violations of the UN Charter must be punished.

We discussed the implementation of our grain export initiative with Mr. Guterres. We agreed that the initiative should not only be preserved, not only protected from any attempts to disrupt it, but also expanded. Ukraine is ready to significantly increase the export of our agricultural products to the countries that need them and the corresponding interaction with the UN for humanitarian purposes and assistance to such countries as Somalia, Ethiopia, etc.

I have just finished a call with Charles Michel. As always, it was a conversation between real friends. Thank you for your full support in the issue of sham referenda and for your willingness to extend aid to Ukraine. Of course, we also discussed the preparation of new sanctions.

Tomorrow I will continue intensive communication with the leaders.

And today I want to once again thank the United States of America and personally President Biden for the new package of defense support for our country in the amount of more than 1 billion dollars. This is really important.

If someone in Russia thinks they can “get away” with everything they are doing in the occupied territory, if someone in Russia hopes the world will abandon its own values, frightened by another Russian announcement of annexation, they in Russia are wrong. Each subsequent escalating step by the occupier only confirms the fact that the world must act even tougher.

In the evening, I signed another decree awarding our defenders. State awards were awarded to: 71 warriors of the National Guard, 21 employees of the State Emergency Service, 52 border guards. 320 combatants were awarded for their brave and effective actions during the liberation of the districts of the Kharkiv region from the occupation.

As for the situation at the front, everything is clear to us. Therefore, I repeat again… For those who understand only Russian.

If you want to live, run. If you want to live, surrender. If you want to live, fight on your streets for your freedom. Everything was taken from you anyway. Or maybe any of you have oil rigs? Palaces? Vineyards? Maybe yachts? Or some bank? What are you fighting for? The only thing you have is loans, something to eat in the evening and now there’s mobilization. Fight for what’s yours! Stay away from our land, our soul and our culture.

Glory to Ukraine!

03/10/2022
Volodymyr Zelenskyy – 2022 Statement on the Situation in Ukraine (27/09/2022) – 216 days

The statement made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, on 27 September 2022.

Ukrainians!

I have just taken part in a meeting of the UN Security Council. This is a special meeting convened at our initiative. I am grateful to all partners who supported the convening of this meeting and clearly spoke in defense of Ukraine and international law.

Fundamental norms of international law! The crime of aggression against our state, the farce in the occupied territory, which the occupiers call referenda, the preparation of another attempt to annex Ukrainian territory – all these are steps Russia is taking to finish off the UN Charter.

I called on the members of the Security Council to stop the one who sets himself against everyone in the world. It is possible. It is possible right now, when the final destructive steps have not yet been taken.

I emphasized at the Security Council meeting: Russia’s implementation of the so-called Crimean scenario and another attempt to annex Ukrainian territory will mean that there is nothing to talk about with this President of Russia. This is clear and obvious.

None of Russia’s criminal actions will change anything for Ukraine.

We recognize the UN Charter, we recognize the basic principles of coexistence of peoples. And we will continue to act in order to protect normal life in Ukraine, in Europe, and in the world.

We will act to protect our people in the Kherson region, in the Zaporizhzhia region, in Donbas, in the currently occupied areas of the Kharkiv region, and in Crimea.

This farce in the occupied territory cannot even be called an imitation of referenda.

We knew in advance what would be drawn instead of the result. Even intelligence didn’t have to work very hard. The agreed figures for this farce were thrown into the media. Russia is not even hiding.

The only rational response to such audacity of the occupier is even more support for Ukraine. And I am thankful to our partners who confirm such support: defense, financial, sanctions.

I spoke today with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. I thanked him for his firm condemnation of the Russian sham referenda. The situation on the frontline and further support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine by the Alliance members were discussed in detail.

Every new Russian strike on Ukrainian cities and our civilian objects proves that the existing defense support for Ukraine is not enough. We make this clear to our partners. And they hear us. And this is important.

Today in Kyiv, I held talks with the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France. France is making significant efforts to really help our country and to solve the crises created by Russia. The situation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP was discussed in detail with the minister. Our defense needs were discussed in detail. We also discussed in detail our joint reaction to each further provocative step by Russia with sham referenda.

Today in Moscow, yet another false statement was made regarding a very important achievement of Ukraine and our partners – the restoration of our seaborne grain export. It is obvious that Russia is preparing the ground for an attempt to disrupt the grain initiative. We inform partners about this.

Export statistics is crystal clear and available to everyone in the international community.

More than 5 million tons of agricultural products were exported from our three ports. 232 vessels departed. If we take only African countries, our agricultural products have already been exported to Algeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, Libya, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia.

It is necessary to act immediately so that Russia does not again put these and other countries in the conditions of a food crisis.

And I am grateful to everyone who opposes the Russian destabilization policy! I am grateful to everyone who helps protect our state!

As for the frontline, I will say it briefly and for now without details, although they will be good: we are moving forward and liberating our land.

Glory to Ukraine!

03/10/2022
Volodymyr Zelenskyy – 2022 Speech to the People of Russia

The speech made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, on 29 September 2022.

Peoples of the Caucasus!

Now I am in that part of Kyiv, where Imam Shamil, the hero of Dagestan and the entire Caucasus, lived in the 1860s. As you can see, Ukraine knows how to honor your heroes. We preserve the memory of those places that combined the cultures of our peoples.

This is the center of our capital. One of the hundreds of Ukrainian cities against which the Russian authorities direct missiles, bombs and troops. The Caucasus knows what this means. The Caucasus saw it.

For 218 days, we have been defending ourselves against those who have more missiles and people than we do, but who are completely devoid of decency. This is a vile war on the part of Russia, a criminal one. And we do everything to protect our people and the independence of Ukraine. This is our sacred duty. Duty to our parents. Duty to our children. Duty to all generations of our people – those who lived and those who will live on our land. We don’t need what’s not ours!

Already 58,500 Russian soldiers have died in Ukraine. They came to kill us and died. You are not told this number. You are being lied to about the alleged death toll of about six thousand. 58.5! That’s the truth. All of them died because one person wanted this war. Only one, which many people serve.

Peoples of the Caucasus! All peoples on the territory of Russia! You have no reason to be among these many who still serve the one who wants this war. You do not have to die in Ukraine. Your sons do not have to die in Ukraine. You have no such obligation. Not to your parents, not to your children, not to your future, not to the future of your land. And you know it.

We see that you are resisting the criminal mobilization with which the Russian authorities want to cover up their failure. The failure of their regular army, their criminal orders. You are being lied to that there are allegedly no such failures.

Instead of ending the senseless war for Russia, the Russian authorities are trying to send new people to replace the dead. What awaits them all? You know the answer.

Ukraine will continue to defend itself and will win in this war waged against us. Because we are on our land. The truth is on our side. And the whole civilized world is with us. We are fighting for what is true for any people on the planet – for life and freedom, for the right to happiness for all our families, for all our children.

Russia was left alone. It is already isolated and will be condemned for this war. “Anyone who raises a weapon against the truth raises it to his own destruction,” the Kremlin seems not to be aware of these words by Imam Shamil. But these words should be known in the Caucasus. They should be heard in Siberia and in all other lands from which people are being sent to this war.

And now there’s mobilization. Fight to avoid death! Defend your freedom now in the streets and squares, so that later you don’t have to fight in the mountains and forests simply for your right to live, when the Russian authorities start the next waves of mobilization.

Did you believe that they would take only 300 thousand people? The one who started this war will not stop at the first wave of mobilization, there will be more. He will try to take other lives as well.

He doesn’t care about people. He respects neither the living nor the dead…

Thousands of bodies of dead Russian soldiers from various regions remain in Ukraine. They rot in the fields, they are stored in morgues.

Those that were not burned by the Russian army itself. The only army in the world that carries around mobile crematoria to dispose of the bodies of its fallen soldiers when it has time to do so. But now it is fleeing so fast that it even leaves tanks and MLRS behind, not just the bodies of the dead.

Just think about what it has come to! We are forced to start informational work on conveying to the citizens of Russia, who are being mobilized now, a special thesis: at least get a tattoo with your name and surname so that we know how to find your relatives when you are killed and do not even have an army token with you. The Russian authorities send people to this war without army tokens, often without documents! They do this on purpose to make it easier to lie to you about how many people actually die here. This is their special operation. Special operation on lies, terror, extermination of indigenous peoples.

During the first week of criminal mobilization, more men fled from Russia than the Russian authorities were officially going to send to war. And how does the Kremlin react to this? It is sending troops to the border of Russia against the very citizens of Russia! This is a disgrace! And lies with some sham referenda, with some confessions and annexations will end in even greater disgrace for Russia.

No one has to take part in a disgraceful war. Dagestanis do not have to die in Ukraine. Chechens, Ingush, Ossetians, Circassians and any other peoples who came under the Russian flag. In total, almost 200 different peoples… You know who sends them to Ukraine. The one who sends wants to make them “cargo 200”.

Do you want that? No? I’m sure you want to live. I’m sure you’re tired of being lied to. I’m sure you know that it is necessary to fight now!

In order for Russian citizens to go to war, they are artificially driven into poverty. Into loans. People are intimidated by repressions, harassed by propaganda. You can change it. You just need to understand who is a real symbol for you, who is a hero for you, who is the pride of your history, and who just wants to take advantage of you.

Fight! And you are sure to win!

03/10/2022
Ben Wallace – 2022 Speech to Conservative Party Conference

The speech made by Ben Wallace, the Secretary of State for Defence, in Birmingham on 2 October 2022.

Good evening Conference,

I am delighted to be here today in Birmingham. It’s been great to come back here since 2018. It’s been even nicer to have a musical accompaniment from the people outside who think we should gather today with a theme tune. The amazing thing about Birmingham is it’s one of Britain’s great cities and an outstanding example of the rich fabric that makes up our country. You know too often, politicians and journalists think the world stops and starts in London.

Andy Street and his excellent team here in Birmingham demonstrate quite the opposite. And as a Lancashire MP, I am truly grateful for the work started by Boris Johnson to level up this country. I know that our new Prime Minister is equally dedicated to continue that mission.

But as we gather today for the start of our conference, I want to start by first of all paying tribute to the late Queen. The motto of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst is “Serve to Lead”.

In it, lies the key to understanding that to be a leader, you must put your soldiers’ needs before yourself. You must be selfless. Our late Queen was the very embodiment of that motto.

She put her subjects before herself. She put her duty to them before her own needs. The men and women of the armed forces knew that and were inspired by that.

To know that they had a Commander-in-Chief who was truly focused on their wellbeing and their interests, while expecting the highest of standards from them, was genuinely inspirational to all those who served.

We will all miss her greatly. In these anxious and globally unstable times, fanned by the polarising flames of social media, we all need some constant reassurance in our lives. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second was that constant.

Another constant, is the men and women of our Armed Forces. They have been with us through all our troubles. Most recently through Covid, through the evacuation from Afghanistan, through the invasion of Ukraine and again, just a few weeks ago, on parade to say goodbye to the Commander-in-Chief.

They always display the finest qualities and dedication to duty. Day in, day out, they defend us and our allies.

When I took the reins at the Ministry of Defence in 2019, I undertook to reform defence to ensure that our forces had what they needed, to do the tasks given to them by Government.

But I also drew on my own experiences, to once and for all put a stop to the “hollowing out” of our forces. For decades, Prime Ministers had wanted more, but Chancellors had wanted less.

The result of this, for as long as I can remember, was an Armed Forces that on the surface looked fine, but inside struggled with ammunition stocks, kit maintenance, ship availability, and low living standards.

In short, I was determined that whatever funding we got, we spent it making sure that it could deliver a ready, deployable force – well equipped, well armed and well trained.

And with any new funding, the priority would not be shiny new toys, but fixing what we had first. Only then could we embark on funding to invest for the new and modernisation.

So I put the challenge of being a threat-lead and modern Armed Forces at the heart of the 2020 Defence Command Paper.

Boris Johnson shared that view and handed us the biggest settlement since the Cold War. He recognised that we needed to invest in our Armed Forces and not to manage decline.

And Liz Truss, our new Prime Minister, has gone even further and done what will be needed to finish the job. When she was Foreign Secretary, she knew what the threats were out there and she knew the influence that Britain’s Armed Forces delivered around the world.

But she also knew that Defence can’t live on historical reputation alone. It needed real investment and for the first time a government that would move it up their priority list.

The Prime Minister’s pledge to invest 3% of GDP by 2030 is what we needed to keep this country and our allies safe.

Liz Truss knows this is not a “discretionary” choice, but a necessity. The instability and insecurity we see around the world will not go away by itself.

On Friday, President Putin illegally annexed part of Ukraine. Another European state. To accompany this occasion, he delivered another tirade at the world.

He did this at the very moment his own poorly equipped troops, appallingly led were being routed from the East of Ukraine.

As countries around the world condemned his actions, he attended a concert, cheered on by bussed-in crowds. Ridiculous as his homophobic, anti-West rants were, what he didn’t say was just as interesting.

He never addressed the tens of thousands of Russian widows and mothers, whose young men were sent to their deaths by incompetent generals and because of his illegal invasion.

Or the more than fifty thousand injured personnel he is frightened to visit. He didn’t address the charges of war crimes his forces have been involved in.

Because for President Putin, there is no going back. His intentions are clear. He will not stop in Ukraine. He will push west. His own essays say as much.

He genuinely believes in some Tsarist, imperialist destiny to unite the supposedly ancient people of Rus. By all means at his disposal, he seeks to pursue “ethnic nationalism” in a way we haven’t seen since the 1940s.

Be under no illusion – he is dangerous. Ukraine says they are fighting not just for themselves, but also for us. And they are right. It is why we must stand strong beside them. It is why we must not let brutality and disregard for human rights triumph over the values of all we hold dear.

And our response matters, because the world is watching. The question some will be asking is “does the international community have the determination, the unity and the resilience to stand up for each other and for the rule of law?”.

Well, to date, the answer is a clear and resounding “Yes”. In February this year, the day after Russia’s invasion, I held the first international donor conference on Ukraine to coordinate military aid.

We had 25 countries in attendance from across Europe. That rapidly grew to 35. And the aid to Ukraine is not shrinking, it is growing.

Last week, I visited Ukraine again to see what more we can do. Despite the attacks, they are strong and they are winning.

I am proud to say that British weapons, like the NLAWs, are helping to make a real difference. But as well as British hardware, we are helping with our training as well.

We committed to training ten thousand Ukrainian troops this year and we are supported by Danes, Finns, Swedes, Norwegians, Dutch, Canadians, Estonians, Lithuanians and New Zealanders all here delivering for this challenge.

I am pleased to say that we are committed to training, next year, a further twenty or thirty thousand troops, as required.

President Putin must see the folly of his invasion. His army is broken, his international reputation is shattered, and Russia’s standing in the world is lesser than it was. His errors are strategic.

Instead of discouraging NATO, he has pushed Sweden and Finland to join it. No one made them, but seeing Russia’s behaviour changed the long-standing positions of two countries who for decades were wedded to neutrality.

I am delighted they are now joining NATO. But how unnecessary his invasion has been and at a cost of huge suffering to all in Ukraine and wider.

But Putin’s reactions are wider than just Ukraine. His reach goes further. This week, we saw the “mysterious” damage inflicted to the Nordstream pipelines.

And it should remind us all how fragile our economy and infrastructure is to such hybrid attacks. Our intent is to protect them. Our internet and energy are highly reliant on pipelines and cables. Russia makes no secret of its ability to target such infrastructure.

So for that reason I can announce that we have recently committed to two specialist ships with the capability to keep our cables and pipelines safe.

The first Multi Role Survey Ship for Seabed Warfare will be purchased by the end of this year, fitted out here in the UK, and in operation before the end of next year. The second ship will be built in the UK and we will plan to make sure it covers all our vulnerabilities.

We have no time to lose. The Prime Minister is determined to invest in defence, stand up to Russia, stand by Ukraine, and prepare us to face the threats for tomorrow. The reality is that we can’t afford NOT to invest 3 per cent of GDP in defence and our Prime Minister understands that.

To not do so would imperil our security and risk having Armed Forces out of step with their peers – and more worryingly out of step with our enemies.

Conference, I know times are tough and up and down Britain, people are struggling with the effects of global inflation and rising interest rates. Sadly, we are not alone in this. Across Europe and the G7, the cost of living is going up and up and service personnel are no different.

That is why this year I have rolled out free “wrap-around childcare” for all in the forces. It is why I have frozen the daily food charge for our personnel and capped rent increases at 1 per cent for service families. If we don’t look after the people in our Armed Forces, the most important equipment of all, then what is the point of having our Armed Forces?

As well as helping with the cost of living, the Ministry of Defence is one of the key drivers of economic growth across the UK.

We support 219,000 private sector jobs with more than £20bn of investment in equipment and support every year.

Here in the Midlands, in Telford, we are making the new Challenger 3 turrets and Boxer armoured vehicles. In all, Defence spending contributes over 400,000 jobs in this country, right across the Union.

We are building ships in Scotland, manufacturing armoured vehicles in Wales, and assembling the, now world-famous, NLAW anti-tank missiles in Northern Ireland – bringing new jobs, investment and opportunities to every part of the United Kingdom.

There is more to do.

Conference, for those who think that the solution is to turn to Labour however, I would say that now is not the time to deploy Captain Mainwaring and his platoon to help with our Nation’s defence.

You can see the Labour Party now – Captain Keir Mainwaring, marching around his bunker in Islington, with Sergeant “Blair” Wilson whispering in his ear, and Private “Corbyn” Godfrey telling us how “DOOMED” we all are.

But you know, Mr Starmer, investing in Defence and supporting our troops requires a lot more than waving a Union Jack. You have to actually fund them.

You have to actually recognise that as the threat changes, so must the investment. In the world we live in today, there is no place for Labour’s “Home Guard” amateurs.

So, Mr Starmer, when will you match the Prime Minister’s pledge of 3% of GDP by 2030? Will you put your money where your mouth is?

And before I end, I want to pay tribute to my team at Defence. I have been incredibly lucky as Secretary of State to have had such excellent Ministers.

I want to thank Jeremy Quinn, Leo Docherty and Suzanne Webb for the work they have done.

And I am sorry to see Johnny Mercer leave the Government.

But I also want to welcome Sarah Atherton and Alec Shelbrooke to their posts. They will do an outstanding job.

Our PPSs Ian Levy and Mark Eastwood are also key and are valued contributors to the team. For that is what it is… a team in Defence.

So, Conference, whatever the world may throw at us in the next few years, and no one says it is going to be easy, you can be sure that this team, alongside the UK’s Armed Forces, will be working day and night, across the globe, to defend us and keep our allies safe.

Thank you very much.

03/10/2022
Kwasi Kwarteng – 2022 Statement Scrapping Tax Cut for High Earners

The statement made by Kwasi Kwarteng, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 3 October 2022.

From supporting British business to lowering the tax burden for the lowest paid, our Growth Plan sets out a new approach to build a more prosperous economy.

However, it is clear that the abolition of the 45p tax rate has become a distraction from our overriding mission to tackle the challenges facing our country.

As a result, I’m announcing we are not proceeding with the abolition of the 45p tax rate. We get it, and we have listened.

This will allow us to focus on delivering the major parts of our growth package.

First, our Energy Price Guarantee, which will support households and businesses with their energy bills.

Second, cutting taxes to put money back in the pockets of 30 million hard-working people and grow our economy.

Third, driving supply side reforms – including accelerating major infrastructure projects – to get Britain moving.

03/10/2022
Liz Truss – 2022 Statement Scrapping Tax Cut for High Earners

The statement made by Liz Truss, the Prime Minister, on 3 October 2022.

We get it and we have listened.

The abolition of the 45pc rate had become a distraction from our mission to get Britain moving.

Our focus now is on building a high growth economy that funds world-class public services, boosts wages, and creates opportunities across the country.

03/10/2022
Anneliese Dodds – 2022 Letter to Jake Berry Over Conservative Tax Cuts

The letter sent by Anneliese Dodds, the Chair of the Labour Party, to Jake Berry, the Chair of the Conservative Party, on 2 October 2022.

03/10/2022
Jake Berry – 2022 Interview on Kwasi Kwarteng Meeting with Hedge Fund Managers

The interview between Jake Berry, the Chair of the Conservative Party, and Sophy Ridge on the Sky News Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme on 2 October 2022.

SOPHY RIDGE

[asked if Berry had celebrated with the Chancellor and hedge fund managers at a campaign reception]

JAKE BERRY

We often have receptions for donors and the Conservative Party, and in fact, these people should be lauded because we don’t have public funding for political parties. These are people who go out and make money and donate to political parties in the same way as they do for the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats. In terms of that get together, it wasn’t a get together of hedge fund managers, it’s actually Britain’s leading entrepreneurs. Yes, I was there, but it’s the sort of normal drumbeat of treasurer’s events as we call them in the Conservative Party that we have all the time.

SOPHY RIDGE

[asked if hedge fund managers were present]

JAKE BERRY

I mean, I’m sure there were or there was, I think, one that I know of, but in terms of the rest of the people there, lots of them were people have grown and started businesses. In fact, the conversations I had, because it was my job before I did this, was people who work in the property industry. What they will say is they back this government’s drive to create growth in the economy because they understand that you cannot have a rising tide of prosperity that flows under every door in this country without first creating growth in the economy.

SOPHY RIDGE

[asked if Jake Berry acknowledged the Sunday Times story that as the markets collapsed he was at the Chelsea home of a Tory donor with hedge fund managers and financiers]

JAKE BERRY

I’m not sure that any of them did make money from the crash in the pound, but of course, you will know well that the pound had its best week against the dollar since 2020. People can read The Times if they want to.

SOPHY RIDGE

[asked for clarity on whether he was at the home of someone who had taken short positions on the pound in the past]

JAKE BERRY

Let’s be absolutely clear this is part of the normal drumbeat of the treasurer debates within the Conservative Party. I was there, there was no confidential information that was discussed, it was a sort of a get together with some of Britain’s leading entrepreneurs, who by the way, we should thank for creating growth in our economy and being on this drive to create wealth for every ordinary working family in this country.

SOPHY RIDGE

[asked about the Chancellor’s mood as he drank champagne]

JAKE BERRY

Well I’m not even sure the chancellor was drinking champagne, I think he was drinking a soft drink. But he was absolutely clear that he has set out a path for this country to create growth and the reason we want to create growth is to ensure that every family who is really worried about things like their mortgage rate would have been terrified if the government hadn’t taken action on energy bills. People seem to forget that just a few weeks ago, we were talking about 4 million businesses going bust, we were talking about tens of millions of people losing their job, we were talking about the average household having an energy bill of 6,000 pounds.

SOPHY RIDGE

[asked about the Bank of England having to step in with a £65 billion bailout]

JAKE BERRY

With the action that the Government has taken, we have cut on average £1,000 from people’s energy bills and we have stopped those millions of budgets going bust. I accept there is concern about the mortgage market.

02/10/2022
Tom McNally – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Lord McNally)

The tribute made by Tom McNally, Baron McNally, in the House of Lords on 10 September 2022.

My Lords, I rise with no sense of provocation in following the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of York, but, when our new King spoke to the country last night, he mentioned a number of new responsibilities for the Prince of Wales and for his wife. He too had taken on a new responsibility from his mother—the Duke of Lancaster. I wear the tie today of the Association of Lancastrians in London because Her Majesty the Queen, throughout her long life, was our patron. Many noble Lords will have been at dinners where the toast was to the Queen, and heard someone in the audience say, “the Duke of Lancaster”. That responsibility as Duke of Lancaster is where I begin my remarks.

In the 1960s and 1970s, I had the honour and pleasure of working for two Prime Ministers, Harold Wilson and Jim Callaghan. Both affirmed what has been said by all the living former Prime Ministers: what a comfort, guidance and help it was to them in doing their job to have the opportunity of an audience with the Queen, with no leaks, briefings or anything else—just the benefit of her wisdom.

The nearest I got to finding out anything about it was when I accompanied Jim Callaghan to visit President Mobutu in what was then Zaire. In advance of our visit, Jim told me that, when Mobutu had come on a state visit to London, he was put up at Buckingham Palace. It was only after he had arrived, and his suite was ensconced there, that they found he had brought a dog with him, which had come through without quarantine for rabies. Jim said that, quite often when meeting the Queen, she would refer to “That dreadful man who nearly gave the corgis rabies”. I wondered how this would be handled when we met President Mobutu. Sure enough, when Jim and the President met, he said, “And how is Her Majesty?” “Very well, Mr President”, said Jim, “She speaks of you often”.

The other memory, which again ties in with the Queen’s interests, is going to a Privy Council meeting at Windsor, after which she kindly invited the three privy counsellors present for lunch. Before lunch she invited us into her study. Two things stuck in my memory. One was that on her desk was a photograph of her sister, Princess Margaret. The other, as has been referred to, was the BAFTA that she won for her performance at the opening of the Olympics. That epitomises two of her strong personal virtues: her commitment to family, and a sense of humour that did not take all of majesty entirely seriously.

I have one final reflection. I was alone in my office on Thursday evening, with the television on, when Huw Edwards suddenly interrupted what he was saying and said, “It’s just been announced that the Queen is dead.” I was shocked at how sad I was. I have worked around Whitehall and Westminster for over 50 years, and you become fairly hard-boiled to the passing of various personalities around this village. However, I really felt a sadness—I thought, “You’re getting soft, McNally”—but I found over the next 24 or 48 hours that that emotion, that initial feeling that she is gone and feeling sad about it was shared by millions of people in this country and around the world. In a way, that is the biggest tribute to a life of service that any words can convey. It was that we will miss her and that service, that dedication and that example but, in so doing, we know that she has worked so hard to pass that baton on to our new King, so that we can with confidence say, “God save the King.”

02/10/2022
Stephen Cottrell – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Archbishop of York)

The tribute made by Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York, in the House of Lords on 10 September 2022.

My Lords, like most Bishops from these Benches, I have stories to tell; stories of doing jigsaws in Sandringham on Sunday evenings and of barbeques in the woods at Sandringham in the middle of January—I even have a slightly scurrilous story about healing the Queen’s car. Perhaps I will tell it.

I had preached in Sandringham parish church. We were standing outside and the Bentley was there to get the Queen. It did not start. It made that throaty noise cars make in the middle of winter when they will not start, and everybody stood there doing nothing. I was expecting a policeman to intervene, but nothing happened. Enjoying the theatre of the moment, I stepped forward and made a large sign of the cross over the Queen’s car, to the enjoyment of the crowd—there were hundreds of people there, as it was the Queen. I saw the Queen out of the corner of my eye looking rather stony-faced, and thought I had perhaps overstepped the mark. The driver tried the car again and, praise the Lord, it started. The Queen got in and went back to Sandringham, and I followed in another car. When I arrived, as I came into lunch, the Queen said with a beaming smile, “It’s the Bishop—he healed my car”. Two years later, when I greeted her at the west front of Chelmsford Cathedral, just as a very grand service was about to start and we were all dressed up to the nines, she took me to one side and said, “Bishop, nice to see you again; I think the car’s all right today, but if I have any problems I’ll know where to come.”

When I became the 98th Archbishop of York, during Covid, I paid homage to the Queen by Zoom conference. I was in the Cabinet Office; everyone had forgotten to bring a Bible, including me, but there was one there—which is kind of reassuring. Just as the ceremony was about to begin, the fire alarm went off. The Queen was at Windsor Castle, but we all trooped out of the Cabinet Office, on to the road, and were out there for about 20 minutes until they could check that it was a false alarm and we could go back in. When I went back into the room, there was the screen, with Her late Majesty waiting for things to begin again. I do not know why I find myself returning to that image of her, faithful watching and waiting through those very difficult times. That was a very small part of a life of astonishing service.

The other thing I have noticed in the last couple of days is that we are all telling our stories. Yesterday, I found myself sharing stories with somebody in the street. I at least had had the honour of meeting Her late Majesty; this person had never met her, but we were sharing stories. I said, “Isn’t it strange how we need to tell our stories? It’s not as if she was a member of our family.” Except she was. That is the point. She served the household of a nation. For her, it was not a rule but an act of service, to this people and to all of us.

I remind us, again and again, that that came from somewhere: it came from her profound faith in the one who said,

“I am among you as one who serves.”

The hallmark of leadership is service, watchfulness and waiting. It was her lived-in faith in Jesus Christ, day in and day out, which sustained, motivated and equipped her for that lifetime of service. How inspiring it was last night and this morning to see the baton pass to our new King, King Charles, in the same spirit of godly service to the people of a nation.

Her Majesty the Queen died on 8 September, the day on which the blessed Virgin Mary is remembered across the world and the Church. Another Elizabeth, the cousin of Mary, said of her when she knew she would be the mother of the Lord:

“Blessed is she who believed that the promises made to her would be fulfilled”.

Shot through all our tributes in this House and another place, and across our nation, is that which we have seen, especially as it was only on Tuesday—I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Bull, for reminding us—that the Queen received a new Prime Minister. Can it really be possible? She served to the end—a life fulfilled.

I will finish with a handful of her words. This is what the Queen wrote in a book to mark her 90th birthday, reflecting on her faith in Jesus Christ in her life:

“I have indeed seen His faithfulness.”

I am not supposed to call noble Lords “brothers and sisters”, but dear friends, we have seen her faithfulness too, and we see it now in our new King. May Her late Majesty the Queen rest in peace and rise in glory. God save the King.

02/10/2022