Speeches and Articles

Speeches

Westminster Hall Debate - Middle East (Global Security)

Speech by Jo Swinson MP on 26th January 2008

I congratulate the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, the hon. Member for Ilford, South (Mike Gapes), and all its members on the authoritative and wide-ranging report that we are debating. We have heard from many esteemed hon. Members. The hon. Member for Ilford, South opened the debate very well with a summary, in as much as one can have a summary of the middle east. He took us on a rapid tour around the various countries involved and, crucially, provided an update on what has been happening since the report was published last July. It is obviously a part of the world where events move quickly. The right hon. Member for Tonbridge and Malling (Sir John Stanley) made an eloquent and passionate contribution about the situation in Gaza in particular. The hon. Member for Islington, North (Jeremy Corbyn) made a characteristically powerful speech. I commend his courage and that of others who went to monitor the elections in Gaza. The hon. Member for Castle Point (Bob Spink) made a brief but welcome contribution about minority rights in Egypt and the discrimination against the Baha'i, which picked up on the similar point that we heard about religious discrimination against Christian students. Obviously, both types of discrimination are appalling and need to be on the agenda of our Ministers and diplomats in their relations with the countries involved. Incidentally, he made a very good argument against identity cards in general.

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Articles

A 21st Century Union

Written by Jo Swinson MP and published in House Magazine on 1st February 2007

A lot has changed in 300 years. When you stop and think, it's actually harder to come up with things that haven't changed since the Act of Union was passed in 1707. The Union has endured astonishingly well over this time, bringing huge benefits to both England and Scotland. In its day, the Treaty of Union created the largest free trade area in 18th century Europe, while today it continues to set an example worldwide of unprecedented political and economic cooperation. Even the Union, though, has embraced change from time to time. In recent years, devolution has, with no small measure of success, reshaped the political landscape in Scotland, as well as Wales and Northern Ireland. But the changes instigated by devolution have not yet reached a conclusion. A survey run last month for Channel 4, asking Scots to choose their preference from a range of constitutional options for the country's future, found that substantially the most popular choice was for Scotland to remain in the Union, 'but with the Scottish Parliament having more powers than it does today'.

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