Speaker meets High Commissioner: "UK and New Zealand share so many things – including a passion for animal welfare"
29 June 2021
The Speaker of the UK House of Commons and New Zealand’s High Commissioner to the UK have hailed the ‘enduring ties’ that link the two nations together.
They agreed that strong democracies, inter-parliamentary connections, sport and a strong belief in the protection of the environment and animal welfare, were among the many issues on which the countries agreed - despite the 11,400 mile distance between them.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle arranged the meeting with His Excellency Bede Corry as part of his Speaker-led UK parliamentary diplomacy to establish enduring bonds between countries and parliamentarians.
"In addition to our strong parliamentary links, our ties in a number of areas are already so strong that the relationship is a vibrant one – it has real contemporary resonance," Mr Corry said.
The two men discussed how the UK and New Zealand had dealt with the pandemic, with Mr Speaker emphasising that hybrid proceedings had kept business going in the House of Commons and how he expected some new changes, like pass reader voting, to continue once restrictions are lifted.
The Speaker also discovered that along with a mutual love of cricket, Mr Corry’s ancestors hail from between Manchester and Preston, not far from his Chorley constituency.