UK position on foreign affairs debated in the Lords

Debate

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Conservative), Minister of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, put forward the debate.

This was a general debate. During debates, members put their experience to good use to discuss current issues and draw the government's attention to concerns.     

Members speaking

Over 60 members took part, including:

• Lord Alderdice (Liberal Democrats), director and vice president of the International Dialogue Initiative
• Baroness Ashton of Upholland (Labour), chair of the Institute for Global Negotiation advisory board, Zurich University
• Lord Hain (Labour), fellow of the Institute for International Government, King's College London
• Lord Hannay of Chiswick (Crossbench), former UK permanent representative to the UN
• Baroness Meyer (Conservative), executive board member of the Transatlantic Forum for Education and Diplomacy
• Baroness Mobarik (Conservative), member of the Coalition for Global Prosperity advisory board
• Baroness Prashar (Crossbench), former president of the Royal Commonwealth Society
• Lord Ricketts (Crossbench), former senior diplomat
• Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrats), emeritus professor of International Relations, London School of Economics.

Lord Collins of Highbury (Labour), Lords shadow spokesperson for foreign and commonwealth affairs and international development, said: 

'The world faces huge challenges, with increasing inequality, conflict, climate change and health pandemics.'

Lord Ricketts said:

'Five months after the awful Hamas attack, we must not lose our sense of horror at the incessant images from Gaza that we see every day…Stopping this fighting is desperately urgent, to get hostages out and humanitarian aid in, but also to create an opportunity to move towards a better post-conflict future for Israel and Gaza.'

Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton (Conservative), Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, responded on behalf of the government:

'In a dangerous world, we must not shy away from the need to stand by our allies, strengthen our partnerships and make sure our voice is heard.

'Standing up for some simple principles: the right of countries to have their borders respected, the importance of democracy and the importance of freedom. We should demonstrate strength and we should show humanity.'

Get involved  

Watch and read the debate   

• Catch up on Parliament TV - part one and part two.
• Read the Lords Hansard transcript - part one and part two.

Explore background information   

• Find out more about the issues the debate covers in the House of Lords Library briefing.
• Learn more about how the House of Lords checks and challenges government. 

Image: House of Lords / Annabel Moeller