Yesterday in the House of Commons Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague asked the Government to make a statement about the Democratic Republic of Congo. Bill Rammell did so on behalf of the Foreign Office. The situation there is desperate. It is heartening that the Conservatives appreciate that fact. The calm, cool questioning from William Hague […]
Daniel Kawczynski is co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Continuation of First Past the Post. All-party it may be in principle, but of course the Liberal Democrats are not fans. The arguments in favour of our current system for electing MPs are worth quickly rehashing. It is certainly the case that a candidate’s […]
William Hague responds to David Miliband’s update on Zimbabwe: "There will be much common ground on many of the matters that the Foreign Secretary has mentioned, not least the thoughts and good wishes that he extended to the President of Zambia. We are united in this House in our horror that over the last decade […]
At the Joint Press Conference with President Bush on Monday, Gordon Brown announced that: "Today Britain will urge Europe and Europe will agree to take further sanctions against Iran. First of all, we will take action today that will freeze the overseas assets of the biggest bank in Iran, the bank Melli. And second, action […]
"The Irish referendum was an inspiring example of democracy in action. People say that there is a disconnection between the EU and its peoples. Thursday’s vote was proof that when you give people a real say on the EU they respond in vast numbers. Turn out was higher than in any European election held in […]
William Hague MP, Shadow Foreign Secretary, and Andrew Mitchell MP, Shadow Secretary of State for International Development, urge the international community to not squander the narrow window of opportunity that Mugabe’s exit will create. Four days after the presidential and parliamentary elections in Zimbabwe, its people still do not know who will lead their country. […]
The Shadow Foreign Secretary led an Opposition debate calling for an inquiry into the Iraq war. The Government successfully defeated Mr Hague’s motion but twelve Labour MPs voted with the Conservatives. Highlights of Mr Hague’s contribution and David Lidington MP’s closing remarks are pasted below. There are signs of things improving in Iraq: "For those […]
Click the graphic above to enlarge the screen capture of Tory MPs listening yesterday to the Shadow Foreign Secretary. Earlier David Miliband paid tribute to William Hague: "He has prosecuted his case in an absolutely brilliant fashion and re-established his reputation as one of the outstanding debaters of our times." Two Labour MPs questioned William […]
This is the text that William Hague prepared for this afternoon’s debate on the Lisbon Treaty. Because it is the prepared text, tomorrow’s Hansard may record very slightly different words. This text doesn’t include interruptions etc either. Liam Fox’s contribution can be read here. Mr Speaker, it was our contention, when the timetable for debating […]
William Hague MP, Shadow Foreign Secretary, sets out the next steps that urgently need to be taken by the international community on Darfur. On Tuesday, US Film Director Steve Spielberg resigned from his position as an adviser to the Beijing Olympics, helping re-focus the world’s attention on Darfur. And re-focus we must. With problems in […]
William Hague MP: It is all too typical of the Government’s management of our affairs that the House of Commons has been left with less than five hours to debate a measure of far-reaching importance in which there is widespread public interest. It is typical, too, that the reason for that is two statements, both […]
"It is worth remembering that no one in this House has any democratic mandate from the British people to agree to this Treaty. All three main parties stood on manifestos promising the British people a referendum on the EU Constitution. No one’s manifesto said that there would be a referendum on the EU Constitution, but […]
William Hague, Shadow Foreign Secretary, marks International Human Rights Day and the publication of the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission’s annual report by criticising the UNSC and EU’s complacency on Burma and expressing his desire for human rights issues to be at the forefront of British foreign policy in the future. The Universal Declaration of […]
William Hague to David Miliband on the EU Constitution: "No one believes the Foreign Secretary any more when he argues that this is not the EU constitution. When the Prime Minister met the Irish Prime Minister on 17 July, even he referred to it as the European constitution. Do we not now have an extraordinary […]
William Hague MP is Shadow Foreign Secretary. Geography puts the Balkans at the margins of Europe; events place it at the continent’s heart. The wars of the 1990s were a stark reminder of this curse, as well as a warning to Europe that the events in its backyard could never be ignored. It is for […]