Question
I thank the Minister for his statement. He may not know that I am a former chief executive of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council, which is responsible for the business forum. I hear that that was a great success this year, and I want to put on record my congratulations to Sam Cohen, its chief exec, and her team. If the Minister is keen to do a teach-in for the shadow Foreign Secretary on his learnings from India and Nigeria and our relationships with the Commonwealth, I would be very happy to join. Does the Minister agree that trade should be at the heart of our Commonwealth relationships, and that with such a trusted network of 56 countries with shared values, we should be supercharging trade around the Commonwealth and improving the lives and jobs of the nearly 3 billion people who are Commonwealth citizens?
Answer
My hon. Friend is right that the benefit of the Commonwealth is a significant part of our work and that trade should be at the front and centre of that. I am confident that the shadow Foreign Secretary is always keen for some educational improvement, so I am sure, between the two of us, we could give him some lessons on the work of the Commonwealth.50% point-scoring
Verdict: AMBER (50/100)
The Minister clearly agreed that trade should be at the front and centre of Commonwealth work, which answers the first part of the question directly. The reply did not address the second part, which asked about significantly expanding Commonwealth trade and improving lives and jobs, and it gave no specific measures, targets or commitments. A member of the public would have a clear statement of principle but would likely need to ask again for concrete detail.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Does the Minister agree that trade should be at the heart of the UK's Commonwealth relationships? | Addressed | Direct | The Minister directly agrees that trade should be 'at the front and centre' of Commonwealth work, which is the yes/no agreement the item asks for; statement 1 supports this by framing the Commonwealth's benefits as a significant part of the work. |
| Does the Minister agree that trade around the Commonwealth should be significantly expanded, with the aim of improving lives and jobs across its member countries? | Partially Addressed | Hedged | The reply endorses trade as central but never addresses the item's specific proposals of significantly expanding Commonwealth trade or improving lives and jobs, and gives no mechanism or commitment. Statements 3 and 4 are point-scoring and do not bear on the item. |