Rachel Blake

Thank you, Sir John, for bringing us together for this important debate. I put on record my thanks to everybody who has joined us in the Public Gallery to listen to this debate. What better demonstration of how democracy is alive and well than that people will come out on a Tuesday morning to listen to a debate about the International Day of Democracy. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend, the hon. Member for Bolton West (Phil Brickell) for talking about lobbying rules and the risks of revolving doors; to the hon. Member for East Londonderry (Mr Campbell), who talked about the importance of free speech; to the hon. Member for Honiton and Sidmouth (Richard Foord), who discussed electoral reform; to the hon. Member for Glastonbury and Somerton, who talked about the important role of women in politics; to my hon. Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (James Naish) for talking about the vital contributions of local communities; to the right hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd (Liz Saville Roberts) for discussing the rise of disinformation and authoritarianism; to my hon. Friend the Member for Rugby (John Slinger) for a powerful discussion about how democracy must be nurtured; to the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for a powerful tribute to free speech; and to my hon. Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Andrew Lewin) for talking about how important it is to have these respectful debates. We also heard from the hon. Member for Cheadle (Mr Morrison) about the values of democracy. My hon. Friend the Member for Morecambe and Lunesdale (Lizzi Collinge) gave a powerful discussion of electoral reform. The hon. and learned Member for North Antrim (Jim Allister) talked about the Windsor framework. My hon. Friend the Member for Loughborough (Dr Sandher) talked about how we can overcome division by investing in the social contract. Finally, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for Lewes (James MacCleary) talked about the vital role of international support for contribution, while the Opposition spokes- person, the hon. Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell), discussed support for the Commonwealth in his contribution. I also welcome the Minister’s remarks. In this debate, we have heard about the scale and complexity of the challenge that we face. We have all been sobered by the rise of disinformation and authoritarianism. We have been able to discuss the terrible political violence that occurred in America last week, and able to discuss the importance of investing in the social contract and overcoming some of the barriers in order to have confidence in democracy. Democracy means a stake in one’s community, a stake in the rules, and a stake in all our futures. In this debate, we have seen how democracy helps us to disagree. I agree with much of what was said and disagree with some remarks, but this debate has given us a chance to come together and discuss. I imagine that every hon. Member in this Chamber has lost an election. I might be unusual among politicians to think that, every once in a while, such losses are an important opportunity to learn lessons about how we conduct ourselves going forward. Through that process, we have all learned how to be better politicians—one example of how disagreeing respectfully is an important part of democracy. We have learned that freedom of speech and expression is not the preserve of the right or the left, but a foundational principle in our democracy, and one that I know we will all defend. I finish by saying that there is hope. Every day, communities in the UK and internationally are organising and influencing their democracy and the decisions made by their leaders, at some level or another. There is hope in investing to tackle the cost of living crisis and investing in the social contract, and hope in the international support for the release of my constituent, Jimmy Lai. I am grateful to the Minister for his remarks, and the confidence he has given about the Government’s commitment to espousing democratic values and supporting democracy internationally. I am grateful, too, for your chairship, Sir John. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That this House has considered the International Day of Democracy.