Lord Blaker: My Lords, I, too, thank and congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Luce, for securing this debate. Now that that has been done from both sides of the House, may I suggest humbly that that should be enough because it will save everybody else doing it and thus save us time. I too will talk about Zimbabwe and the Commonwealth, as the noble Lord, Lord Luce, has done. If noble Lords have doubts about...
Lord Blaker: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they will make immediate representations to Southern African Development Community member states on the case for political reform in Zimbabwe and the likely effect of the reported and impending collapse of Zimbabwe's economy on other economies in the region.
Lord Blaker: My Lords, I am glad that Her Majesty's Government are doing what the noble Baroness has just described. Is she aware that within the past few days representatives of Mugabe have failed to attend a negotiation meeting with the opposition, arranged by President Mbeki? Is she also aware that the students of the university have been expelled from their residences in the past few days; that...
Lord Blaker: My Lords, does the noble Baroness agree that the arguments both for and against family planning are many-sided? Perhaps I may mention something that has influenced me. A good many years ago, before the arrival of AIDS, I visited a developing country and at a lunch was seated next to the wife of the Minister of planning. She asked me about my family, and I asked her about hers. She said, "I...
Lord Blaker: asked Her Majesty's Government: What representations they are making to the Southern African Development Community about Zimbabwe.
Lord Blaker: My Lords, I welcome the noble Lord's reply. Is he aware that inflation in Zimbabwe has now reached 4,500 per cent and is rising increasingly rapidly, and that 34 well known international organisations have said that they believe that Zimbabwe will collapse within six months and then they will be unable to continue their work? As I think the noble Lord said, the mandate given to President...
Lord Blaker: My Lords, I support my noble friend Lord Brittan in deploring the removal of the words referring to, "an internal market where competition is free and undistorted". Surely, the point embodied in those words has been of great importance to this country since we joined the Common Market. Am I right in thinking that they were removed on the urging of President Sarkozy of France, because they...
Lord Blaker: My Lords, is the noble Lord saying that the statement by Chancellor Merkel was wrong?
Lord Blaker: My Lords, a fortnight ago, Angela Merkel, the current chairperson of the G8 and the European Union, was reported as saying that the EU-AU conference in Portugal, which is intended to take place later this year, will go ahead as planned even if Mugabe attends. I have seen no denial of that statement, although the Foreign Minister of Portugal has said that he had personally no interest in...
Lord Blaker: My Lords, am I right that the German Chancellor said that the conference between the African Union and the European Union will go ahead as planned in December even if Mugabe attends? That would be entirely opposed to the policy stated by Portugal, which will chair that conference. The German Chancellor also said: "It cannot be the case that we do not work with a continent just because one...
Lord Blaker: asked Her Majesty's Government: What conclusions were reached about Zimbabwe at the Prime Minister's meeting with President Mbeki of South Africa on 1 June.
Lord Blaker: My Lords, is not Africa one of the two main subjects for discussion at the G8 conference, which begins tomorrow, and do not those attending include representative strong leaders from other African countries, who recognise that the Zimbabwe disaster is bad for the whole of Africa and who need our support? Also, has not the German Chancellor said that the policies of Mugabe are not acceptable...
Lord Blaker: asked Her Majesty's Government: What is their response to the election of Zimbabwe to the chair of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development.
Lord Blaker: My Lords, noble Lords will be glad to hear what the Minister said. However, is not the farcical situation described in the Question the result of the fact that certain African countries are determined to vote for Mugabe on any motion, whatever the question may be? If it is suggested that the remedy for this situation is to be found in the mandate recently given to President Mbeki of South...
Lord Blaker: My Lords, given what the noble Lord said about having only one super-casino, is it not possible that that could be reconsidered, especially if there will be a committee to consider these matters? Is there not an advantage in having two super-casinos so that a comparison can be made between them if one is in an urban environment and the other in a destination environment?
Lord Blaker: asked Her Majesty's Government: What further steps the Middle East quartet plans to take to secure peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
Lord Blaker: My Lords, is not the situation changing a bit, in that the Sunni Arabs are beginning to perceive that there is a growing threat from Iran, as, indeed, does Israel? They are beginning to perceive a common interest. Does it make sense for the quartet to continue to demand capitulation from the Palestinians on the three tough conditions that it has set even before negotiations begin and when the...
Lord Blaker: rose to ask Her Majesty's Government what policies they are adopting regarding the situation in Zimbabwe. My Lords, I pay tribute to all noble Lords who have come here to make a two-minute speech. Those who are going to speak should not thank me or congratulate me on this debate because that just takes time. A few weeks ago we had reason to be optimistic about Zimbabwe. The two leading...
Lord Blaker: My Lords, for 28 years I represented Blackpool South in the other place, and I shall refer to regeneration in a moment. As my long-term friend on the Liberal Democrat Benches has mentioned, the business of Blackpool is entertainment and tourism. Those activities form by far the biggest industries in the town. It is the result of the railways. In the middle of the 19th century the town of...
Lord Blaker: My Lords, may I just clarify the position of Blackpool council? It is very much in favour of a regional casino; it has been working on this idea for years—and, in addition, a petition has been signed by 11,500 people in Blackpool for this purpose.