AMinisterComestoCall
Q&AwiththeRtHonPennyMordauntMP,Leaderofthe HouseofCommons/LordPresidentoftheCouncilandMP forPortsmouth,May2023
What is your view on the Honours List?
“It needs to be looked at Obviously in the news has been the list of honours requested by Liz Truss, which I believe is short and eyebrows have been raised by the names Boris’ list. We need to look at system, it is clearly not doing what it should, though I am not necessarily in favour of a voted for Upper House. The House of Lords has a problem as a body as it does not offer a representative sample of the UK population today, it needs to be more open and transparent, and we should probably abolish hereditary positions in the Lords as part of any review.”
What do you think is more likely, that we re-join the EU or constitutional revolution?
What is your favourite piece of legislation going through Parliament currently?
“The Private Members Bill readings on a Friday. They are short, sharp bills that are debated which can really make a difference to day to day lives For example, the Trophy Hunting Bill passed recently making sure that trips where animals exploited can no longer be advertised in the UK. There have also been bills passed on the procedure for hospitality tips; people’s right to understand what reasonable working hours are. In these sessions we can pass 4 or 5 of these “smaller” bills that can make an impact.”
“Neither are particularly likely! Most people like the monarchy as long as it not running the country in terms of setting and passing laws. A constitutional monarchy gives steadiness and continuity. Internationally, the monarchy can help to get things done and build relationships, so it’s worth having around! When I was Secretary of State for International Development, I had the honour of working with King Charles, he is a good man. Going back into EU… I don’t think people want to go through the turmoil again, but they want to see what Brexit dividend is and we need to prove that.”
HORIZONS, SUMMER 2023With so many people struggling with the cost of living and a rise in homelessness, how can the cost of the Coronation be justified?
“Most of the costs of coronation are security, specifically relating to protecting the public and ensuring their safety. Most people want to see the event and are excited by the prospect.”
Should the King be paying for the event?
“King Charles has been proactive in ensuring that he is paying money back to Exchequer from his estates, this may not be going towards the Coronation per se, but his estates are contributing significantly to the public purse in other ways.”
Why did you choose the Conservative party, and do they still uphold values today that made you join them?
“There are two key reasons, the party fitted with my values and with my experience. Early in my life I had to take on the responsibility as a carer in my family, for my brother. It made me feel annoyed when I saw others, people and organisations not take on their responsibilities and it laid
downandearlyprincipleforme.BeforeI wenttouniversity,IspenttimeinRomania, andIsawthentheconsequencesofpoor governmentandthesituationtheremake meinterestedinpolitics.AsastudentI attendedaLabourPartyconferencewhich mademewanttojointheConservatives!
Ijoinedthepartyataverylowlevelandwas encouragedtorunforofficeandIfeltit reflectedbypersonalresponsibilityand approachtolife.TheConservativesstillhave manyofthevaluestodaythatarethe reasonsIjoined,andIbelievestronglythat ourgreatestdefeatsarewhenwedon’tstick tothosevalues–thatisthereasonIturned downapositionofferedtomeinBoris Johnson’scabinet.”
WhatdidyouthinkaboutMattHancock takingpartin“I’mACelebrity”anddo youthinkitmadeamockeryofhis position?
“Youmustmakeyourdecisionscarefully aboutwhatyoudecidetodo.WhenIwas offered‘Splash’itfeltlikeapositivethingto dogivenmypositionatthetime,Ionlyhad tocommit30-hourstotheprogramme,andI gavemyfeetohelpwiththedevelopmentof
Hilsea Lido. For Matt Hancock, I think the difficulty of what he did was his timing, we were about to go in to Covid enquiry. I’m sure he did his best given his personal circumstances; it was just poor judgement ”
Do you agree with first past the post as a fair electoral system?
“At the heart of people wanting change is that they are given a clear choice, A or B which first past the post provides. People do want a more collaborative government which is what is kind of happening in many ways now as we work together to achieve various legislation The news cycle has contributed to creating this change as we now need to have a personal clear view as the electorate want to know what our view is and not just hear the party line being repeated Government is evolving to reflect this.”
Could the Government be doing more to help Ukraine?
“We are doing a lot On Salisbury Plain we are currently training 40,000 Ukrainian soldiers, helping them to use what they have tactically and appropriately. We are sharing tasks with other nations – for example they are being provided with aircraft that they have the knowledge and scope to use and maintain, then our aircraft are “backfilling” the gap where these aircraft would have been to ensure safe airspace We are giving them the best possible chance and giving every opportunity we can for the war to end.”
Do you think that Parliament will be more diverse in the future?
“Our ambition is for 50% of our candidates to be women, but we do need to give more encouragement for people to run from diverse backgrounds There are currently many parliamentary groups working to ensure accessibility in the right place and to support and encouragement to potential candidates from more diverse backgrounds. It is something that needs to keep building ”
Why did you stay in government last year if didn’t believe in Boris Johnson?
“I stayed as someone had to run country! Specifically, for me, I had five trade agreements I was working on and needed to get through if I had left those would have not happened. I simply didn’t think resigning was the best for country.”
Why did you vote for Brexit?
“The consequences of staying in the EU would be worse. I objected to the price we are expected to pay for being part of the EU for example Horizons or the single market. I am very definitely in favour of those, just not the financial cost of it when there are many other trade opportunities available for the country ”
How would you define being a woman?
“The heat needs to be taken out of this debate as the extremists, on both sides, are creating some deep societal issues I believe that a trans woman is not a biological woman, but that she should and does have recognition under the law. What people want is clarity and we need to protect spaces for all groups to feel safe ”
What do you think about Macron’s statement about there needing to be a third superpower?
“We do need a way of providing balance to China. It is currently difficult as the US is in a tricky situation at the moment with a lack of long-term economic plan. We have shown as a world that we can come together when needed, as we have done to support Ukraine The UN should be the vehicle to provide balance, it needs reform to reflect more the modern world - Macron should focus his efforts there.”
Do you think you can be doing more to tax the extremely high energy company profits?
“The taxes levied are already very high and their excess profits taxed. What we need to do is to balance our focus to ensure that
there is the investment to get to our goal of net zero.”
Why did you not vote against the Southern Water Sewage dumps into our sea?
“You don’t stop things happening by just voting, change needs infrastructure. For many years now I have worked with Southern Water and other organisations, to create new sewage infrastructure to stop or improve the many issues, specifically in Portsmouth North. We now have a new pumping station, 100% of overflow is now being monitored not just 6%. Infrastructure plans are also now in place and there will be no more storm overflows by 2030. We also have new sea defences being built around Portsmouth which will withstand a 1 in 500year event.”
Do you think it is right to maintain close ties Israel given their record on human rights?
“Israel are having a very difficult time at moment We keep close ties with all nations, well apart from about three, and we tell them when we are not in agreement with their policies and practices, which we have done with Israel.”
In this post-colonial era, how do we maintain a position of power in a global world?
“What we need to do is make sure that the relationships we have work for all parties in that relationship. The focus of these relationships can vary from trade to the environment – whatever is needed. The Commonwealth is secure and is a focus for the Foreign Office ”
Rwanda, is it correct that we get citizens from there as part of the agreement?
“It is in the agreement, but it is not the intention of agreement Most important for us is that this is just part of a much wider programme to ensure we can take refugees that need our support and that cannot survive in refugee camps, we only have a certain capacity, and we need to look at where our moral responsibility lies.”