Speeches and Articles
Speeches
Westminster Hall Debate - Death Penalty (Global Abolition)
Speech by Jo Swinson MP on 28 October 2009
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr. Benton. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Carmichael) on getting the debate on to the agenda and on the way in which he opened it. He is hugely knowledgeable on the subject and has a strong record of campaigning on the issue around the world. I know that partly because he is my colleague and we have discussed these issues, and partly because, like him, I am a member of Amnesty International. When Amnesty's magazine comes through the letter box every few months, although I often find it difficult to read because of the horrors within, from time to time, there is a piece about his work on these important issues.
Westminster Hall Debate - China and the West
Speech by Jo Swinson MP on 13 October 2009
I congratulate the hon. Member for Cities of London and Westminster (Mr. Field) on securing the debate and opening it with such eloquence, setting out the economic challenges that the UK and other countries will face in the context of China's growth and emergence as an economic powerhouse. It is an important subject and, as is often the way with 90-minute debates in Westminster Hall, we could spend much more time discussing it, because it has so many aspects. We have heard about the economic side and the hon. Member for North Wiltshire (Mr. Gray) has focused on Tibet.
Westminster Hall Debate - Israeli Settlements
Speech by Jo Swinson MP on 21 July 2009
I congratulate the hon. Member for Wolverhampton, South-West (Rob Marris) on securing this interesting debate. It is always pleasing when there is a good turnout of hon. Members because we get a wide range of contributions, even if that means that those contributions are fairly brief. No doubt we could have debated this issue for many hours and still found interesting points of discussion.
Westminster Hall Debate - Global Security (Iran)
Speech by Jo Swinson MP on 9 July 2009
It is a pleasure to follow Mr. Wallace, who has great expertise on this issue. I am sure that all hon. Members enjoyed his remarks. I congratulate the Select Committee Chairman on his introduction to the debate and on the work of his Committee in producing this well-researched and thorough report. It has led to an important and lively debate this afternoon. Unfortunately, it is almost 18 months since the report's publication. Although it might have been helpful to debate it earlier, sadly, many of the conclusions still apply.
Westminster Hall Debate - Human Rights (Iran)
Speech by Jo Swinson MP on 8 July 2009
I too congratulate my hon. Friend Lembit Öpik on securing this debate. He has a strong record of fighting for justice in Iran, particularly for the Baha'i, which was the focus of much of his remarks. Indeed, he chairs the all-party group Friends of the Baha'i. None the less, the debate was wide-ranging and dealt with various aspects of human rights in Iran.
Articles
Radical change must now begin
Written by Jo Swinson and published in The Herald on Thu 5th Nov 2009.
If one thing has become clear from the expenses scandal, it is that MPs should not make the rules about their own pay and conditions. It is therefore absolutely right that party leaders have agreed to accept the findings of Sir Christopher Kelly's review in full. It is a thorough piece of work, and packed with eminently sensible recommendations. While the media firestorm over MPs' expenses may have begun to subside, MPs must not think they can wriggle out of the necessary reforms. In fairness, most MPs I have spoken to are keen to get on with a new system based on the Kelly proposals, and start to rebuild trust in politics.
My big idea to fix politics
Written by Vincent Cable, Jo Swinson, Norman Baker and John Curtice and published on Guardian.co.uk Comment is Free on 20th September 2009
Involve people. The public's disengagement with politics is both a symptom and a cause of our broken politics. To break the vicious cycle, we need a radical shake-up of how the voting public can take part in democracy. It should no longer be just about casting a vote every couple of years, and leaving the rest up to those elected - fixing politics can't be left to the politicians. We must encourage much wider involvement, through a citizen's convention to recommend big changes to our political system.
Bridging the gender gap
Written by Jo Swinson MP and published on Guardian.co.uk Comment is Free on 12th September 2009
I welcome the report released this week by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) into sex discrimination in the City, even if its findings are not at all surprising. It is no secret that bankers' bonuses do not reflect a realistic appraisal of their performance, or that the City is hardly the most welcoming place for women to work. However, it is not just the City, or even the private sector, where women earn significantly less than men. Research carried out by the Liberal Democrats recently discovered that the average hourly pay of women working for the Treasury is 26.5% lower than that of male employees. Only 29% of full-time senior civil servants are women, and the weighted median gender pay gap for full-time staff across the civil service is 15.3%.
Perez Hilton has blogged about a Lib Dem policy paper
Written by Jo Swinson MP and published on Liberal Democrat Voice on 12th August 2009
Last Wednesday I tweeted the unlikely words: "Never thought I'd say this, but Perez Hilton has blogged about a Lib Dem policy paper http://bit.ly/Dkfe5".
It's fair to say that the Real Women policy paper proposals on body image have stirred up quite a bit of debate: in the press, on TV & radio, in the blogosphere and, I also hope, in the pub, around the dinner table and over a cup of coffee.
Lots of women (and a few men) have got in touch to say they're glad someone is finally trying to tackle the huge pressure on women to look slim, smooth and perfect.
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