Your MP writes (From Worcester News)

Your MP writes

8:56am Thursday 15th February 2007

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In 2005, people in Worcester, through church groups or the wider trade justice movement or simply as concerned individuals, demanded that we take action to help the world’s poorest people.

I was proud to work with Labour ministers to make sure the wealthy G8 nations promised to double aid, cancel debt for the poorest countries and support free basic education, healthcare and access to Aids treatments.
As I said at the time, we did so for many reasons ranging from the fact that it is in our own self-interest to do so, to the view that actually it is morally the right thing to do.
It is also clear that the biggest long-term threat that we now face is climate change. People in Worcester have told me that this must be tackled and that the UK should lead the way. I agree. But we have to accept that only through international agreement will we make the changes needed to solve the problem.
So I was pleased that the Prime Minister used his speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos the other weekend to call for action on the key issues of climate change, world trade and Africa.
He added that America was in the process of a “quantum shift” on climate change.
It frankly needs to be. The Prime Minister also signalled that he thought that there was an opportunity for an even more radical international agreement on climate change than the Kyoto agreement reached 10 years ago.
I was also pleased that the Prime Minister wants Africa to be the central beneficiary of any world trade deal.
Talks were suspended last year, but the Prime Minister said an agreement is now “more likely than not”.
The developed world made commitments on aid at the Gleneagles G8 Summit held in July 2005.
I am proud that the UK led the way on this issue and has been at the forefront of addressing
climate change.
As the PM told the world leaders at Davos, we must honour these commitments for our own benefit and for those millions of people who we can help deliver from poverty and hunger with a world trade agreement.