Prime Minister: Plans to Meet Senator John Kerry (Hansard, 29 April 2004)

§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean)
My Lords, the Prime Minister has no current plans to do so.

§ Lord Clinton-Davis
My Lords, do not the Government agree that there should be a true balance between the Government, the Democrats and the Republicans? Even if President Bush and those around him will not acknowledge any possibility of defeat—and that will not be the first time that they have got it wrong—is it not vital that there should be a good rapport between the Government and the Democratic candidate?

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
My Lords, I agree about the importance of government to government relationships. Of course, party-to-party relationships continue, whatever the parties happen to be, and I include the opposition parties in this country as well as overseas. However, I am bound to say to my noble friend that government-to-party relationships become increasingly sensitive in an election year. That is true whether we are talking about an election in the world's most powerful country or, in my experience, whether we are talking about elections in some very small countries around the world. We have to be sensitive about the way in which we handle those relationships at such a time.

§ Baroness Williams of Crosby
My Lords, while I recognise the reasons behind what the Minister said, it is still some six months before the US election takes place. Would it not be therefore wise, in the interests of being even-handed—although we on these Benches recognise that the Prime Minister and Mr Bush are very close—to arrange some kind of meeting well before the time the campaign is under way?

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
My Lords, the relationship is indeed close, as was my right honourable friend's relationship with a president of a former party. My right honourable friend has recently returned from the United States. He might well have seen Mr Kerry when he was there, but that was not the way in which diaries worked at the time. I was careful in the way that I formulated my Answer. A meeting is not ruled out entirely but, as a matter of fact, the Prime Minister does not have any current plans for one.

§ Lord Richard
My Lords, may I take it from that answer that if Senator Kerry were to request a meeting with the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister might be prepared to smile upon it?

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
My Lords, I cannot control my right honourable friend's diary. I suggest to my noble friend that that would be a question of timing. I do not see any reason why there should not be such a meeting. I have indicated to your 885 Lordships that such a meeting might have taken place only a few days ago had diaries worked. However, as the election draws closer, one would rightly expect the Government, when acting as government, to be circumspect about any meetings with opposition parties or with parties of the governing party—but not with the US Government. That is common sense.

§ Lord Tugendhat
My Lords, does the noble Baroness believe that circumstances might ever arise in which the Prime Minister would differ from the President of the United States in public?

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
My Lords, I thought that somebody might ask me that. I shall try to remind the noble Lord of when that has happened. The Prime Minister has differed from the President of the United States on the important issues of climate change and the Kyoto Protocol. The Prime Minister has differed from the President of the United States on his dedication to the death penalty. I have argued fiercely on many occasions with the US Administration about it. We have substantial differences with the United States on that. We also have sharp differences over trade; we have had trade disputes. The Prime Minister has spoken out forcefully against the way in which the President of the United States dealt with the steel issue. There have been frequent disagreements on territorial legislation as it has affected Cuba, Libya and, of course, Iran. There have also been frequent disputes and difficulties between us over a number of different countries. I shall instance at this point solely Cuba, because it is the one of which I had direct experience myself. We decided to resume relationships with Cuba. The noble Lord will know that we have diplomatic relations with a number of countries with which the United States does not. I think that I have been able to give the noble Lord a fairly comprehensive answer on that point.

§ Lord Marsh
My Lords, does the noble Baroness agree that we have a very large embassy in Washington and that it would become very difficult for diplomats if the Prime Minister were to carry on discussions with political parties? Nobody would be quite sure whether he was speaking as member of the Labour Party or as the Prime Minister. People in the Labour Party have traditionally gone to talk to their political opposite numbers. I would be surprised if the Labour Party was not doing that now—the Conservative Party surely does the same—on the basis of political party to political party. It is naïve to cloud the issue.

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
My Lords, I do not know whether contacts are being made by members of the Labour Party at this moment. I made a point of not asking that question, because I wanted to answer the Question of my noble friend Lord Clinton-Davis, as I must, from this Dispatch Box, as a government Minister. I, and other Ministers who are far more senior and important, understand the difference between being a party political animal and being a member of a government.