Edward Morello
MP for West Dorset · Liberal Democrat · United Kingdom
“However, many independent producers have said that they are receiving far less—in some cases, only 130p to 140p per kilogram. Some farmers are losing as much as £50 on every pig they sell. That is unsustainable. Once again, it is independent farmers who have borne the greatest burden.”
“West Dorset farmers are proud of the standards they have achieved. Every farmer I have spoken to wants to see further improvements in animal welfare.”
“The hon. Member must forgive that my speech is weighted towards English rugby, as he is absolutely right that the important role rugby clubs play in a community is true in all four parts of the United Kingdom. Research has now described the evidence linking organised sport with improved psychological wellbeing as compelling.”
“Will the Minister work across Government and with governing bodies to deliver the new school sport partnerships and enrichment framework, and provide early clarity on the objectives, priorities, delivery models and timescales?”
“Government can play an important role by ensuring that schools have access to suitable facilities, qualified coaches and meaningful links with local community clubs. School sport should never operate in isolation. The stronger systems are those where schools, clubs and governing bodies work together.”
“It would enable clubs to expand youth sections, to create better facilities for women and girls and to host schools’ disability rugby and walking rugby. Rugby contributes more than £2 billion annually to England through improved health, stronger communities and economic activity. Those benefits are felt in every constituency.”
The complete record
Every one of 602 lines we hold for Edward Morello, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 9 of 13.
“I say to the right hon. Member for New Forest East (Sir Julian Lewis) that I suspect he grants President Trump far too much credit when it comes to understanding the Munroe doctrine—but that is an aside. What legal advice have the Government received or obtained in regard to the legality or possible legal implications of support for the US, albeit through intelligence sharing, for any potential strikes on Venezuela?”
“I thank my hon. Friend for speaking to this important new clause, which relates to the fundamental fact that pensions are about planning for the future, and climate change is about making sure that we have a future for all. Having pension funds supporting anything that undermines the outlook for future generations should be prevented in any which way we can. I just wanted to lend my support to her wonderful amendment.”
“When my hon. Friend talked about a 23-week wait, my immediate thought was, “Oh, luxury!” A constituent in West Dorset contacted me to say that he faces a 24-month wait to find a single test within a 50-mile radius. That is one of the problems with being in a beautiful part of rural Britain. The only alternative is to pay more than £200 to one of the resellers. Does my hon. Friend agree that that is exploitation of the most vulnerable?”
“I pay tribute to the residents of my community who have opened their arms to numerous Ukrainian families who have fled the war. It worries me that, time and again, I am asked to step in to help Ukrainian family members who are getting visa extensions for one member of their family but not for others. That is creating real concern among those families, who have fled war and conflict, that they are going to be split up. Nothing in the Government’s proposals does anything to deal with the huge backlog of cases. Does my hon. Friend agree that none of this will work unless we deal with the millions of people who are stuck in the system?”
“Like my hon. Friend’s constituency, West Dorset is rural and has no university, but we have a further education institution in the shape of Coastland college’s Kingston Maurward campus. We know the skills gap that is emerging in rural Britain and the need to give people an opportunity to progress. Level 7 apprenticeships provide the technical capability, but there are broader issues around welding, engineering, agriculture and the other services that are vital to delivering the home-building target. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Government must do more to support the further education institutions that are providing the workers of the future to help us to meet the targets she is talking about?”
“T5. I recently met the Water Minister to discuss the Independent Water Commission’s recommendation that we adopt pre-pipe solutions to prevent rainwater further overflowing our sewage system, especially if more homes are built. Will the Minister meet me and Cabinet colleagues to make rainwater harvesting mandatory on all new home builds and major developments?”
“The hon. Gentleman is talking about young people and farming. Those two issues overlap in rural areas such as mine. Our child and adolescent mental health services are centralised in Dorchester, so someone living in the extremities of Lyme Regis, Beaminster or the surrounding villages could be looking at a 30-mile round trip to access them. Given that our part of the country is famous for its unreliable bus network, that is pretty difficult for a lot of young people and for those living in isolated communities. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that improving access to things like CAMHS is vital if we are to protect young people in rural communities?”
“I congratulate the right hon. Lady on securing the debate. The issue about the number of farms above the £1.5 million mark is that 30% of British farms made no money last year. West Dorset farmers are responsible for maintaining 70% of the land. That number will only decrease as they are forced to carve up their assets to pay these bills.”
“I will happily answer the question, drawing on my experience in solar: it is because the amount of money for the export does not make rooftop solar viable on a commercial scale. To provide the simplest numbers: it costs 50p per unit to put it on ground mount, about £1 per unit to put it on rooftop and £1.50 to put it on carports. Unless we increase the export value to 12p to 15p per unit, it will never stack up. That is why.”
“In West Dorset, overloaded sewers and outdated infrastructure cause repeated sewage spills. Rainwater enters combined systems, overwhelming capacity and causing them to overflow. The Independent Water Commission recommended pre-pipe solutions to reduce storm overflows. Will the Secretary of State introduce a national rainwater management strategy and require rainwater harvesting on all new homes and renovations?”
“I thank my hon. Friend for giving way. He will know that West Dorset is home to a number of our rare and precious chalk streams, including the Frome and the Wraxall brook. Does he agree with me that a system similar to the Blue Flag status that we have for beaches would be a relatively cheap and easy way for the Government to provide environmental protections for our chalk streams?”
“We believe in science, the opinions of experts, and the inalienable truth that climate change is an existential crisis. We are here to help to improve that delivery, explore those further measures and ensure that our generation meets our commitment to future generations.”
“Clean power cannot flow if it cannot be connected. The Liberal Democrats are also calling for a UK-wide adaptation strategy to embed climate resilience into every decision and support local communities to prepare before disaster occurs. COP30 is currently being held in Brazil, and while the world’s negotiators grapple with finding an agreement, the British public are clear that they overwhelmingly support strong climate action. They want leadership. The Liberal Democrats believe we can halve energy bills within a decade, end fuel poverty and create a cleaner, fairer and more secure Britain. In the delivery plan, the Government say that they will “seek to improve delivery and, where appropriate, will explore further measures, to ensure that the UK will meet its international commitments.” Well, the Liberal Democrats believe in facts.”
“By prioritising flexible storage rather than reverting to high-emission generators such as Drax, we would be able to utilise a far greater proportion of the renewable energy that we generate. On agriculture, the plan to recognise farmers as central to climate action is great, but we need to fund them properly. The Government’s cuts to the sustainable farming initiative and delays to environmental land management schemes mean that many farmers are left uncertain about the future and unable to invest in carbon reduction and nature-friendly initiatives. The Liberal Democrats would commit an additional £1 billion a year to support sustainable farming and rural resilience. We must also accelerate the upgrade of our national grid, and ensure that communities affected by new infrastructure share in the benefits.”
“There also need to be long-term secure funding streams that are accessible to start-ups and innovators. The net zero innovation portfolio was a great scheme. It invested around £300 million in early-stage climate ventures, leveraging up to £3 in private investment for every £1 in public grant funding. Sadly, it was scrapped this year. Will the Government confirm whether they intend there to be a replacement to the net zero innovation portfolio? Will they also confirm that the clean tech innovation challenge will proceed in 2026, as previously announced? In addition, I urge Ministers to commit a portion of the next round of Government carbon purchases specifically to carbon removal projects, to help to establish and grow the greenhouse gas-removal market. We must reform how the National Energy System Operator manages battery storage.”
“The Government’s investor prospectus is a good start, but stability is what really attracts private investment. The green economy is already growing three times faster than the UK economy as a whole and employs nearly 1 million people in well-paid, secure jobs. With clear policy direction, we can accelerate that growth. The Government must end the sporadic nature of the climate portfolio and end the stop-start conversations with the Treasury. The £8.3 billion for GB Energy is good news—having spent a decade in renewable energy finance, I can tell Members that I would have supported that if it were £8.30—but it needs to be front-loaded, not spread out over the course of a Parliament. If we want to crowd in private investment, we have to de-risk the first 10p on the pound, not the first 1p.”
“The new carbon budget delivery plan is a step back in the right direction. The Government’s plan includes bold targets: low-carbon power making up 98% of the grid by 2035, 9 million heat pumps in operation, 1.6 million homes upgraded every year, and 75% of farmers engaged in emissions reductions. The Liberal Democrats support those aims, but we also want action now. We have proposed a 10-year emergency home upgrade programme, starting with free insulation for low-income households, ensuring that all new homes are zero carbon, and extending rooftop solar through the sunshine Bill tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Cheltenham (Max Wilkinson). We would also provide a social tariff for vulnerable households and move older renewable projects on to cheaper, more stable contracts.”
“Much of the heavy lifting on hard-to-abate emissions still lies ahead: decarbonising manufacturing, transport and agriculture and improving energy efficiency, all while protecting nature. The key to further progress is changing the narrative. The transition to a low-carbon economy is not a cost or a burden; it is one of the greatest opportunities of our time. It can bring cheaper bills, warmer homes and thousands of well-paid jobs in the green economy. It is deeply disappointing that, having once lead the UK through varying levels of success in green technology, the Conservative party has abandoned its values and veered into climate denialism. Its recent calls to scrap the Climate Change Act just show how far it has fallen from the environmental leadership that Britain once showed.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir John. I congratulate the hon. Member for Sheffield Central (Abtisam Mohamed) on securing this important debate. I am delighted that after years of delays, legal challenges and missed opportunities, we finally have a new carbon delivery plan. As we all know, however, a plan is not enough—it is actions, not words, that count. Before I get into the action that is needed, I want to first acknowledge the great progress that has been made. The UK has halved its emissions since 1990. That is an exceptional achievement and one we should rightly be proud of, but much of that progress has been made by phasing out coal.”
“Q7. Jhoots Pharmacy has been responsible for repeated closures, leaving staff unpaid and residents without access to vital medicine. Unfit pharmacy owners such as Sarbjit Jhooty, who has severely neglected patients and staff in West Dorset and across England, should not be running our care system. Will the Prime Minister make time in the parliamentary schedule for emergency legislation to give the Government and regulators powers to pay staff, tackle improper pharmacy owners and directors, and ensure that scandals like this can never happen again?”
“I share my hon. Friend’s frustration but would like to say what a luxury it is to be so far down the line with an Access for All bid. Despite having £100,000 pledged by Dorset council and local developers to support step-free access, Dorchester South station is still waiting to hear whether it will even be considered for the bid. Does she agree that more should be done to create transparency in this process?”
“The hon. Member is making a fantastic speech, and I agree with everything that he is saying. West Dorset is blessed with 11 fantastic small vineyards. For most of them, the primary route to market is through local shops and rural pubs. Does he agree that unless we raise the threshold to create equality in the marketplace and a fairer system alongside small producers of beer, those vineyards will never have a chance to grow beyond their local area?”
“I wonder whether the root of the solution is for local authorities and schools to have mandatory minimum purchases from local producers, thereby giving local farmers a supply chain into the local area and providing fresh food for children.”
“T2. Due to the rural nature of West Dorset, SEND children face difficulty accessing education. I have casework of a young girl with a stroke whose transport was withdrawn two days beforehand. Will the Minister work with other Departments to solve the problem of SEND children accessing education in rural areas?”
“Children in Gaza are enduring unimaginable suffering, with families driven to starvation amid a humanitarian catastrophe. Over 640,000 people now face catastrophic food insecurity, and projections warn that as many as 43,000 children could die from malnutrition by June 2026. The Liberal Democrats have always helped to lead on international development. We proudly enshrined the 0.7% target in law, because it was an investment in peace and prosperity, but also in long-term security. Aid is not charity; it builds peace, prevents conflict and addresses the root causes of instability and migration.”
“Nearly one third of what remains of the UK aid budget is being spent not on tackling global poverty, preventing instability and migration, but on in-country asylum accommodation. That leaves far less for the world’s poorest and most vulnerable. The very budget designed to prevent displacement is being used to pay for its effects. At far greater cost to society, we are left treating the symptoms, not the cause. These cuts come even as global need rises. Over 123 million people are displaced by conflict. The World Food Programme warns that reduced funding for aid could push another 13.7 million people to severe hunger. In Sudan alone, 30 million people now need humanitarian assistance, with 25 million facing food insecurity.”
“Member for Oxford East (Anneliese Dodds), who could not in good conscience support the dismantling of Britain’s global leadership in aid to fund increased defence spending. That decision marked a turning point. It signalled that Britain, once a leader in development and compassion, was willing to trade its soft power for short-term savings, instead of taking strong and bold decisions such as increasing taxes on tech giants or a bespoke customs union with the EU, as my party has so often urged. The UK’s proud record as a global leader in aid has been left shredded. The previous Conservative Government reduced the aid budget from 0.7% to 0.5% of our gross national income. This Labour Government now plan to cut it further to just 0.3% by 2027—the lowest level this century.”
“I beg to move, That this House has considered the impact of planned reductions in Official Development Assistance on international development. It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Sir Desmond. I thank the Backbench Business Committee for granting this important debate, and my co-sponsors from across the House—the hon. Members for Rotherham (Sarah Champion) and for Chester South and Eddisbury (Aphra Brandreth), and my hon. Friend the Member for Esher and Walton (Monica Harding)—for their support in securing it. It is almost a year since the Prime Minister announced sweeping cuts to official development assistance, a decision that prompted the resignation of a former Minister for International Development, the right hon.”
“I thank the hon. Member, who is my colleague on the Foreign Affairs Committee. His background and expertise in this area is unrivalled, and I agree 100% with his sentiment; it is money badly spent when we do not invest in conflict prevention. The decision to cut our official development assistance from 0.7% to 0.3% of GNI by 2027 comes at the worst possible time. It adds to the nightmare caused by earlier cuts in 2021 and the devastating aid freezes in the United States by Trump’s White House. If we stay on this trajectory, by 2027, Britain will be spending over £6 billion less on aid than if we had simply maintained the 0.5% commitment. That is equivalent to cutting the entire education or health portfolio from our overseas spending.”
“Yes, we must invest in defence, but we cannot defend Britain by turning away from the world. We cannot keep our citizens safe by cutting the very programmes that prevent conflict and suffering at source.”
“We should not be surprised when those nations fill the void, with motives far removed from our liberal and democratic values. As Members of this House, we should never forget that the world watches what Britain does. When we lead, others follow. When we stand firm, others shrink back. Development and defence are not opposites; they are two sides of the same coin. Soft power—the influence we exert through compassion, diplomacy and culture—is what gives our country the moral legitimacy that has underpinned our diplomacy since the post-war era. It is what makes Britain a leader on the world stage. When we cut aid, we cut influence. When we weaken our global reach, we make ourselves less safe. The Government have argued that the reduction is necessary to fund a rise in defence spending, to reach 2.6% of GDP by 2027.”
“As a member of both the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy, I have seen at first hand how aid and development are integral to our security. In recent weeks, we have seen the malign influence of China and Russia on our domestic politics. Those malevolent threats are already prevalent in the countries we support. We must not give them space to grow because, when we retreat, the vacuum is filled by those countries that do not share our values. The strategic investments of Russia and China are already exploiting that space. China would have no difficulty stepping in to replace UK influence, especially in the global south, where its belt and road investments already run deep. But Beijing’s model of aid is transactional, not transformative.”
“I agree 100%. What is so wonderful about Britain is how, time and again, communities step into the void left by Government spending, but we cannot rely entirely on the charity and good will of others. The UK’s contribution to global health, education and nutrition, which are the foundations of our stability, is being eroded. Nutrition-focused aid has fallen by 60% and education spending has declined by 83% since 2016. Aid for reproductive health has fallen by 68%, and primary education now accounts for only £71 million of the entire ODA budget. The list goes on, and they are not just statistics. They are classrooms that will never reopen; vaccines that will never be delivered; and children who will never have a fair chance in life.”
“The timing of this debate could not be more important. It is a time of hardship and high costs of living for all. There are difficult decisions to be made, both domestically and abroad. But we should remember that the choices we make here ripple far beyond our own borders. They shape how the world sees us, and how safe, stable and prosperous our shared future will be.”
“In 2024, one in eight people worldwide was exposed to armed conflict. Humanitarian staff have been detained, attacked and even killed, and entire operations have been halted due to insecurity. Our response to that sacrifice should not be to cut funding for their organisations—they deserve not only our gratitude but our tangible support. We must ensure that safeguards and funding are extended to humanitarian workers, who represent British values in the most fragile corners of the world. The Government expect aid reductions to provide £500 million for defence in 2025-26, £4.8 billion in 2026-27 and £6.5 billion in 2027-28. That may satisfy Treasury spreadsheets, but it will come at the cost of lives, stability and influence. In the coming weeks, this House will debate spending priorities at the Budget.”
“Every pound we invest in aid saves far more in the long term, by preventing wars, stopping pandemics and reducing the need for emergency interventions. We live in a globalised society. Our economies, supply chains and security are inter- connected. Disease, conflict and climate crisis spread across borders with ease. To imagine that Britain can isolate itself from those realities is naive; if we fail to act abroad, we will pay the price at home. I pay tribute to the humanitarian workers who continue to serve in some of the world’s most dangerous environments, and who risk their lives daily to deliver aid. They embody the best of British values, yet their work is getting harder. From Gaza to Sudan, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Ukraine, aid workers face extraordinary challenges.”
“The Government’s commitment to meet their £11.6 billion international climate finance pledge by 2026 is welcome, but it is increasingly hollow if other aid streams are being dismantled. We cannot claim climate leadership while simultaneously cutting the very funds that protect vulnerable nations from its impact and help them to decarbonise sooner. The UK has always been at its best when leading with principle and pragmatism. We led on eradicating smallpox, on fighting HIV/AIDS, on girls’ education, on tackling modern slavery and, of course, on the creation of the United Nations. Today we must show that same moral courage. The cuts to the ODA budget are not only a betrayal of those values, they are a strategic mistake.”
“I agree 100% with my hon. Friend. Purely on a value-for-money basis, it is wiser to spend money where people are, to prevent them from getting on the road, than to try to house them here. Migration and global instability do not begin at our borders. They begin when climate change destroys livelihoods, when wars displace families and when hunger drives desperation. Compassion and prevention are not opposites of security; they are the foundations of it. Climate change remains the single greatest threat we face. Carbon knows no borders; it does not respect treaties or national boundaries. If we cut funding to those on the frontline of climate vulnerability, we are cutting our own future resilience. Whether that is in the Caribbean, the Sahel, the middle east or the Pacific, our partners need leadership, and Britain should be that leader.”
“I therefore urge the Government to reconsider the planned reductions ahead of the Budget, and to bring forward sustainable, long-term plans for funding both our defence and our diplomacy, rather than setting them in competition. I urge them to recognise that global leadership cannot be built on cuts and withdrawals, but on conviction and compassion. The world we are shaping today, through the choices we make on aid, diplomacy and climate will determine whether future generations—our children and grandchildren—inherit a planet of opportunity for all. We must stand up for liberal values, for compassion and for the rules-based international order. Britain has always stood tall on the world stage. Our leadership has mattered. It must matter again.”
“I agree 100% with the hon. Member. The more we work with our partners, the more we can deliver. We are living in an interconnected society; there is no way we can do this alone. We must work with others, and we must show leadership in that space. If aid spending remained at 0.5%, it would have reached £15.4 billion by 2027. Instead, it will stand at £9.2 billion, the lowest in real terms since 2012. When we retreat, Russia and China advance; when we stay silent, violence speaks for us. There can be no security without stability, and no stability without development. Development is not an add-on to security and foreign policy, but what that policy is built on.”
“Every Member in the Chamber made the same point about the importance of British leadership in this space, so I very much hope she will take the message back to her Department that we want to see the ODA budget restored. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That this House has considered the impact of planned reductions in Official Development Assistance on international development.”
“In that case, I will not thank everyone individually for their contributions. Thank you, Sir Desmond, for so wisely chairing the debate. I thank the hon. Member for Rotherham (Sarah Champion), for her continuing leadership in this area. I will use my one remaining minute to make the point to the shadow Minister, the right hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills (Wendy Morton), that the 0.1% that her party envisages will leave literally no money, once in-country costs are accounted for. I am extremely grateful to the Minister for stepping in to respond. She made the point that the UK is a leader on the partnership model, but she failed to mention that when we withdraw from that leadership role, others step in. It will be China and Russia.”
“I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate. He mentioned the importance of investing in funds to protect our security. He will know better than anyone that malign-influence powers such as Russia and China are eager to step into the void that we leave when we withdraw our aid. Does he agree that if we do not fund the Global Fund properly, malign powers such as those will step in and shape global health policy in their own image?”
“T2. In her speech this morning, the Chancellor said that she must make necessary choices ahead of the Budget. Will those choices once again come at the expense of rural communities such as West Dorset, or will she commit to reviewing the funding model to ensure that rurality is a funding metric, alongside deprivation, so that rural communities finally get the support they deserve?”
“On business rates, coastal communities such as West Dorset are heavily reliant on hospitality for providing jobs—over 6,000 locally—and it is vital to our tourism economy. The George in West Bay has seen its business rates go from £8,000 to £27,000, which basically ends any chance of its making a profit in the foreseeable future. How can we talk about supporting hospitality, tourism and small businesses when such businesses have to suffer those kinds of costs?”
“I congratulate the hon. Member on securing this important debate. He is being uncharacteristically modest in downplaying his involvement in setting up NILA; I congratulate him on that, too. He mentioned the volunteers. I wanted to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the volunteers in Lyme Regis who have responded to 27 call-outs already this year and are responsible for saving many lives. He talks about supporting independent lifeboats, but it is also about supporting the brave volunteers who give up their time to do this hard work.”
“Many moons ago, I was listening to a futurologist on the radio, a job that seems to involve mainly sitting on beanbags. He was talking about autonomous vehicles and was asked, “Is there anything that you think people should be thinking about on autonomous vehicles?” He said, “We’ve got to get used to the idea that grandma is going to turn up dead, because right now when you have a medical emergency, whether it be in a taxi or in a car, you’ll crash the car and get some kind of medical intervention as a result of that, but with autonomous vehicles, grandma will unfortunately arrive back at the house.” When we talk about the importance of cab drivers or vehicle-led driving, we also need to think about the unintended consequences of automated vehicles.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for giving way and I want to use this opportunity to beg a favour of him, although I appreciate that the issue I want to address might not be the responsibility of this Minister. My hon. Friend has rightly highlighted the issue of the collection of patients. However, there is also the issue of the delivery of patients. Far too many hospital helipads do not operate 24 hours a day, especially at children’s specialist trauma hospitals, which results in helicopters having to land elsewhere before the patient is moved by ambulance. If he meets the Minister, can he also press the Department of Health to properly fund 24-hour helipads at specialist children’s hospitals?”
“(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care if he will make a statement on the adequacy of Jhoots as a pharmacy provider.”
“Jhoots staff are not being paid and people across the country do not have access to vital medicine. Will the Minister please confirm what steps are being taken to ensure that all Jhoots staff are paid without delay? What discussions have taken place with the NHS BSA, the General Pharmaceutical Council and other regulators about Jhoots’s business practices? Finally, will the Government commit to urgently reviewing Jhoots’s suitability as an NHS pharmacy provider, outline what safeguards will be introduced to prevent this from happening again and review the pharmacy funding model?”