PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
DEBT CANCELLATION AND THE G8 SUMMIT (7 June 1998)

That this House welcomes the fact that the Prime Minister was able to meet the Jubilee 2000 coalition of aid agencies, charities and churches at the G8 Summit in Birmingham; congratulates the 70,000 people who turned out to form a human chain around Birmingham; notes that this reflects the depth and extent of public support for debt cancellation; believes that the conditional cancellation of the unpayable debts of the poorest countries by 2000 is both morally and economically right; expresses concern that G8 leaders did not agree on more substantial progress on this issue; and calls upon the Government to maintain its positive approach to debt relief and to continue to put pressure on G8 and IMF colleagues to provide the same support, so that real and effective debt relief by 2000 can be a first important step towards poverty eradication in the next millennium.

Sponsored by:
Julia Drown (Labour)