In an Urgent Question on 18 June, Stephen questioned Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab about the proposed merger of the Foreign Office and the Department for International Development.
Stephen highlighted the consensus across the House about the importance of international development since the Jubilee 2000 campaign. He argued for the profound difference between focusing on doing good in the world—tackling poverty and dealing with the climate crisis—and ‘our own national interests’.
Stephen commented: ‘I deeply regret the Government decision to downgrade International Development last week. The churches were largely responsible for delivering the consensus around it twenty years ago. Ending that consensus makes Britain weaker.’