UK Parliamentarians Travel to Sweden to Reaffirm Strong Bilateral Relations
This was a long overdue outward delegation to the Swedish Riksdag to find out more about Sweden’s current political situation in the run-up to Parliamentary elections on 13th September this year and to get a feel for the state of the economy and society in a country regarded as one of our closest allies.
The delegation worked very well together. I led it as Chair of the British Group, IPU and the other members were: Wendy Morton MP (Conservative), Dr Ben Spencer MP (Conservative), Markus Campbell-Savours MP (Labour) and Lord Alan Beith (Liberal Democrat). Wendy is a Shadow Foreign Office Minister and Ben chairs the APPG Nordic Group of which Markus is also an officer as is Rt Hon Lord Beith who has extensive knowledge of Sweden and the Nordic states. Chiara De Vita accompanied us as our BGIPU official.
After checking into the Diplomat Hotel in the centre of Stockholm on Tuesday 13th January, we attended a short briefing at the British Embassy on the afternoon of our arrival. The substantive programme began on Wednesday 14th January with a drive to the city of Södertälje, an hour southwest of Stockholm. We met executives from Scania, the truck manufacturer which employs 18,000 people in the city, including the UK Managing Director Chris Newitt who flew over specially to meet us. Following a lunch at Scania HQ, we visited the museum and then went to the nearby Hovsjö Family Centre where we were greeted by the town’s long-serving Mayor, Boel Godner, who gave an excellent presentation on how Södertälje deals with the challenges faced by the city such as integration of immigrant communities and crime. We heard about the Rätt Kurva method for dealing with youth crime which has successfully diverted many children and young people away from a future criminal life.
Thursday 15th January saw us spending the whole day in the Riksdag in different meetings including one with Dr Andreas Norlén, the Speaker of the Swedish Parliament. We were welcomed by the Swedish IPU delegation led by Margareta Cederfelt of the Moderate Party and Björn Sondén, the delegation’s Secretary. After lunch with a number of Swedish Parliamentarians and the UK’s Ambassador, Samantha Job in the Riksdag’s restaurant, we met with the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and then the Standing Committee on Social Insurance. The meetings were followed by a fascinating guided tour of the Riksdag building and then an official dinner at the stunning Villa Bonnier, with many of the Parliamentarians we had met during the day.
On Friday 16th January, our last day, we left the hotel early to meet the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, equivalent to Chatham House, where we discussed Ukraine, followed by a meeting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, again on Ukraine. After lunch with the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), we travelled to the famous and ancient university town of Uppsala, about an hour north of Stockholm, where we were greeted by the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation. We heard the history of the great man and his much-celebrated leadership of the United Nations as its second Secretary-General which was tragically cut short when he was killed in a helicopter crash in the Congo in September 1961 at the age of just 56.
Our final engagement of the visit took place with the County Governor of Uppsala, Stefan Attefall, who lives in the medieval Uppsala Castle, overlooking the town. It was a huge privilege being able to see the ancient building and to hear about its history and place in Sweden’s heritage. It was a fitting end to a brief but uplifting trip to one of the UK’s staunchest allies. In spite of the freezing weather and the snow – which was no surprise in January – we learnt a lot about Sweden’s democracy, its society and economy and why we should continue to regard the country and its people as our valued and close friends.
Finally, thanks should go to Chiara De Vita who managed the programme – and us – with great skill and ability; to Björn Sondén and his team in the Riksdag; to Margareta Cederfelt who spent so much time with us and who has become a good friend of the British Group IPU, and to all the staff in both Parliaments as well as the Embassies, who made this valuable trip happen.
The delegation with Dr Andreas Norlén MP, Speaker of the Swedish Riksdag.
The delegation was given a tour around the Scania museum in Södertälje.
The British delegation, led by Fabian Hamilton MP, meeting with the Swedish Group IPU.
The delegation, along with H.E Ambassador Job met with the Swedish Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Björn Sondén, International Adviser to the Riksdag, gave a tour of the Riksdag building to the delegation.
Parliamentarians met with Boel Godner, Mayor of Södertälje.
