Blog>> Giving a helping hand to Third World Debt - 03:14 pm, Fri 15th Jan 2010
In Parliament I recently came third in the Private Members Bill Ballot, I have decided to deal with the issue of so called “Vulture Funds.”
I have written an article about it for the Stockport Express where I outline why I have chosen to take forward this important issue.
I recently came third in the Private Members Bill ballot in Parliament , this gives MPs an opportunity to pass a law on any subject they choose, so I have spent a great deal of time considering which issue I should take forward.
When I was elected to parliament one of my personal pledges was to ensure I would always do all I could to tackle the excessive burden of third world debt and help those who are less fortunate than ourselves in this world.
I have been fully supportive of what this Labour Government has already done to relieve third world debt, and the real steps we have taken to help the very poorest in the world.
One of the things I have personally been concerned about has been the operation of so called “vulture funds” whereby a small number of investment companies buy up the defaulted debts of the world’s poorest countries at very low prices and then take them to court to aggressively recoup the debts at full value. So after long consideration this is the issue I have decided to deal with through my Private Members Bill.
Very recently in the UK High Court two investment funds won the right to recover over 20m from Liberia, one of the poorest countries in the world. This was for an initial loan in the 1970s of only 6m. Surely this is money that could be better spent on things such as health and education by the Liberian Government.
For too long, some companies have been allowed to get away with exploiting the debt relief received by developing countries for their own profit; taking vital resources away from those that need it most. Through my Private Members Bill I aim to put a stop to it.
