Today, Saturday 20th January, MP, Labour’s Shadow Foreign
Secretary, will outline Labour’s vision for foreign policy in
2024 and beyond, saying that “progressive realism” will underpin
Labour’s plan to reconnect Britain on the world stage and secure
it home in the face of “the new world disorder”, while branding
Putin “the ringleader of a new form of fascism.”
In the keynote speech to the Fabian Society Conference, Lammy
will accuse the Conservatives of damaging Britain’s alliances and
trashing Britain’s leadership on climate and international law.
After 14 years of chaotic and untrustworthy governments, he will
say Britain has lacked the leadership it needs to succeed in the
face of a world characterised by “conflict, the climate emergency
and the erosion of the rules based order.”
In contrast, Lammy will set out a positive, hopeful and practical
vision of a Labour foreign policy which will reconnect Britain to
deliver security and prosperity at home. He will say that
Labour would:
· Stand firm
against Putin’s aggression, supporting a pathway to Ukraine’s
NATO membership and seeking a new UK-EU security pact, to
complement NATO ties.
· Work with
international partners to build a Clean Power Alliance, putting
clean energy at the heart of the UK’s foreign policy.
· Make a renewed
push for de-escalation in the Middle East, with urgent diplomatic
talks on a new International Contact Group and a new Middle East
Peace envoy to work towards a two-state solution.
· Revitalise the
UK’s economic diplomacy on the world stage to support Labour’s
‘securonomics’ programme at home and deliver economic growth for
Britain.
He will say that in this general election year the British
electorate face a choice that will determine the “spirit of
Britain in a changing world.” Lammy will draw on the realism of
Ernest Bevin, the Labour Foreign Secretary who helped create
NATO, and the progressivism of Robin Cook, who put climate and
human rights at the heart of Britain’s foreign policy, to inspire
a new approach: progressive realism.
Setting out his vision for “progressive realism”, is expected to say:
“Our progressivism will be built on realism. Progressive because
our foreign policy will be founded on our values of equality, the
rule of law and internationalism. Realist because we will focus
on making practical, tangible progress with the world as it is,
not as we wish it to be.”
On Ukraine, Lammy is set to warn: “We in Europe
risk taking our eye off the ball” calling Putin a “ringleader of
a new form of fascism” and the war in Ukraine a “generational
security challenge and a long-term material security threat to
Europe”.
Lammy will commit to visiting Kyiv in his first 100 days if he
becomes the next Foreign Secretary “to demonstrate Labour’s
long-term commitment to stop Vladimir Putin and begin work on a
pathway towards Ukraine’s NATO membership,” before going onto
Brussels to discuss Labour’s proposal for a new EU-UK security
pact.
On the Middle East, Lammy will draw on his extensive
engagement in the region, including trips to Israel, the West
Bank, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and
the UAE in recent months, reaffirming Labour’s
commitment to reaching a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza, its
support for last week’s targeted action against the Houthis to
reinforce maritime security in the Red Sea, and the need to
prevent further escalation in the West Bank, Lebanon and the
wider region. He will say:
“They all demonstrate the essential importance of preventative
diplomacy - a habit, a practice and an art, in which British
diplomacy has traditionally excelled - but which needs urgent
revival. We must return to diplomacy to stop the whole region
descending into full-scale war.”
Lammy will announce that a Labour government would start urgent
diplomatic talks on the creation of a new International Contact
Group to take over from the defunct Quartet to coordinate with
Western and Arab partners over Middle East peace. He is expected
to say:
“The quest for Palestinian statehood is a just cause. It is, as
has said, the inalienable
right of the Palestinian people and the clear logic of any call
for a two-state solution. That is why a Labour government will
work with international partners to recognise the state of
Palestine.”
On climate, Lammy will say there is “reason for hope”
despite progress being “too slow”, pointing to
projections for global heating reducing from 3.5c to 2.4c since
the Paris COP in 2016. He is expected to say:
“We can change our future, with an optimism rooted in reality. In
government, we will go further to deepen cooperation and drive
ambition. If I become Foreign Secretary, in my first 100 days we
will ramp up work on our proposal for a Clean Power Alliance to
drive forward the cutting edge of the energy transformation.
“And we will double down on work to reform international
financial institutions like the World Bank to help developing
countries deliver the clean energy infrastructure they need to
decarbonise their economies.”
Ends
Notes to editors:
Lammy will deliver the keynote speech at the Fabian Society’s
annual conference at 2pm on Saturday 20th January. Journalists
wishing to attend can contact the Fabian Society for
accreditation: https://fabians.org.uk/event/fabian-society-new-year-conference-2024-plans-for-power/.
