The UK and US should be on “high alert” ahead of elections next
year and must work together to defend democracy, Labour’s Shadow
Defence Secretary will say as he kicks off a
visit to Washington DC [19 September].
Speaking at the American Enterprise Institute, alongside
Democratic Congressman Dean Phillips, Healey will propose the UK
and US to jointly establish and lead a new Democratic Resilience
Centre – following a new paper Healey has published with Royal
United Services Institute today. He will look to build broad
political consensus for the idea while in the US this
week.
In the paper, Healey states that the proposed Centre will help
the UK “protect our democratic values, political institutions,
elections and open societies” and “not only collectively monitor
threats and share best practices, but also advise on action and
develop new strategies, including military operational responses,
to counter them.” This will be open to other NATO nations and
could be a forerunner for a fully-fledged NATO body.
Speaking alongside Rep. Phillips, Healey will also stress that
“for Labour, the US is the UK’s most essential ally, especially
on defence and security”. He will say that “Labour’s commitment
to NATO is unshakeable”, and that Labour’s backing for both the
UK’s independent nuclear deterrent and AUKUS security pact AUKUS
is “total”.
On Ukraine, Healey will thank and praise US leadership during the
conflict and state that “there may be a change to Labour next
year but there will be no change to Britain’s resolve to stand
with Ukraine, confront Russian aggression and pursue Putin for
his war crimes.”
Healey will be joined by Labour’s Foreign Secretary in Washington DC this week.
They will be meeting with members of US Congress and officials
from the White House, the US Department of Defence, and the US
Department of State.
MP, Labour's Shadow Defence
Secretary, said:
“For Labour, the US is the UK’s most essential ally, especially
on defence and security.
“Our countries should be on high alert ahead of the UK General
Election and US Presidential Election in 2024. This is the time
to launch democratic resilience work together to better protect
our democratic values and systems.
“Democracy and freedom is hardwired into NATO’s founding
treaties, alongside collective defence. Our deep conviction in
democracy means we must also act to defend our democracies when
under attack.”
“This proposed Democratic Resilience Centre would protect our
democratic values, political institutions, elections and open
societies, not only by monitoring threats, but also by advising
on action and military operational responses to counter them.”
Ends
Notes
will be speaking at ‘The Future
of Defense for the UK and Its Allies: A Conversation with UK
Shadow Defense Secretary and Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN)’
event at the American Enterprise Institute on 19 September 2023
at 1230 UK (0830 ET).
Registration is available at the link below:
https://www.aei.org/events/the-future-of-defense-for-the-uk-and-its-allies-a-conversation-with-uk-shadow-defense-secretary-john-healey-and-rep-dean-phillips-d-mn/
Healey’s RUSI paper – written with AEI’s Elisabeth Braw – will be
published tomorrow [Tuesday 19 September]
