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Labour Party Outlines Foreign Policy Agenda Ahead of Elections
The Labour Party in the United Kingdom has outlined its foreign policy agenda, emphasising partnerships on core progressive causes and a stronger Franco-British axis.
In an interview available in French, Italian, and Spanish, the Labour Party's Shadow Foreign Secretary expressed support for a stronger Franco-British axis as an indispensable pillar of effective European defense. The Labour Party aims to maintain a broad Western approach that consolidates the alliance between the US, the EU, and the UK, rather than creating fractures.
The Shadow Foreign Secretary, who has spent many years reading, thinking, and traveling across the Caribbean, Africa, and India, coined the expression "Progressive Realism" as a roadmap for foreign policy. This approach takes the world as it is, not as we wish it to be, and puts realism at the service of progressive goals.
Under Progressive Realism, the Labour Party seeks a new geopolitical partnership with the EU, with an ambitious EU-UK Security Pact at its core. This pact would cover not just foreign and defense policy, but also economic security, climate security, and a range of other foreign policy-adjacent issues.
The Labour Party also plans to work with international partners to de-risk, rather than decouple, from China. This strategy towards China involves competing, challenging, and cooperating, supported by a full audit of the bilateral relationship.
On the issue of Ukraine, if elected, the Labour government intends to act so that the "British government must leave the Kremlin with no doubt that it will support Kyiv for as long as it takes to achieve victory."
The Labour Party is committed to recognizing Palestine as a state as part of efforts to support a two-state solution, despite the US veto on Palestinian membership of the United Nations. The Party's position on Gaza and the Israel-Hamas war includes a commitment to international law, supporting the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and long-term reconstruction.
The Shadow Foreign Secretary believes that NATO remains the absolute bedrock of European security, but more needs to be done to complement it through European coordination and structures. The Labour Party plans to remain a member of the CPTPP and become a closer partner of ASEAN, with the UK's Carrier Strike Group visiting the region next year.
The Shadow Foreign Secretary's parents were from Guyana, a former British colony in the Caribbean, and they trace their lineage back to Africa through the Atlantic slave triangle trade. This personal history has informed the Shadow Foreign Secretary's perspective on Britain's role in the world.
If Labour takes office later this year, enhancing Europe's security and deterring further Russian aggression will be their highest priority. However, the Shadow Foreign Secretary regards Brexit as settled, and within those parameters, there is a great deal that can be done to strengthen cooperation as neighbours and partners with the EU.
The Labour Party plans to deliver on AUKUS and the GCAP next generation fighter project with Italy and Japan, moving away from the post-imperial hubris of Boris Johnson's 'Global Britain' vision. The Party's position on China includes keeping channels of communication open while taking a tough stance on human rights and security issues.
Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO Secretary General, has stated that the Labour Party's foreign policy proposals are "very serious and very important" and that he looks forward to working with them if they are elected.
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