In 2021 Labour should embrace the idea of ‘Global Britain’
2020 has been a strange year, not just in politics. The landscape that we expected to see even as late as 31 January when the UK officially left the European Union was drastically changed in a matter of weeks with the spread of COVID-19. A year that was meant to signal the emergence of Global Britain now ends with the country blockaded by its closest neighbours, most of whom have now closed their borders to us. The small matter of a trade deal with the EU also remains to be settled.
But one of the biggest surprises will have been that the election of the man who devised Labour’s policy of a second referendum to the position of party leader did not lead to further divisions between the two parties over Brexit. In what may have come as a shock to many Remainers, Sir Keir Starmer and his team now seem likely to support any Brexit trade deal, if one is struck and put to MPs.
This is an important development. In 2019 Labour went to the electorate with a position that went against the vote not only in the referendum but also several other elections, including the 2017 General Election and the May European Parliamentary elections held earlier in the year. Labour’s new Leadership decided that a situation could never happen again and have now come to terms with Brexit, if not quite embraced it. However, in 2021, Labour needs to be more vocal about the benefits of Global Britain, and how rebuilding the UK’s reputation on the world stage can have positive effects for people back home.
Firstly, Labour needs to push the message of ‘security’. Without a comprehensive post-Brexit deal with the EU, the UK is leaving itself exposed to national security risks. Far from being the party of law and order, the Conservatives’ damaging no-deal exit on 1 January could lead to a lack of security cooperation with our closest partners. Labour should also be more vocal in codifying the so-called ‘E3’ group. Made up of the UK, France, and Germany, the group is the bedrock of European security and Britain has a responsibility to ensure that cooperation on these issues endures beyond our exit from the EU.
Secondly, even if Boris Johnson secures a deal over the next ten days, much goodwill will have been burnt on both sides of the Channel. Labour needs to hammer home that years of Tory divisions over Brexit have had lasting damage on the UK’s reputation abroad, which has in turn left us alone and isolated – now quite literally after France closed its borders and the Eurotunnel to us in the run-up to Christmas. A Government willing to work with its closest allies that had worked in good faith could have avoided this situation. This was an unnecessary crisis, and Labour should make this case.
Finally, the inauguration of Joe Biden as the United States’ 46th President offers the opportunity to reset the transatlantic relationship. With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging and the rise of China to be dealt with, the UK is well positioned to capitalise on America’s return to the world stage. Labour should welcome the Government’s decision to extend the invitation to next year’s G7 summit hosted in the UK to Australia, India and South Korea and should be calling on the Government to lead efforts on the vaccine roll-out, much like the last Labour Government led from the front on the issue of debt forgiveness for poorer countries. The pandemic will only end when vast swathes of the world’s population is vaccinated, and the West should encourage the safe roll-out. Plans cannot wait, and should be drawn up as soon as possible to ensure COVID-19 does not dominate 2021 like it did 2020.
Foreign policy is neither easy to articulate nor carry out when in opposition, but the Labour Party has a chance in 2021 to set the agenda for a Government that has made Global Britain its mantra but has yet to develop any concrete ideas. With the G7 and COP26 both being hosted in the UK next year, Labour should seize its chance.