David Lammy's foreign policy speech avoids the T-word
Labour wants to bring a progressive realism to its foreign policy but how would this withstand Donald Trump?
There has been no shortage of bleak predictions about the state of the world in recent weeks.
‘Our world is in an era of conflict and confrontation, of fragmentation and fear,’ EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the World Economic Forum in Davos.
‘For the first time in generations, the world is not at a single inflection point.
‘It is at multiple inflection points, with risks overlapping and compounding each other.
‘And there is no doubt that we face the greatest risk to the global order in the post-war era.’
One day earlier, across the Channel, the UK’s Defence Secretary Grant Shapps called the end of the post-war world and marked the start of a pre-war world.
‘The era of the peace dividend is over,” he told an audience at Lancaster House.
‘In five years’ time, we could be looking at multiple theatres involving Russia, China, Iran and North Korea.’
On Saturday, it was the turn of David Lammy, who if polls are to be believed, will be UK Foreign Secretary by the end of the year.
He said the world was in ‘frightening’ times with a 'new world disorder emerging as the old rules-based order erodes.’
In a 2908-word speech to the Fabians conference on Saturday at London’s Guildhall that was interrupted five times by pro-Palestine protesters, he claimed that ‘when progressives act with realism and practical purpose, we can change the world.’
Labour’s Corbyn past still haunts it and is the frame in which every foreign policy and security statement by the opposition is made. Saturday’s was no exception.
Lammy made the point repeatedly that Labour could only enact change with power and that the once-in-a-generation opportunity posed with this year’s election would determine the ‘spirit of Britain in the world.’
A government led by Keir Starmer, he said, would ‘repair Britain’s alliances, restore Britain’s values, and reconnect Britain to restore our influence around the world.’
‘I call it Progressive Realism,' Lammy said.
‘Realist because we will focus on making practical, tangible progress with the world as it is, not as we wish it to be.’
But Lammy’s speech was light on the realism he urged Labour members to adopt.
Aside from acknowledging the ‘accelerating great power rivalry’ his only reference to China was made in terms of its dominance over the production of solar panels, lithium and development credit.
Even more astonishingly, Lammy made zero mention of the United States - the UK’s security ally, as underlined by the recent bombing of Houthi targets in Yemen, which only Britain joined the US in carrying out.
These were strikes that Lammy reminded that Labour supported and he was at pains to stress the UK’s commitment to NATO as he hailed former foreign secretary Ernie Bevin’s fight ‘for a nuclear bomb … with the union jack on top.’
Lammy has given speeches and made comments on the US relationship and China in the past. But the decision to omit the superpowers from Saturday’s address, given the stated dangerous geopolitical climate, was telling.
China and the United States will likely present the first two immediate challenges to his progressive realism doctrine.
Britain’s security preoccupation is the safety of the continent and the UK’s commitment to Ukraine is bipartisan.
Lammy stressed the closer ties Labour would seek with the EU as part of the continued post-Brexit repair job, including an EU-UK security pact.
‘We in Europe risk taking our eye off the ball,’ he said, noting that South Korea had sent more shells to Ukraine than all European countries combined.
Lammy noticeably did not mention how he would leverage Labour values, and the restored British influence in the world he imagines under Keir Starmer, to coax China into using its influence over Russia to bring about peace.
Nor did he set out his thinking for how his progressive realism would be applied to the United States, where Donald Trump could be elected President around the same time Labour hopes to reclaim the keys to Number 10, potentially threatening Ukraine’s war effort.
Lammy opened his speech railing against what he said was the Conservatives’ attempts to run divisive politics and focus on culture wars.
And yet the Tories’ forays into migration and culture war debates are beyond comparison to the style of politics executed by Trump, who is facing 91 criminal charges and is indicted for attempting to overturn the election results.
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan illustrated just how difficult adopting progressive realism will be for Labour supporters when he explained how he planned to deal with a re-elected Trump.
‘If it is the case, that God forbid, he beats President Biden…we’ll deal with it,’ Khan said.
‘But I think staying silent, pretending it’s okay - as long as I’m there, I won’t be scared to say boo to a goose.’
Khan, who is seeking re-election can afford to bag Trump to inner-city Londoners. But Lammy, as foreign secretary, will not be afforded such indulgences and may find that progressivism is quickly superseded by realism.