David Lammy 'There's no going back - we must work with allies in this new era'

Daily Mirror

20-05-2025

When I'm travelling, I'm often asked: 'When will the world go back to how it was before?'
My answer is simple – there is no going back. We are in a new era, and we must work with our allies to deal with the world as it is, not as we would wish it to be.
This new era is marked by accelerating uncertainty and rivalry. By new technology like drones, making conflict cheaper and easier. By resource scarcity and climate change. And by irregular migration heaping pressure on societies, while criminal gangs reap the profits.
The impact is felt across Britain, from energy bills to the weekly shop. But the underlying trends are global.
Britain is always stronger when we cooperate with our partners. And I see my task as Foreign Secretary is to deepen and multiply those alliances, in contrast to the Tories' decade-long alienation of so many of our friends and neighbours.
The EU is one of our closest partners. An organisation encompassing most of our nearest neighbours. They are the world's largest trading bloc, a staunch supporter of Ukraine, and an indispensable partner on the issues that we care about most.
However, exports with the EU had dropped by 21% since Brexit, red tape was everywhere, and relations were at a low point. That is why, coming into government, one of our early priorities was to reconnect with our partners in Europe, and to put arguments of the past behind us.
At the UK-EU Summit yesterday, the Prime Minister announced that Britain was back on the world stage and set out a partnership that will remove barriers for British business, boost UK exports, and improve our security – one that delivers for working people in the UK. It's good for bills, good for jobs, and good for our borders, delivering on our Plan for Change.
Security at home requires strength abroad and our new Security and Defence Partnership will ensure we work much more closely with the EU, to benefit us all, on all the challenges we face. And while NATO is the bedrock of our security, this partnership will open doors for Britain.
It will unlock opportunities for our world-leading defence industry, strengthen collaboration to combat organised crime and hybrid threats, and improve support for British citizens during times of crisis abroad.
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It will also boost cooperation on challenges like irregular migration, human tracking and people smuggling. It will also ensure British interests are represented and fought for across our continent.
We are already putting this into action. Today, both the UK and the EU are unveiling new sanctions on Russia, showing how we are continuing to ramp up the pressure on Putin.
This all means we have delivered three trade deals, in three weeks, with three of the world's largest economies. All of them are the result of careful, patient diplomacy.
All of them will deliver increased security and prosperity to the British people and demonstrate how this government is relentlessly focussed on doing deals abroad that put money in people's pockets at home.