Keir Starmer will say Brexit-style isolation would mean surrendering control in dangerous times – and UK security rests on closer European ties in the face of threats from Russia.
Keir Starmer will warn Europe must wean itself off its dependence on the US for security in a major speech.
The Prime Minister will argue that Brexit-style isolation would mean surrendering control in dangerous times as Britain’s security rests on closer European ties in the face of threats from Russia. While praising the US as an indispensable ally, Mr Starmer will push for a shift away from America’s security umbrella.
Donald Trump has long accused Europe of failing to pay its way on defence – and has alarmed world leaders with threats to take over Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, a Nato ally.
The PM is expected to say: “We are not the Britain of the Brexit years any more. Because we know that in dangerous times, we would not take control by turning inward – we would surrender it. And I won’t let that happen.
“There is no British security without Europe, and no European security without Britain. That is the lesson of history – and it is today’s reality too.”
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He will add: “I’m talking about a vision of European security and greater European autonomy, that does not herald US withdrawal but answers the call for more burden sharing in full, and remakes the ties that have served us so well.”
Mr Starmer travelled to the summit in Germany on Friday for talks with world leaders after a nightmare week, which saw his leadership thrown into peril. In his speech on Saturday, he was expected to urge leaders to be straight with the public about the threat – or risk ceding ground to populist parties.
“If we don’t, the peddlers of easy answers on the extreme left and the extreme right are ready,” he will say. “It’s striking that the different ends of the spectrum share so much. Soft on Russia and weak on Nato – if not outright opposed.
“And determined to sacrifice the longstanding relationships that we want and need to build, on the altar of their ideology. The future they offer is one of division and then capitulation. The lamps would go out across Europe once again. But we will not let that happen.”
Mr Starmer will tell allies “Europe is a sleeping giant” which must use its joint defence capabilities to take on Vladimir Putin. “Our economies dwarf Russia’s, ten times over,” he will say. “We have huge defence capabilities. Yet, too often, all of this has added up to less than the sum of its parts.”
Defence Secretary John Healey said Britain would spend £400million developing long-range missiles this year to bolster European security. The cash will go towards next generation replacements of Storm Shadow missiles, which have been used by Ukraine to fire deep into Russia.
It also includes Stratus stealth missiles which are being developed with France and Italy, and the Deep Precision Strike system built with Germany. He said: “To meet this new era of rising threats, we need hard power, strong alliances and sure diplomacy.”