A Global Britain

Labour Manifesto 2017:

Labour will take all necessary measures to protect the security of our citizens and country. We will put conflict resolution and human rights at the heart of foreign policy, commit to working through the UN, end support for unilateral aggressive wars of intervention and back effective action to alleviate the refugee crisis.

Unlike the Conservatives, Labour believes Britain’s foreign policy should be guided by the values of peace, universal rights and international law. Today, these values are being tested.  As we leave the European Union, keeping Britain global is one of our country’s most urgent tasks.

We face the most complex, interwoven security and development challenges of our time; ongoing wars across the Middle East, unprecedented numbers of refugees, global terrorism, climate change, the threat of nuclear conflict, a devastating food crisis across East Africa and beyond, an erratic US administration and a more combative government in Russia.

The lessons of the past, including those from the Chilcot Inquiry, show why our response to these challenges must be different. We cannot seek to solve the world’s problems on our own, but instead must exhaust diplomatic solutions alongside international, regional and local partners within the framework of international law. 

This will require a modern and inclusive strategy, uniting the interwoven foreign policy instruments of diplomacy, defence and development.