David Lammy: Labour will fix the UK’s tarnished relationship with the EU

Instead, Lammy proposes intensive regular bilateral meetings between the UK and the EU with a new focus on entering negotiations about a defence security pact with the bloc. These recurring summits would, he says, allow more routine discussion to combat threats that are shared across Europe, including organised crime, energy security and cybersecurity.

These would be in addition to, rather than instead of, the Emmanuel Macron-inspired European Political Community initiative summits that were first held last October and which are intended to provide a bridge between EU and non-EU members.

Lammy wants to unblock participation in the Horizon scheme, the EU’s €95.5bn funding programme for research. The UK’s associate membership to the programme has been the source of constant tensions between Brussels and Westminster during Brexit negotiations and now Lammy break the stalemate over membership, easing the burden over the UK’s research community.

Critics argue that Labour has not grasped the difficulties they will face in forging this new start with Europe after a tumultuous decade – in effect, “what’s in it for Europe?” However, Lammy has anticipated this and says that he has put plenty of time into investing in relationships with Germany and France out of a sense of goodwill he feels has been lacking during years of Tory government dominated by Brexiteers.

There are some items Lammy is not addressing. The big one is that Labour will not take Britain back into the single market or the customs union. Keir Starmer has previously ruled out rejoining the single market, outlining that he believes doing so would hold little or no economic benefits for Britain (much like Brexit itself). It is clear that this remains the sentiment of the labour leader.

On other issues, Lammy will not commit to rebuilding a fully separate Department for International Development, despite his belief that the merger engineered by Boris Johson was a mistake that tainted the UK’s reputation as an aid superpower. Nor will he lay out a date by which Labour will hit the target to spend 0.7% of GDP on overseas aid.

More broadly, Lammy supported calls from US senators and the Atlantic Council thinktank for the US, Britain and the EU to join forces to create a Transatlantic Anti-Corruption Council. He also pledged to publish a strategy for global supply chains by the end of the first parliamentary session and form a “clean power alliance”, describing it as an “inverse Opec” of developed and developing countries committed to 1000% clean energy by the end of 2030.

He also argued that relations with Europe are just one sign of how poor Conservative leadership disconnected Britain from the allies and partners at a time when global cooperation was key. On China, he urged that Britain must be consistent in its approach.

All Lammy needs now, is for his party to win the next election and oust 13 years of Conservative rule. With the latest polling showing Labour at 47% to the Tories at 25% the odds appear in Lammy’s favour and the plan could be actioned as a result of the next electoral cycle.