Lisa Nandy to set out Labour plans for Britain’s place in the world post-Brexit

Shadow Foreign Secretary Lisa Nandy will set out details of how Labour plans to forge Britain’s new role in the world after Brexit at an event on left internationalism hosted by Open Labour tonight, LabourList can reveal.

The soft left group has joined with the Labour Campaign for International Development to launch a new pamphlet today by Dr Harry Pitts and Professor Paul Thompson on the party’s changing approach to foreign policy.

It is hoped that the paper will “grow into a holistic project” creating a framework that “Open Labour can unite behind” and that the party leadership can be lobbied “to reflect upon”, according to Labour frontbencher Alex Sobel.

The pamphlet ‘A Progressive Foreign Policy for New Times’ will be launched at an online event being held from 7pm tonight with Nandy and Sobel, as well as journalist Waad Al-Kateab, Professor Mary Kaldor and activist David Taylor.

Nandy is expected to tell the event: “With the Brexit question settled, now is the moment to look to the future. We have left the EU but our future lies with Europe. Both our national interest and our national security depend on it.

“When Russian agents used chemical weapons on the streets of the UK, where did Theresa May turn for help? To our closest neighbours, who stood alongside us when we expelled 30 Russian diplomats.

“Contrast that with this sorry excuse for a government, which has so far even refused to discuss how we work with neighbouring countries to defend our democracy and protect national security.

“Ask yourselves this – if the Salisbury attack took place tomorrow, where would this government turn for help? That is a question any responsible government would ask. It is one this government simply cannot answer.

“That is why Labour will not wait for this government to begin to defend our national interests. Since we took office, Keir and I have reached out to governments and sister parties in Europe and across the world to forge a better world together.”

Reiterating the words of murdered Labour MP Jo Cox, who worked on international development issues and ethical foreign policy, Nandy will add: “As Jo Cox once reminded us, we have more in common than that which divides us.

“We will stand up to Russian attacks on democracy, we will seek both constructive engagement with the Chinese government to tackle shared issues like climate change and build the independence we need to speak up for human rights, democracy and the rule of law wherever they are threatened in the world.

“And we will stand alongside our sister parties from the USA to Ireland, to reaffirm that the Good Friday agreement remains an article of faith for the Labour Party.”

During the Labour leadership election, Nandy was strongly critical of the approach taken by the party under Jeremy Corbyn to foreign policy. She argued that the leadership “failed on Russia” in its response to the Salisbury attack.

Referring to the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal, Nandy said Labour “hesitated in condemning an authoritarian regime”, adding: “It was totally wrong that our response to this was to cast doubt on what happened and call only for dialogue.”

As Shadow Foreign Secretary, she has declared that Labour under its new leadership wants voters to know “we stand up for Britain, we stand up for British people, we stand up for British interests and we will always put that first”.

She told the BBC in September: “I think it is progressive and deeply ambitious to say that you love this country, that you love the people in it, and that’s why you want to lead the party. I think you’ll see a real change in tone and approach from the Labour Party.”

Keir Starmer put forward a patriotic pitch to the country in a speech to Labour’s ‘Connected’ conference this year, saying: “We love this country as you do. This is the country I grew up in and this is the country I will grow old in.”

The Labour leader will deliver his first big “vision” speech to coincide with the inauguration of Joe Biden in the US, The Financial Times has reported. His team is known to have had a WhatsApp group called ‘Let’s Go Joe’ during the Presidential race.