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Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer will pledge on Saturday to boost Britain’s standing in the world and repair “the smoldering embers of Tory burnt bridges” in a bid to gain a foothold on the world stage.
Starmer is due to meet a number of world leaders, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, at a conference of centre-left politicians in Montreal this weekend before attending the event at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron. Heading to Paris next week.
The leader of Britain’s main opposition party will say in Montreal that if he wins the next election he will rebuild Britain’s international partnerships, which he claims have been weakened by the fallout from Brexit, as Rishi Suna Destroyed by Gram’s Conservative government.
Starmer will challenge Sunak, making clear he will face down those Conservative MPs They want the UK to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights.
He will tell the Global Progressive Action Summit that Labor is committed to the European Convention on Human Rights and claim Sunak’s “ambiguity” is damaging the UK’s global influence and preventing the country from taking a leadership role on the world stage.
“Their threats to withdraw from the European Court of Human Rights are nothing more than a desperate attempt by a failed government to foment division to retain power, with the consequences for Britain’s security and prosperity an afterthought,” he will say.
Sunak said his plan to send cross-Channel migrants to Rwanda was consistent with Britain’s international obligations, including the European Court of Human Rights, but the policy has been challenged in court.
Downing Street said on Friday: “Our Illegal Immigration Act will make the necessary changes to reduce the incentive for people to risk their lives by crossing the border illegally, while still complying with the provisions of the European Court of Human Rights.”
The government has previously declined to comment “guess” Sunak is likely to recommend withdrawing from the European Court of Human Rights if the Rwanda policy is ruled illegal.
Starmer, who supported Remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum, said even a veiled threat to withdraw from the European Court of Human Rights would leave the UK “floundering in the same dirty waters as Russia and Belarus”.
“Rishi Sunak must now stand up to the party’s saboteurs and – this time – put British security ahead of the Tories’ narrow interests,” he will say.
Sunak believes he has significantly improved Britain’s standing on the world stage, particularly by repairing ties with the EU and redressing disputes over post-Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland.
The prime minister has also signed defense deals with the United States and Australia, as well as political agreements with Macron and US President Joe Biden. In November, he will host an international summit on artificial intelligence.
Starmer will paint a less optimistic picture, telling delegates that the West faces an “axis of instability” including climate change, people-smuggling gangs, terrorism and attacks on democracy.
“After 13 years of shrinking our influence and power, the smoldering embers of Tory burned bridges now stand between us and the alliances and deals that will define our future,” he will say.
Starmer traveled to The Hague this week for talks with the EU’s crime-fighting agency Europol and announced plans to strike a payback deal with Brussels that would share the migration burden across the continent if Labor wins next year’s election.
The policy has come under fierce attack from the Conservative Party, with Home Secretary Zuela Braverman saying Starmer would make the UK a “dumping ground” for migrants arriving illegally from EU countries.
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