The UK is the only member of Nato still making foreign and defence policy decisions based on the assumption that the US is a reliable ally.
That is the opinion of Ed Morello, the Liberal Democrat MP for West Dorset. He also sits on the Foreign Affairs Committee and the National Security Strategy (Joint Committee).
In an interview with The Beacon, we discussed the UK-US relationship and how, despite Brexit promising a land of free trade deals across the Atlantic, that has not materialised.
He argues that, yes, this US Administration, which he described as “belligerent” is not a reliable ally.
The UK should be building closer ties to the EU and Japan, for example, when it comes to defence procurement and national security, he suggested.
Morello also said, “as a Liberal”, he believes in international trade and international collaboration, with both leading to less conflict.
The Foreign Affairs Committee is currently conducting an inquiry into the UK’s use of soft power. This is in stark contrast to the US’ hard power only approach under Trump, with Morello pointing out that we would “condemn” the US’ behaviour if it was China or the US.
It comes after the US has, so far this year, started a war in Iran, causing the Strait of Hormuz to shut and financial reprecussions to be felt across the world.
Morello said the US administration does not care about the cost crisis its hard power approach has taken and that the behaviour of the Trump administration is shocking.
But, he added, we are not as “cognisant as we should be” of the impact of US actions around the globe.
Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
