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David Lammy is set to meet Trump officials on Wednesday as Labor seeks to forge closer ties with Republican officials ahead of elections on both sides of the Atlantic later this year.
The shadow foreign secretary will make a two-day visit to Washington DC this week, meeting a number of senior republicans and addressing right-wing think tanks.
The whistleblower tour included meetings with Elbridge Colby, a key Trump ally who served at the Pentagon during his presidency, and Fred Fleitz, who served as chairman of the National Security Council in the previous Trump administration. It will be done.
Ramey is also scheduled to meet with senior Republicans, including Sens. Lindsey Graham and J.D. Vance, as well as House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner.
It comes as Labor steps up contacts with the party amid growing hopes that Trump could return to the White House later this year after being formally nominated as the Republican presidential nominee in July. is.
Mr. Ramey is also scheduled to speak at the Hudson Institute on Wednesday, hosted by Republican Sen. James Risch of Idaho, who is supporting Mr. Trump in the presidential race.
The two men are expected to discuss the “future of the Atlantic Alliance” and touch on issues such as China, Ukraine and Labor’s involvement in NATO. I I understand.
Labor has promised to increase defense spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP), but has not set a deadline for the increase. Rishi Sunak said this target would be achieved by 2030.
Ramy suggested on Monday that Trump was right when he said European NATO members should spend more on defense.
The shadow foreign secretary said European countries should “listen to signals” from republican candidates that they should increase their financial contributions to NATO to prevent the threat from Russia.
This week’s meeting between Mr Lammy and Mr Colby is the second of its kind in recent months, as Sir Keir Starmer’s top brass embarks on a charm offensive against key US figures ahead of November’s presidential election. Become.
In the UK general election expected later this year, opinion polls show Labor continuing to lead the Conservatives, and Starmer could finish in 10th place around the same time as the next US president. .
Colby, who is expected to become national security adviser if Trump wins a second term in November, praised the shadow foreign secretary after their last meeting.
He described Mr Lamy as “far preferable to Prime Minister David Cameron” after the foreign secretary visited Washington in April to persuade the US to support increased aid to Ukraine.
Colby said: politiko‘s power play In the podcast, Lamy said he had a “more compatible vision” with the Trump campaign, including a greater focus on national defense and Europe.
Ramey, a longtime friend of Barack Obama who attended Harvard University, has already met with other Republican figures who worked in the Trump administration, including Robert O’Brien and Matt Pottinger. .
He is also expected to meet with White House officials, including President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan, and other Democratic leaders when he visits Washington this week.
Earlier this year, Lamy pledged to work with “whoever is in the White House” after the next US presidential election, after Starmer’s private criticism of Trump.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, the Labor leader said Britain would “always stand up for our allies, even if other countries threaten not to”, appearing to directly criticize Trump’s recent criticism of NATO. .
“We’re going to work with whoever is in the White House. Frankly, it doesn’t matter who the No. 10 incumbent is or who’s in the White House — we’re our closest allies.” Mr Lamy later claimed.
“This is a strong partnership that is widespread. It will remain that way. We should not get too carried away with the rhetoric that we will rightly hear in the coming months of the election cycle.”