With the Tories gone, will the UK restore relations with Europe?

David Lammy, the British Foreign Secretary appointed by the new Labor Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, traveled to Germany for his first official visit, where he met his counterpart, Annalena Baerbock.

As French newspaper ‘Le Monde’ noted, Lammy called for a "reset" of relations between the UK and Europe, while Baerbock said Britain was "an indispensable part of Europe".

Berlin “is working with the new British government to see how the United Kingdom could move closer to the European Union,” the German Foreign Ministry also indicated on 'X'.

Is the country taking its diplomacy on a new path? This new approach in any case contrasts with the tumultuous period of Brexit, which ended with the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union in January 2020.

Following the vote in favor “of leave” in June 2016, the United Kingdom engaged in a chaotic process of negotiations on leaving Europe, which damaged its relations with its partners and tore apart its political class.

Some observers then feared that a United Kingdom outside Europe would find itself isolated and weakened on the international scene. What about today ?

“Isolation is not a topic that is discussed in the political debate in the UK, quite the contrary. It clearly differs from the United States from this point of view,” says Pauline Schnapper, professor of British civilization at Sorbonne Nouvelle University, quoted by ‘Slate’.

During the Brexit period, the major concept of British diplomacy was “Global Britain”, namely a policy of all-out new approaches with states from the four corners of the world, particularly with the English-speaking ones.

“‘Global Britain’ would allow London to increase its presence in other regions of the world, particularly in Asia-Pacific, and would offer the possibility of renewing links with what some British conservatives call the Anglosphere (United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand)”, Schnapper said.

“These countries not only have the English language in common, but also share a similar worldview, like the United States since 1945,” concluded the specialist.

In this context, the UK has also moved closer to India, a former British colony whose economic and geopolitical power continues to assert itself. The new approach concluded with the signing of trade and security agreements between the two countries in April 2022.

However, the lack of financial resources and the evolution of the world led London to move away from the ‘Global Britain’ project. The war in Ukraine and tensions in the Middle East have encouraged a refocusing of British diplomacy on this area and in Europe.

Furthermore, protecting the Indo-Pacific region against Chinese ambitions has become a priority for the United Kingdom. A break from the era of ‘Global Britain’ during which London wanted to get closer to Beijing.

This change of direction resulted in the formation of Aukus, the military alliance between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, who aim to modernize the naval apparatus of the three countries facing the Chinese strike force.

Furthermore, British diplomacy was noted for its early and constant support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s invasion. Another area in which London acts in perfect alignment with Washington.

Beyond its foreign policy choices, the question for Britain is whether it fully accepts middle power status or whether it continues to pursue a fantasy of being a great global power.

In April 2024, the University College of London (UCL) published a report by several former British diplomats describing the Foreign Office as an “anachronistic” and “rooted in the past” institution.

The authors of the text invited their country, which had become a “middle power outside of Europe”, to “have more team spirit, demonstrate humility and respect”, something that might come into action now that Labour is in power.

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