Keir Starmer sparks huge reaction in speech to Euro leaders with words that betray Brexit
Sir Keir Starmer made the comment during a speech at the Munich Security Conference.
Keir Starmer was addressing world leaders during a key speech in Munich (Image: SKY NEWS)
Sir Keir Starmer sparked a reaction among several European leaders after making a nine-word Brexit Britain comment during a key speech in Munich. The Prime Minister made the comments on the second day of the Munich Security Conference and just over six years since the UK left the European Union on January 31, 2020.
He said: “We are not the Britain of the Brexit years anymore.” The comment sparked a round of applause from European leaders gathered in the room. Sir Keir added: “Because we know that in a dangerous world, we would not take control by turning inward, we would surrender it, and I won’t let that happen. That’s why I devote time as Prime Minister to Britain’s leadership on the world stage, and that’s why I’m here today, because I am clear there is no British security without Europe and no European security without Britain. That is the lesson of history, and is today’s reality as well.” He urged allies to increase defence cooperation as tensions rise across Europe and the Middle East, saying countries must “spend more, deliver more and coordinate more”.
Keir Starmer, with Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper (left) and Defence Secretary John Healey (Image: AP)
The Prime Minister also stressed the importance of Washington’s role in NATO, describing the United States as “an indispensable ally” whose contribution to European security over the past 80 years had been “unparalleled”.
However, he acknowledged the changing global landscape, warning that European nations would now need to take greater responsibility for their own defence.
Sir Keir said the world had “changed fundamentally,” but cautioned against abandoning long-standing alliances, arguing that the moment should be one of “radical renewal” rather than a rupture between Western partners.
The Prime Minister added that the West must adapt to a changing security landscape while maintaining the alliances that have underpinned stability for decades.
Sir Keir warned abandoning those partnerships could risk “a moment of destruction, adding the challenge should instead become one of “radical renewal”.
He added that Europe would increasingly be expected to take primary responsibility for its own defence in the years ahead.
But the Prime Minister stressed cooperation with Washington remained essential, saying the transatlantic alliance continued to be central to Britain’s security.
He also warned that Europe faces an increasing threat from Russia and that Moscow had “proved its appetite for aggression”.
Sir Keir told the conference hall: “Now we feel the solidity of peace, the very ground that we stand on softening under our feet.
“It’s the job of leaders to be ahead of these seismic shapes, yet that is against the grain of history.”
He continued that after a peace deal for Ukraine, “Russia’s rearmament would only accelerate” and “we must answer this threat in full”.
“To break the convention of a thousand speeches, we are not at a crossroads. The road ahead is straight and it is clear. We must build our hard power, because that is the currency of the age. We must be able to deter aggression , and, yes, if necessary, we must be ready to fight.”
