Ian Lavery MP: “It’s Time To Change Our View of America”
Just when inflation was coming down, the price of oil and gas has skyrocketed because of President Trump’s reckless war against Iran, a war started without any consultations with the British Government.
Trump has since treated the UK with contempt for not joining the illegal attack on Iran, demanding that we jump when he snaps his fingers.
Which begs the question, “Is the USA really a true ally”?
For eight decades we have been told that our “special relations” with the US was essential to our global standing.
In reality, in many ways it appeared “special” in the eyes of British Governments, but only paid lip-service to by the Americans.
In the Trump era we see how shallow that commitment to the UK is in reality.
We will soon be experiencing the results of America’s indifference towards us in our damaged personal finances.
Have we been looking at the US through rose tinted glasses?
Economically, social mobility there is lower than it is here and much lower than the European average.
Is it really a bastion of democratic freedoms when recently two unarmed protestors were killed by Trump’s ICE immigration officers for simply protesting against their heavy handed deployment in the city of Minneapolis?
Many argue that the Trump Presidency is a blip, an aberration, and that things will return to normal in a few years time.
That is wishful thinking.
His “America First” philosophy is mainstream and will not disappear even if the next President is a Democrat.
There is no guarantee that a new more astute version of Trump won’t win the election after that one.
We have to ignore politicians like Nigel Farage, an ideological ally of Trump and backer of his Iran war, who tell us to grow even closer to the USA.
The truth is that we must look to build bonds with nations with values more akin to ours and who may prove more reliable.
A continued delusional belief that we too must put America first would be folly.