David Lammy to meet Trump allies in US with future of Nato on agenda
David Lammy will meet with Trump officials on Wednesday as Labour attempts to forge closer ties with Republican officials ahead of elections on both sides of the Atlantic later this year.
The shadow Foreign Secretary will meet with a raft of senior Republican figures and deliver a speech to a right-leaning think-tank on a two-day visit to Washington, DC this week.
The whistle-stop tour will include meetings with Elbridge Colby, a key ally of Mr Trump who served in the Defence Department while he was president, and Fred Fleitz, the former head of the National Security Council during the previous Trump administration.
Mr Lammy will also meet with senior Republican figures, including senators Lindsey Graham and JD Vance, plus Mike Turner, the chair of the House of Representativesâ Intelligence Committee.
It comes as Labour ramps up contact with the party amid growing expectations that Mr Trump could return to the White House later this year after being formally nominated as the Republican presidential candidate in July.
Mr Lammy will also give a speech at the Hudson Institute on Wednesday hosted by James Risch, the Republican senator for Idaho who has endorsed Mr Trump for the presidential race.
The pair are expected to discuss the âfuture of the Atlantic allianceâ and touch on issues such as China, Ukraine, and Labourâs commitment to Nato, i understands.
Labour has committed to increasing defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP, but has not set a timeframe for the uplift. Rishi Sunak has said the target will be met by 2030.
Mr Lammy suggested on Monday that Mr Trump was right to say that European members of Nato should spend more on defence.
The shadow Foreign Secretary said European countries should âheed the signalâ coming from the Republican candidate that there should be greater financial burden sharing in Nato to stave off the threat of Russia.
Mr Lammyâs meeting with Mr Colby this week will also mark the second of its kind in recent months, as Sir Keir Starmerâs top brass embark on a charm offensive of key American figures ahead of the US election in November.
The UK general election, expected later this year, could see Mr Starmer enter No 10 around the same time as the next US president, with polls showing Labourâs continuing lead over the Conservatives.
Mr Colby, who is tipped to become national security adviser if Mr Trump wins a second presidential term in November, heaped praise on the shadow Foreign Secretary following their previous meeting.
He described Mr Lammy as âfar preferable to David Cameronâ after the Foreign Secretary visited Washington in April in a bid to persuade the US to back increased aid for Ukraine.
Mr Colby told POLITICOâs Power Play podcast that Mr Lammy had a âmore compatible visionâ with the Trump team, including a bigger focus on defence and on Europe.
Mr Lammy, who is a long-term friend of Barack Obama and attended Harvard, has already held talks with other Republican figures including Robert OâBrien and Matt Pottinger, who worked for the Trump administration.
He will also meet with White House officials including Jake Sullivan, Joe Bidenâs National Security Adviser, plus other senior Democrats during his trip to Washington this week.
Mr Lammy pledged earlier this year to work with âwhomever is in the White Houseâ following the next US presidential election, after Mr Starmer took a veiled swipe at Mr Trump.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, the Labour leader said Britain âwill always stand up for our allies â even if others threaten not toâ in what appeared to be a direct rebuke of Trumpâs recent criticisms of Nato.
âWe will work with whomever is in the White House. It doesnât matter, frankly, who is the incumbent of No 10 or the White House â we are the closest allies,â Mr Lammy later insisted.
âItâs a prevailing and strong partnership; it will remain that. We should not get too carried away with the rhetoric that of course weâll all hear over the next few months in an election cycle.â