SophieCo

‘The UK shouldn’t pretend it is a superpower’ – Lord Peter Truscott

As the UK’s departure from the European Union in March 2019 gets closer, Lord Peter Truscott, a member of the UK’s House of Lords and former member of the European Parliament, discusses London’s search for a “new role in the world.”

Despite Britain being a global player and one of the largest economies, it “shouldn’t pretend that we are a superpower,” Truscott says. “There’s a limit to what Britain can achieve on its own.” 

Since World War 2, British foreign policy “has basically been to keep as close to the United States as possible” to try to influence it to the UK’s advantage, Truscott says. However, the world with just one superpower, the US, is “no longer the case.”

When the UK leaves the EU, “it’s going to be on its own without the weight of the EU behind it.” It will also find it “more difficult to have influence in the world if it tries to isolate countries like Russia and doesn’t engage with them.” 

And it’s not just the UK’s voice that’s waning in global affairs. “The days when the United States could just turn around and say ‘We’re going to impose the sanctions and everyone else needs to follow’, those days are coming to a close,” Truscott says, referring to the West’s restrictions on Russia. 

Tune in for the full interview with Lord Peter Truscott to find out more.



DON'T MISS