London: The UK’s Opposition Labour Party members have passed an emergency motion declaring the new AUKUS military pact between Australia, UK and the US as a dangerous move threatening world peace.
The party’s annual conference is underway in the seaside town of Brighton, where members had pushed through the emergency motion on Monday, September 27, despite the party leadership backing the agreement earlier this month. Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer had backed the alliance when it was announced, saying that “Britain must look after our most important relationships”.
However, the wider membership passed the motion, 70% to 30%, attacking the Conservative Party Prime Minister Boris Johnson. “Conference believes that in contradiction to Tory PM Johnson’s statement that this will promote stability in the Indo-Pacific region’, in fact, this is a dangerous move which will undermine world peace,” the motion reads.
Under the AUKUS alliance, the three nations have agreed to enhance the development of joint capabilities and technology sharing, including a collaboration on future nuclear-powered submarines for the Royal Australian Navy.
The passing of the motion is seen as a reflection of a divide within the Opposition party, with former leader Jeremy Corbyn backed leftist faction pushing through their agenda.
Also read: AUKUS Has No Relevance to Quad, nor Will It Impact Its Functioning: India
The conference vote was condemned by one of its affiliate workers’ unions, the GMB union, which warned that opposition to the new military agreement would undermine industries and jobs. “This deal could be a real opportunity for UK manufacturing. To dismiss it out of hand is nonsense”, said GMB regional secretary Hazel Nolan.
The Labour Party conference, which opened over the weekend, has been seen as the first major test for Starmer’s leadership. He won his first big win when his planned internal party election reforms were passed by the party membership and has insisted that his focus remains on setting the agenda for winning the next general election.
Labour’s annual conference will be followed by the Conservative Party conference in Manchester between October 3 and 5. The political parties have resumed their annual tradition of in-person gatherings after a cancellation last year due to the coronavirus lockdown.
(Aditi Khanna)