Is Keir Starmer China’s puppy-dog? The UK’s still-new prime minister seems to be doing his best to cosy up to the Far East superpower.
First he delayed a clampdown on foreign influence in UK politics.
Then he phoned up China’s leader Xi Jinping and offered co-operation on trade, the economy, education, climate change, and – get this – global security.
One might be charitable and say this is just the usual diplomacy between a new government and its foreign counterpart.
But is it?
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According to the i,
The Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS) was created, with Labour support, by the previous Conservative government’s National Security Act. It had been expected to come into force this year.
[It would] force individuals working at the direction of foreign powers to register with the security services.
But an update to the Government’s website, slipped out with no fanfare on Monday, suggested the scheme was no longer “expected in 2024”.
The scheme puts foreign workers in the UK into two tiers. Under the Tories, China would have been put in the enhanced tier, meaning anyone working in the UK “at the direction” of Beijing would need to sign up to FIRS or face five years in jail, potentially affecting thousands of employees of Chinese firms.
Under the other, “political influence” tier, individuals or entities would only need to register if they “carry out political influence activities in the UK at the direction of a foreign power” – essentially lobbying on behalf of other countries.
The Home Office says the scheme is still going ahead – so why the delay?
The UK has a strained relationship with China at the moment. In 2023, TikTok – the China-owned social media app – was banned from being accessed on the UK Parliament’s wi-fi due to security concerns. TikTok has denied claims it passes on users’ data to the Chinese government.
In April, UK police charged two men under the Official Secrets Act with spying for China.
Meanwhile China imposed sanctions on nine UK citizens, including five Conservative MPs, in 2021.
And the UK and China back opposing sides in the Ukraine-Russia war.
But in 2023, China was the UK’s fifth-largest trading partner.
It’s a complicated situation!
This Writer doesn’t think Starmer should be blamed for trying to simplify it and improve diplomatic relations between the two countries.
But it does stoke concerns about his attitude to what – at the moment – clearly seems to be a hostile foreign power.
The fuss over Boris Johnson’s close connection with Russian… influencers?… is still relatively recent.
Do we want to have to go through all that again with Starmer and China?
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Is Keir Starmer China’s puppy-dog?
Is Keir Starmer China’s puppy-dog? The UK’s still-new prime minister seems to be doing his best to cosy up to the Far East superpower.
First he delayed a clampdown on foreign influence in UK politics.
Then he phoned up China’s leader Xi Jinping and offered co-operation on trade, the economy, education, climate change, and – get this – global security.
One might be charitable and say this is just the usual diplomacy between a new government and its foreign counterpart.
But is it?
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
According to the i,
The scheme puts foreign workers in the UK into two tiers. Under the Tories, China would have been put in the enhanced tier, meaning anyone working in the UK “at the direction” of Beijing would need to sign up to FIRS or face five years in jail, potentially affecting thousands of employees of Chinese firms.
Under the other, “political influence” tier, individuals or entities would only need to register if they “carry out political influence activities in the UK at the direction of a foreign power” – essentially lobbying on behalf of other countries.
The Home Office says the scheme is still going ahead – so why the delay?
The UK has a strained relationship with China at the moment. In 2023, TikTok – the China-owned social media app – was banned from being accessed on the UK Parliament’s wi-fi due to security concerns. TikTok has denied claims it passes on users’ data to the Chinese government.
In April, UK police charged two men under the Official Secrets Act with spying for China.
Meanwhile China imposed sanctions on nine UK citizens, including five Conservative MPs, in 2021.
And the UK and China back opposing sides in the Ukraine-Russia war.
But in 2023, China was the UK’s fifth-largest trading partner.
It’s a complicated situation!
This Writer doesn’t think Starmer should be blamed for trying to simplify it and improve diplomatic relations between the two countries.
But it does stoke concerns about his attitude to what – at the moment – clearly seems to be a hostile foreign power.
The fuss over Boris Johnson’s close connection with Russian… influencers?… is still relatively recent.
Do we want to have to go through all that again with Starmer and China?
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Join the uPopulus group at https://upopulus.com/groups/vox-political/
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
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