In recent weeks, Britain has wrapped up trade deals with India and the United States and is on the lookout for new agreements. Keir Starmer has agreed a ‘re-set’ with the European Union that will make it slightly easier to export goods across the continent. It has been a good few weeks for ‘Global Britain’. There is, however, one country that the Labour government does not want to trade with: Israel. Turning our back on our great ally in the Middle East is a mistake.
Israel is a country we could, and should, do a lot of business with. But instead of bringing ‘Global Britain’ to the Jewish State, Foreign Secretary David Lammy would prefer to spout platitudes.
In parliament yesterday, Lammy called the military escalation in Gaza ‘morally unjustifiable’. He accused Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of ‘isolating Israel from its friends and partners around the world’, as he announced negotiations on a free trade deal had been suspended.
We can all argue about whether Israel’s actions are a legitimate defence of its own territory and people, and whether the Israeli army is using appropriate levels of force. Everyone will have different views on that. Here’s the problem, however: regardless of the arguments over Gaza, surely the UK should be making a trade deal with Israel a major priority.
With fewer than ten million people, Israel may well be a relatively small economy, ranking only 31st in the world measured by total GDP. But it is rich, and, at least until the war, was growing very quickly.
Israel has a GDP per capita of $57,000 (£42,000), which is 16 per cent higher than the UK (not that it is very difficult to be richer than Britain at the moment).
Over the last decade, Israel’s growth rate has fluctuated between 3.5 per cent and 4 per cent. Again, this is a far better performance than the UK, or indeed most countries around the world. Just as significantly, Israel has turned itself into a major entrepreneurial and tech hub, with a strong presence in sectors such as cyber security, defence, and Artificial Intelligence.
Instead of bringing global Britain to the Jewish State, Foreign Secretary David Lammy would prefer to spout platitudes
It is a country with which many British businesses have close ties. A trade deal would have boosted investment and exports in both directions, especially in the tech industries that the UK is meant to be encouraging if our economy is ever going to start growing again. An agreement that made trade between the UK and Israel easier was a prize well worth having. But not on Lammy’s watch.
Sure, perhaps Israel has become too aggressive in Gaza, and needs to step back from a full-scale war. And, yet, there would have been plenty of ways that the Foreign Secretary could have registered that point – perhaps by recalling diplomats, or with a vote at the United Nations. Instead, he has opted to cut off Britain’s nose to spite one’s face.
Scrapping the talks over a trade deal is the very worst solution – and may prove to be an expensive mistake.
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