Brexit: Theresa May’s deal compared to Johnson’s by expert
The former Conservative Prime Minister penned an article criticising her successor over cutting foreign aid targets. She suggested Mr Johnson failed to honour British values by threatening to break international law in Brexit negotiations. Hailing the inauguration of US President Joe Biden, Mrs May also urged Mr Johnson to return to a foreign policy centred on a “Global Britain”.
Mrs May highlighted Mr Johnson’s Internal Market Act, which originally violated the already signed Withdrawal Agreement with the EU, and his refusal to commit to spending 0.7 recent of GDP on foreign aid in her article.
She said: “Threatening to break international law by going back on a treaty we had just signed and abandoning our position of global moral leadership as the only major economy to meet both the 2 percent defence spending target and the 0.7 percent international aid target were not actions which, in my view, raised our credibility in the eyes of the world.
“Other countries listen to what we say not simply because of who we are, but because of what we do. The world does not owe us a prominent place on its stage.
“Whatever the rhetoric we deploy, it is our actions which count. So, we should do nothing which signals a retreat from our global commitments.”
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Writing in the Daily Mail, Mrs May also criticised outgoing President Donald Trump and other “strongmen” foreign leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping.
She said: “For too long we have been sliding toward absolutism in international affairs: if you are not 100 per cent for me then you must be 100 per cent against me.
“In this world there is no room for mature compromise. Indeed, compromise is seen as a dirty word. In fact, the opposite is true.
“Strong leadership knows when to compromise to achieve a greater good. If the world is to work together to ‘build back better’ then we must all be willing to compromise.
“We must reject a scene in which a few strongmen face off against each other and instead bring people together in a common cause.”
Mrs May then claimed Mr Biden’s presidency offered a “golden opportunity” to Britain, and stated she “never knew what to expect” with Mr Trump.
The former Prime Minister urged Mr Johnson to ally with the incoming Biden administration to work towards a “Global Britain” policy.
She added: “We can lead the world in action to tackle climate change at COP26 in Glasgow.
“We can galvanise the other great democracies which share our belief in freedom under the rule of law.
“Together, we can make the 2020s a decade in which democracy and decency lead the world into a brighter future.”
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During the Brexit negotiations, Mrs May was a fierce critic of Mr Johnson’s approach to the EU.
Despite voting for the UK/EU trade deal on December 30, the former Prime Minister warned Mr Johnson over the agreement.
After sharing how she was “disappointed” over no financial services provisions in the deal, she told Mr Johnson: “Sovereignty does not mean isolationism.
“It does not mean we never accept someone else’s rules.”
Mrs May also drew a comparison between the January 6 US Capitol riots and Britain.
The former Prime Minister said: “Sadly, we have known attacks on our own democratic institutions in recent years.
“I will never forget the terrible day a terrorist struck the House of Commons and killed the brave PC Keith Palmer.”
She also said the riot highlighted “how fragile” democracy is from social media, and “reminds us of the responsibility which free nations bear to live up to our high ideals”.
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