Badenoch: Starmer put UK in ‘weaker position’ through deals with China
Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch has said Keir Starmer’s trip to China put the UK in a “weaker position”, underlining the different approaches taken by the two main parties in dealing with the world’s second largest economy.
Badenoch, who previously said she would not travel to China under the current circumstances, said Starmer had “been played” by President Xi’s regime.
She also said a deal to remove MPs and peers from the country’s sanctions list did not make a difference as those individuals, which included likes of former security minister Tom Tugendhat, “stood up against the country spying on our MPs”.
“Apart from the Labubu doll in his suitcase – and I hope he has checked it for bugs – he has come back with next to nothing,” Badenoch said.
“The Prime Minister has been played. China is about to build an enormous spy hub in the centre of London, a ransom he had to pay before he could even get on a plane.
“The Prime Minister has negotiated our country into a weaker position in the world.”
Starmer hit back at Badenoch, defending his diplomatic efforts with China and deals to get parliamentarians off the country’s sanctions list, visa-free travel for British tourists and businesses, and lowering tariffs for whisky makers.
He said Badenoch would rather “stick her head in the sand, unable to influence anything in a volatile world”, adding that it represented “an abdication of responsibility”.
“In dangerous times we’re using our full strength and reach on the world stage, to deliver growth and security for the British people.”
Badenoch leans into foreign policy
Both the Tories and Labour have largely taken the same position on relations with President Trump and the US, as well as on defending Ukraine against Russia.
Earlier on Monday, shadow chancellor Mel Stride hit out at President Trump’s “concerning” tariff threats and efforts to dismantle free trade.
Other areas of conflict in foreign policy have emerged through the giveaway of the Chagos Islands, which is on hold until a bill is presented by the government in parliament, and on relations with China.
Many business officials have largely welcomed Starmer’s stance on building trade ties with China, though manufacturers and pubs have blasted Labour over its energy and taxation policies since coming into Downing Street.
Badenoch said Scotch whisky producers would reap greater benefits from a lower tax burden than through drawing upon fresh market access in China.
Reform UK’s Nigel Farage has meanwhile faced questions over his close relations with Trump, with British voters viewing the US president in a more negative light than any political leader at home.
Farage has meanwhile called for a tougher stance on China and sought to defeat the government’s handover of the Chagos Islands to Maritius.