The 2024 British American Parliamentary Group Luncheon

On July 24, 2024, the Meridian Corporate Council partnered with Accenture to host four Members of Parliament from the United Kingdom. The conversation, moderated by The Honorable Fred Hochberg, Chair of the Meridian Board of Trustees, covered the critical nature of the U.S-UK relations, economic and security partnership, the UK’s contemporary electoral change, and a look into the future of the United Kingdom.

About The British American Parliamentary Group

The British American Parliamentary Group (BAPG) International Visitor Leadership Program, a high profile exchange that takes place annually and has been administered by Meridian International Center consistently over the past 10 years. In partnership with the Department of State, British parliamentarians (MP) are welcomed to the U.S. to take part in an intensive ten day exchange that includes Congressional appointments in Washington, several days of shadowing a Member of Congress in their home district, and a closing session in Boston that ties all of their experiences together while learning about the functions of the local and state government. These exchanges seek primarily to strengthen U.S.-U.K. relations and educate parliamentarians on the U.S. federalist system of government; in addition, the program offers the opportunity for participants to examine the role of non-governmental players in the formation of domestic and foreign policy.

Here are some takeaways from the program:

1. A Critical Relationship: The U.S. and UK strengthen global stability through their partnership, collaborating on intelligence, military, and economic matters to enhance international diplomacy and security. These partnerships foster cultural ties, innovation, and trade. As geopolitics shift, the U.S.-UK bond continues to maintain international order and leadership. Despite gaps in the Atlantic Declaration, which seeks to boost cooperation on supply chains, industrial investment, and advanced technologies, the countries work to improve free trade and bilateral partnership in order to take advantage of the special relationship. The MPs noted the critical relationship between the US and the UK despite the significant differences of government
2. Parliamentary Upheaval: Voters delivered the conservatives their worst defeat since 1834. This defeat caused Rishi Sunak to resign as Prime Minister and Party Leader. Only 60% of eligible voters participated, which set a historically low rate of participation. Labour now holds the majority, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer drives their legislative agenda that he hopes will address the long emerging challenges such as housing, education, and healthcare. With 412 of the 650 seats in parliament, the new Labour government can easily pass sweeping reforms to these pressing areas. The Conservative party’s reduced presence significantly weakens their ability to block or modify any of Labour’s legislative proposals.
3. New Government, Long-standing Challenges: Following its recent electoral success, the new Labour government has identified national healthcare reform and energy independence as two key policy areas it will focus on. Some objectives it has outlined in its agenda include significantly reducing wait times for health services and decreasing dependency on foreign energy sources. For healthcare reform, the backlog of over 80,000 people awaiting operations in the UK’s healthcare system has compelled policymakers to implement urgent reform such as increasing government contracts with private healthcare providers and leverage additional medical facilities and personnel alongside AI diagnostic to tackle the backlog efficiently. To address the issue of energy independence, the new Labour government plans to establish a new publicly owned company - Great British Energy to demonstrate its strong commitment to enhanced energy security. This decision comes after the UK experienced difficulties with Russian energy dependence. The nationalized energy company will aim to boost domestic production and reduce reliance on foreign sources. Conservative MPs oppose the initiative with arguments that a state-run energy company could lead to negative outcomes, particularly increased inflation.
4. UK Leading Defensive Efforts: The proximity of the Russia-Ukraine war threatens the UK more directly than the U.S. and pushes the Labour government to pursue increased defense and security cooperation. This involves an ambitious new UK-EU security pact and bilateral agreements with France and Germany intended to strengthen border security and reinforce NATO as the cornerstone of European and global security. American support plays a crucial role in Ukraine's defense, and a potential second Trump administration could pressure NATO allies, including the UK, to increase their defense contributions. Despite Brussels' rightward shift in its most recent election, Labour works to restore ties with European nations. Confident in their status outside the European Union, the new government plans to deepen ties with European friends and strengthen international development through reduced barriers to trade, prevention of unnecessary border checks, and mutual recognition of professional qualifications to help open markets for UK service exports.
5. De-couple or De-Risk? The UK began shifting its China strategy from decoupling to derisking after the 2023 G7 Summit, where it distinguished between areas of continued strategic collaboration and areas of increased risk. Although the UK is generally aligned with the U.S. in the need to reexamine its relations with China, the U.S. has implemented a more aggressive decoupling approach, recently restricting China from importing electronic vehicles, semiconductors, lithium-ion batteries, and medical supplies. These restrictions affect over $18 billion worth of goods. The UK continues to maintain distinct priorities of investment in sensitive infrastructure and is currently reassessing its technology partnerships with China. That being said, opposition parties have argued that the newly elected Labour government’s China strategy remains unclear outside of its manifesto, which outlines a planned assessment of areas where Chinese collaboration, contention, or competition would advance national interest. Further solidifying the UK’s approach to China is likely to remain a key foreign policy objective for Keir Starmer’s government.