David Vance SubstackRead More
One of these is an authoritarian tyrant who hates free speech and the other is the leader of the Chinese Communist Party! Yes, Sir Keir is off to China to meet Xi Jinping. As you know, this visit to China was conditional on Starmer granting planning permission for the Chinese Super Embassy in central London so having appeased China, off trots Starmer.
One of the defining features of Starmer’s time in Downing Street has been his enthusiasm to spend time OUT of the UK. He simply loves a PR opportunity and the chance to posture as some sort of statesman. This is the man who once stated that he preferred Davos to Westminster so I am sure he will prefer Beijing to North London.
Our National security and interference concerns about China have been casually set aside by Starmer in pursuance of this staged visit. MI5 and other ministers have repeatedly warned about Chinese espionage, cyber‑attacks and attempts to recruit informants in Westminster. Travelling to Beijing for a warm reset, while those alerts are fresh, sends mixed signals at home and abroad! It’s not leadership, it’s appeasement,
Starmer is spinning this as being all about bringing much needed Chinese investment in Britain and yet he chooses to leave Chancellor Rachel Reeves behind. That’s because he wants to to be all about him – the ego has landed! He also thinks that he can get UK business better access to the huge Chinese market but any sane person knows that Xi Jinping is all about a controlled economy – not an open economy.
Perhaps the nose dangerous aspect of this lies in the Starmer/Miliband obsession on “Renewable Energy”. The UK is being plastered in solar farms and HMRC trade data for 2024 show that 68% of the solar panels imported into the UK came from China, up from 61% in 2023. So the UK will be reliant on China for a very significant part of our future energy needs. he state‑owned company. China General Nuclear owns about 33.5% of Hinkley Point C in Somerset. You can blame the Conservatives for that misguided decision.
China is a global predator and trying to get close to it is profoundly misguided. Starmer has made it clear he will not choose between the US and China and in that comment alone he reveals the danger he constitutes to the UK.
