Miliband calls for closer EU ties and joint action on global risks in Labour speech

Ed Miliband called for Britain to help rebuild the world order in a speech to Labour’s conference on 28 September, arguing that closer cooperation with the European Union and action on climate and artificial intelligence are part of the country’s security agenda. His proposals matter because they set out how the foreign secretary wants Britain to respond to conflicts and risks that cross borders.

Miliband said democratic norms were under threat and international law was being flouted. Those were his assessments of the international situation. He argued that defending democracy, rights and freedoms could advance Britain’s interests as well as its values, bringing greater stability, peace and prosperity. The speech presented that connection as the basis for a more active British role abroad.

A deeper European partnership

The clearest call was for a ‘stronger, deeper partnership’ with the EU on economics, defence and security. As The Independent reported, Miliband told the conference that Europe was more than Britain’s geography: it was where the country pursued interests in trade and defence, worked on shared concerns and built alliances. He framed closer ties as a response to common challenges, rather than setting out a new treaty or timetable.

Miliband also described the US alliance and NATO as essential, while arguing that Europe needed to do more to defend itself. He pointed to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine as the return of war to Europe and said Britain should continue military and humanitarian help and accept Ukrainian refugees. In his account, the outcome in Ukraine would test whether sovereignty and self-determination could withstand the use of force.

Climate and AI as security issues

Miliband pledged to put climate and nature at the heart of national security and foreign policy. Four days before the speech, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office announced a £331 million package aimed at climate and nature-related security risks. The department said £330 million would go to the Global Environment Facility during its 2026–30 funding period, with a further £1 million for the UN Climate Security Mechanism.

The FCDO said that funding was intended to support environmental protection and resilience, including access to food and clean water. It described drought, flooding and damage to ecosystems as risks that can affect communities, supply chains and security beyond the places where they begin. Those are the government’s stated aims and risk assessment; the announcement does not establish what effects the new funding will achieve.

On artificial intelligence, Miliband argued that companies should not be left to set safeguards in the public interest. He pledged that Britain would lead efforts to manage AI during its G20 presidency in 2027, a commitment also reported by The Independent. The speech described an intended international role, without establishing what rules other countries might agree to or when any safeguards would take effect.

Conflicts and international rules

Miliband said Britain would use economic sanctions against Iran and act against Iranian proxies. On Israel and Palestine, he backed a two-state outcome that would provide security, freedom, dignity and self-determination for both peoples, while acknowledging how distant that outcome remained. He condemned Hamas’s 7 October attack and antisemitism, but said those concerns could not justify suffering caused by the Netanyahu government in Gaza and the West Bank.

He said Britain would ban imports from illegal settlements and disrupt British finance, construction and services connected to them. These were measures stated in the speech; the available record does not establish that they had taken effect by 28 September or what their practical impact would be. Miliband also told pro-Palestinian critics ‘you were right’, presenting the government’s approach as having changed under Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

Beyond Europe and the Middle East, Miliband said Britain would use diplomatic and political tools to address suffering in Sudan. He also pointed to the country’s position at the World Bank and its 2027 G20 presidency as ways to press for changes to international finance, debt and development. Together, those commitments show the breadth of the role he proposed, although the speech itself cannot establish how far the plans will be carried out.