“Democracy has been retreating as autocracy rises”. Former British Prime Minister John Major speaks at LSE
Sir John Major, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, visited LSE last week to deliver this year’s Maurice Fraser Annual Lecture.
The event, chaired by the head of the School’s European Institute and Professor in European Philosophy, Simon Glendinning, centred around challenges and opportunities shaping Britain’s role in a changing world.
During his speech, Sir John touched upon the many shifts across globalisation, free trade and political alliances that our world has undergone over the past few decades, noting that “whilst a large number of those changes are welcome – others are not”.
“Our world today is unsettled, grumpy, fractious, changing in character as economic hardship bites, populism increases, and America and her allies grow apart. For nearly two decades, democracy has been retreating as autocracy rises”, he said, highlighting that the language of politics is increasingly becoming harsher and more focused on “the battles of politics than the welfare of nations”.
Major went on to address the invasion of Ukraine in the midst of our unsettled world, which “had no credible or justifiable cause”.
While acknowledging that “Western support for Ukraine has suffered from not being full-hearted”—having only been enough to keep Russia at bay and not drive it back and end the conflict— he noted that the “conflict is not against the Russian people: it is against Putin and his regime”. The prize of his departure would be a much safer and more stable Europe.
The lecture then moved to Britain’s relationship with China, with Major warning that the latter is a “strong opponent of liberal democracy” and the former must set parameters to what will be accepted when working with it.
“In the late 16th Century, China was the pre-eminent global power. China has not forgotten this ‒ and nor should the world.”
Major further advised on the importance of “an improved relationship” with the UK’s European neighbours following Brexit; a careful study of the Home Secretary's latest plans on immigration rules over “instantaneous acceptance or rejection”; and taking the task of defeating populist groups which offer disaffected people simple solutions to complex problems.
“It is time to turn our back on complacency, on pessimism, on short-termism, on the second rate, on the fear of failure, on artificial divisions – and raise our ambitions to bring substance to the fore in politics, pride back in to our nation, and hope back into our lives…It is my fervent hope that, together, we can work towards that outcome”, Major said as part of his closing remarks.
A recording of the event can be found here.