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Democracy is in retreat, warns Dominic Raab - BBC News

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Democracy is "in retreat", the foreign secretary will warn as he sets out his vision for the UK's role in the world.

Dominic Raab will use a speech to argue that democracies face their greatest threat since the end of the Cold War.

He will also stress the need for the UK to use its military, economic, diplomatic and cultural "clout" to be a "force for good in the world".

His speech comes a day after the government published an overhaul of its foreign policy.

The Integrated Review of foreign and defence policy set out plans to increase the cap on the UK's stockpile of nuclear weapons.

It also said the government would shift its focus towards Indo-Pacific countries, while pledging to tackle the "systemic challenge" of China.

Speaking to the US Aspen Security Forum, Mr Raab will predict that, in the next decade, the combined wealth of autocratic regimes is likely to exceed that of the world's democracies.

"Think about what that means for a second," he will say.

"Tyranny is richer than freedom, and that matters to us here at home.

"Because stable, freedom-respecting democracies are much less likely to go to war, house terrorists or trigger large scale flows of migrants and they are generally, not always, but generally easier to trade with, and easier to cooperate with to solve our shared problems."

He will say that the UK has "a moral responsibility and an indivisible stake in our planet, our global economy, our global ecosystem and the conditions of peace and stability that underpin them".

And he will argue that the UK "can and should help alleviate the worst suffering in the world".

'Era of retreat'

The government has recently received criticism - including from some of its own MPs - for cutting foreign aid from 0.7% national income down to 0.5%.

Ministers argued that the cuts were necessary given the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the Integrated Review - published on Tuesday - pledged to reverse the cuts but only when "the fiscal situation allows".

Responding to the review, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused the Conservatives of overseeing an "era of retreat," with armed forces cuts "every year for the last decade".

He also said the UK's policy towards China had been "inconsistent" and accused the government of turning "a blind eye" to human rights abuses in the country.

Meanwhile, Mr Raab has faced criticism after apparently telling officials the UK should trade with countries not meeting European Convention on Human Rights standards, in a leaked clip obtained by HuffPost UK.

The Foreign Office said the recording was selectively clipped to distort the comments of the foreign secretary who, it said, had emphasised the importance of promoting human rights.

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Democracy is in retreat, warns Dominic Raab - BBC News
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