Labour Has Said Dominic Raab's Refusal To Condemn President Trump's "Fraud" Election Claim Is Shameful
The Foreign Secretary refused to condemn President Trump's comments
4 min read
Foreign secretary Dominic Raab’s refusal to condemn Donald Trump’s claim the US election is a fraud has been described as “shameful” by Labour.
The US President’s call for all voting to stop this morning and declaring himself as a winner has sparked controversy around the world, with even supportive Republicans saying his argument is baseless while counting is still going on.
Mr Raab told ITV this morning that he would not remark on the aftermath of election night and the UK would wait and see what the final result is.
He also said he would not “comment on the commentary” when President Trump’s claims that there is a “major fraud in our nation” was put to him.
Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy MP said the UK has no problem calling out other government’s who threaten a democratic process and said Boris Johnson needs to come out strongly against Mr Trump’s position on the election at Prime Minister’s Questions.
She told PoliticsHome this morning: “It was a very shameful moment to see Britain’s foreign secretary refuse to stand up robustly and defend the right of American citizens to free and fair elections.
“In the last few months Dominic Raab has spoken out very clearly about attempts to undermine democracy by China and Hong Kong, attempts by Russia to undermine democracy in Belarus.
“To not stand up for the rights of people in the world’s most powerful democracy to have their votes counted and to have their voices heard was a sign of how far this government has diminished Britain on the world stage.”
In a press conference in the early hours of this morning, Mr Trump said that he would be going to the Supreme Court to challenge the result.
“We will be going to the Supreme Court, we want all voting to stop. We don’t want them find any ballots at 4 o’clock in the morning and add them to the list. It’s a very sad moment.”
“As far as I am concerned we already have won it,” he said.
At 11am this morning, Democrat candidate Joe Biden has 224 electoral college votes and Mr Trump had 213. To win the election, one of the candidates needs to secure 270 votes.
There are still several states to count, including Biden’s home state of Pennsylvania, and so far Trump has far exceeded expectations in the polls, significantly narrowing Biden’s predicted lead.
Ms Nandy said Britain’s refusal to be critical and persistence in trying to keep the Trump team on-side because of the need to strike a post-Brexit trade deal has not reflected well on the country.
Mr Raab’s decision not to call out Trump this morning is part of a pattern of behavior, she added.
“It’s part of a pattern of behavior from the UK government in relation to the Trump administration where Donald Trump has proven over and over again that he will stand up for America’s interests, and the British government has failed to stand up for British interests,” she said.
“Whether it’s on climate change, or persuading the US to attend the global vaccine summit that we hosted earlier this year, on justice for Harry Dunne….on all of those issues it’s been increasingly clear the government’s approach - trying to cosy up to President Trump - is not paying dividends for Britain.”
“And today’s refusal to stand up for democracy in the face of a shocking, dangerous attack on the rights of the American people to have their votes counted was yet another sign of how badly wrong this government is getting it and a diminished influence that we have on the world stage as a result.”
Mr Raab told the BBC: "It may take days rather than hours, so we'll just have to be a bit more patient but we'll be there willing to, and able, and enthusiastic to work with our American friends and partners irrespective of the outcome of the race in effect."
Raab was expected to say this morning that he has full confidence in the checks and balances of the US election.
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