John Baron MP questions Prime Minister in Ukraine Statement

Hard and Soft Power must be enhanced in the battle for democracy globally

Yesterday in the Chamber, John asked,

“The House is united in its condemnation, but I suggest to the Prime Minister that the lessons to be addressed from this affair started with Russia’s invasion of Georgia in 2008, and not in 2014. Many of us across the House have been warning about Russia and yet the response has been weak. Does the Prime Minister accept that, as we enter the battle for democracy globally, we must understand that the sooner that we square up to the playground bully the better, and that we must adequately support our hard and soft power to do that?”

The Prime Minister suggested that the scales from had fallen from the eyes of many friends and partners and agreed about the value of soft power, and said we should have stood up to the bully ages ago.

John said afterwards,

“The Prime Minister is right to say that the scales have fallen from the eyes of many people, but some of us have been warning of the risks posed by the Russians for a long time. Our hard power must be increased by boosting our defence spending, and soft power resources such as the British Council and the BBC Russian and Ukrainian services must be taken further to build links and ensure a constant stream of accurate and impartial news.”

“In the forthcoming battle for democracy globally, an important element will be the battle for hearts and minds – it was soft power that ultimately led to victory in the Cold War.”

Notes to Editors:

• John’s full exchange with the Prime Minister is online at: https://bit.ly/3JTH28F. John’s recent article on the implications of the invasion of Ukraine is online at: https://bit.ly/3IjxTWz.