Labour Middle East Council Launched To "Turn A New Page" In Foreign Policy

Exclusive: A new initiative is being launched to "turn a new page" on relations between a potential future Labour government and countries across the Middle East, as senior diplomats predict a "paradigm shift" in British foreign policy.

The Labour Middle East Council (LMEC) is officially launching on Wednesday, with the aim of "facilitating dialogue, enhancing mutual understanding, and fostering partnership" between the UK and countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

The Council, which is not an affiliated Labour socialist society, will be led by well-renowned Labour figures and experienced diplomats and experts. Working with policymakers and communities, LMEC has set out that it will work towards developing and advocating for policies that "support peace, partnership and prosperity at home and abroad".

There was a previous organisation with the same name, set up by Christopher Mayhew, a former Labour MP, in 1969. PoliticsHome understands there is no connection between the new LMEC and the previous Council, which lobbied for Palestinian causes and is no longer operational.

The new organisation is launching as tensions continue to rise across the Middle East. The Conservative government is under pressure to defend UK ships in the Red Sea from Houthi attacks while not contributing to further escalations of various violent conflicts across the Middle East. The government's Armed Forces Minister has told The House magazine that the UK could send an aircraft carrier in response to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea when the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower – an American carrier currently present in the region – returns home.

Hoping to represent a commitment to a "new era" of "constructive and cooperative" UK involvement in Middle Eastern