Greenland: Proposed US Tariffs

Baroness Goldie Excerpts

Monday 19th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

I would not dream of advising noble Lords or my good friends at the other end of the building on what they should and should not say to a visiting speaker from the United States. The noble Earl makes a good point about having clarity in the position—which I think is widely, if not unanimously, held, at least within this Chamber—as regards Greenland.

[Baroness Goldie (Con)]

I revert, if I may, to the matter of NATO, referred to by my noble friend Lord Ahmad. A defensive and strong alliance such as NATO requires, in addition to resource, two vital components: unity of purpose among the members and seamless cohesion among the members. The recent pronouncements by President Trump have, frankly, thrown a bucket of sand into the engine room. Will the Minister discuss with her colleagues in the Ministry of Defence convening an urgent meeting of NATO, if only to reassert what all of us believe NATO to exist for and to underpin that, while one member may have an aberrant view, the rest of us are totally united in why we need NATO, why we want NATO and why we support NATO?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

I completely agree with the noble Baroness on what she says about unity of purpose. That is why the Prime Minister made the statement that he did this morning. When it comes to what meetings to hold, who should convene them and when that should happen, I will leave that to others to determine. She can rest assured that I am speaking regularly to colleagues in the MoD about this and other issues.