Sir John Major has cautioned that democracy is at risk as the United States retreats from its global leadership role.
The former British prime minister expressed concern that President Donald Trump’s policy of American “isolation” is leaving a power vacuum, potentially emboldening nations such as Russia and China.
Sir John, who led the UK from 1990 to 1997, remarked that the progress achieved since the Soviet Union’s collapse was now being undone. He asserted that Russia was likely to invade other countries in the near future. “There is no doubt in my mind that democracy has been in modest decline over the last 18 years,” he said, emphasizing that “ugly nationalism” was emerging, contributing to an increasingly unstable global situation.
His warning coincides with preparations by European leaders for an emergency summit on the war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, U.S. and Russian officials are set to engage in peace talks, raising concerns that European nations, including Ukraine, are being excluded from negotiations.
Sir John also dismissed U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s recent criticism of Europe’s record on free speech. He argued that such remarks should have been directed at Moscow or Beijing instead. Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s The World This Weekend, he stated, “It’s extremely odd to lecture Europe on the subject of free speech and democracy at the same time as they’re cuddling [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.”
He further condemned Russia’s suppression of dissent, saying, “In Mr. Putin’s Russia, people who disagree with him disappear, or die, or flee the country, or—on a statistically unlikely level—fall out of high windows somewhere in Moscow.”
Sir John highlighted the shifting geopolitical landscape, stating, “The world is changing and may not be reshaping in a way that is congenial to the West.” He pointed to Russia’s aggressive actions in Ukraine as evidence that past diplomatic gains were being undone. “Many of the gains we made over recent years, when the Soviet Union collapsed, are now being reversed, and you see a very aggressive Russia again in Ukraine,” he said. He warned that if Russia succeeded in its objectives in Ukraine, “no doubt they’d be elsewhere before too long.”
Discussing the broader decline of democracy, Sir John reiterated, “There is an ugly nationalism growing, mostly from the intolerant right… So it is a very unsettled time.”
Addressing domestic political matters, the former Conservative leader acknowledged the economic difficulties faced by the UK government, particularly Chancellor Rachel Reeves. However, he suggested that the current global climate might necessitate increased defense spending. “It’s very, very easy to say from outside government, ‘I’d just do this and I’d spend all this money,'” he said. “I would prefer to say I would realise in my plans that we have to make a very material increase in the level of defence expenditure and do it as a priority as soon as it is credible to do so.”
Speaking separately on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg program, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds emphasized the need for the UK and Europe to respond to U.S. calls for greater contributions toward their “collective defense” in the face of “greater threats.”
Reynolds confirmed that the government would outline a roadmap to increase defense spending from 2.3% to 2.5% of the nation’s economic output. However, he did not specify a timeline for achieving this target.
Despite growing tensions between the U.S. and its allies regarding the Ukraine conflict, Reynolds maintained that there was “still a great deal of common ground” between the nations.
Sir John has voiced his concerns on multiple occasions in recent years, particularly regarding Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in 2022. In the early stages of the war, he joined former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and others in signing a petition demanding that Vladimir Putin face a Nuremberg-style trial for war crimes over his actions in Ukraine.