Britain’s Place in the World: Linking Foreign and Defence Policy with Trade
Last Thursday’s instalment of our virtual Election Watch series was particularly timely, following Wednesday’s announcement of the upcoming election. Some last-minute adaptations saw the session split into two tranches; the former exploring the future of a joined-up international approach under Labour, and the latter providing an exploration of the policy battle lines being drawn between the two major parties. Below is a sketch of the key themes covered, all delivered under Chatham House rule.
Labour’s manifesto will be domestically focused
It is important to remember when interpreting priorities from Labour’s general election campaign that its manifesto and 5 Missions will not be the sum total of Labour’s programme of Government. While we can expect to see a primary focus on domestic policy over the next 6 weeks - typical, given international policy is recurrently sidelined as ‘not a vote winner’ - a coherent foreign policy remains an acute concern of Labour policymakers. International issues - particularly around security and defence - will no doubt rear their heads in the coming weeks.
Coordinated policymaking
A key message coming from Labour policymakers is its desire to better coordinate the Government machinery working across international engagement. The joining up of the UK’s international policy - linking foreign and defence policy with diplomacy, trade and development - is recognised as a major challenge, given the barriers to coordination that the current machinery of Government faces. Nonetheless it is a key priority, in order to streamline the UK’s international engagement and prioritise the UK’s strengths.
Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s ‘Progressive Realism’ foreign policy approach looks to be the umbrella under which Labour pursues this ideal. A (still rather light on detail) values-based pursuit, with priorities ranging from countering climate change, to defending democracy, to advancing the world’s economic development, ‘progressive realism’ is being pitched as an avenue to coherently join these international activities up, under the banner of serving just goals.
One cannot overlook the role that UK ‘soft’ power would play in this approach. Progressively earning the recognition it deserves, soft power and its ability to support in joining up the arms of international engagement, is increasingly being recognised by Labour policymakers. Yet the UK’s effectiveness in its pursuit of such influence is reliant on an authentic international reputation as a partner of values-led delivery. As such, we should expect to see a nurturing of UK soft power, promoting the export of UK culture, expertise, business and values, to benefit all arms of our international engagement under a Labour government. Already, Labour has committed to establishing a Soft Power Council.
It is critical to note that underpinning this revised international approach, would be a comprehensive national industrial strategy. Labour policymakers seek not only a coherent read across of its international policy and narrative, but to plug this into the domestic policy sphere. From global conflict, to trade deals and AI innovation, the scope of the international is increasingly influencing important parts of domestic industrial strategy, and Labour policymakers wish to reflect this in a modernised take on industrial strategy.
Global Re-engagement
One of the first challenges for Labour will be a familiarisation and re-engagement process with the international community - predominantly its institutions. With a generation of politicians residing in opposition, a re-discovery of Labour’s approach to multilateralism will be required. Interestingly, this re-introduction would align with the wider global calls for multilateral reform, with multilateral institutions still struggling to keep pace with modern challenges.
A Cultural Challenge for Labour
Another challenge for a Labour government would be re-familiarising itself with projecting a positive message of pride and success for the UK. As a party borne of a desire to change, Labour grassroot members can struggle with talking positively and optimistically about the UK in international contexts. This would certainly require some reimagining of the messaging of the party’s roots, but will likely reinforce a theme we can expect from any new Government - being strong (and loud) on what we are authentically strong on and positioning positively the UK’s place in the world.
How can industry support?
In sum, there is no doubt of the considerable journey ahead for Labour in shifting from the ‘what’ of key messages, to the ‘how’ of policy detail and execution. But in this vein, the role of industry and members is of critical importance. The value that businesses can provide in curating and fleshing out the detail of a coherent and joined-up set of international and domestic policies - underpinned by experience and expertise - will be invaluable.
Policy Battlelines
Progressing onto the key battle lines being drawn between the two major parties. (A full write up on these can be found here).
The parties have already made clear that defence and security will play a key role throughout the election campaign, a result of both the complexity of contemporary global geopolitics, and the Conservative’s perceptions that this is an area they can ‘outgun’ Labour on.
A parallel battleground which will draw out similar security themes and debates is that of illegal migration, an issue very high among public concern, particularly as we approach Summer where channel crossings tend to rise.
The conflict in the Middle East will also potentially throw up challenges for both parties during the election campaign. With policy approval ratings abysmal for both parties’ approaches to the conflict, and acute emotional charge surrounding the conflict, both parties are set for some difficult conversations on their doorsteps. Labour particularly is expected to continue facing particular challenges in defining its approach to the conflict. The misalignment between politicians and large swathes of the British electorate at the moment creates fertile turf for a fierce battle ground.
Getting Personal
Given that neither the Conservative or Labour campaign messages are expected to be particularly inspiring - with the Tories undoubtedly focusing on claiming credit for reducing inflation and rising employment, while Labour argues that change is necessary to produce greater stability - the campaign may get quite scrappy and personal. Given that politics has become even more confrontational in recent years, particularly on social media, questions arise around whether the coming together after an election - often painted as a period of national unity - will fail to appear altogether. Something to monitor as we head into the next six weeks.
