PM must leverage aid, trade, defence and diplomacy to build Global Britain
Boris johnson’s extraordinary triumph has given the country the certainty it craved.
The question now is: what next? On the doorsteps of towns and villages in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Hampshire and, of course, Kent, I’ve been told to “get Brexit done” and start charting a new course for the United Kingdom.
One-nation Conservatism will be at the heart of the Government’s post-Brexit agenda and we also need to radically overhaul Britain’s international role.
On this, I know the Prime Minister is on the right track. After my speech to the RUSI think tank, as chair of the foreign affairs committee in the last Parliament, Boris texted his support for my vision of aligning all arms of foreign influence – aid, trade, defence and diplomacy – to make us stronger.
Get that right and we’ll unleash our potential and truly become what the Prime Minister has championed: global Britain.
Westminster and Whitehall now have the opportunity to deliver.
Few countries have contributed more to human history than ours. Since World War Two we have achieved a peaceful retreat from Empire, created an open, diverse and tolerant home for 70million people and championed liberal democracy and human rights around the world.
A debate about UK strategy needs to accept the burden our history places upon us, and the reality that our voice matters. The prize is turning that global vision from an idea into a winning strategy and that’s going to need drive and backing.
Alliances and power are flowing. By 2050, the population of Africa will double. China is building a mercantile empire, and India is asserting her growing power. The centre of the global economic power has moved firmly east.
This shift is challenging the system that has brought us prosperity and peace for the best part of 70 years. Updating the rules of this system is an urgent task and this creates a massive opportunity for the UK because the blueprints for free trade, the rule of law and individual freedom are British.
Our world-beating diplomats, universities, legal system, financial services, tech entrepreneurs, creative industries, and innovative manufacturers mean that we continue to be deeply globally connected, and influential. British standards and best practice in commercial law, science, accountancy and conservation shape the world we live in.
As the world’s fifth largest economy, Europe’s biggest defence spender and an international development superpower, good rules and global order matter deeply to us. As the world drafts rules for the modern global system, this country should be holding the pen.
Boris Johnson’s experience as foreign secretary, his success in the EU negotiations and at the G7 and his electoral success demonstrate he can persuade and make change happen. That’s what Britain needs now to restore global confidence.
Our values have not changed. We can build on the UK’s international partnershipsto shape discussions on adapting our global rules to the new realities of the 21st century. Get this right, and the UK will transform not just ourselves – but the world.
That includes Europe. Ties of family, history and shared sacrifice bind us to friends and neighbours like Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, Poland, France and Sweden. We need to come together to manage threats from Russian aggression, ongoing conflicts, climate change, and much more.
Too few MPs take the time to really get to know our neighbouring colleagues. So next year I will be reaching out to friends like the Bundestag’s Foreign Affairs Committee chair and doing what I can to bring politicians from across Europe together. By the time we meet, the UK will no longer be a member of the EU and we should have plenty to talk about.