Today [Tuesday 25th February], Leader of the
Conservative Party MP will give a major speech
on foreign policy.
In the speech she is expected to say:
“Twenty years ago, Irving Kristol talked of a conservative being
a liberal mugged by reality. And, on foreign policy, that
is exactly what I am: a conservative. Not a cosmopolitan
internationalist. Not a supra-nationalist. Not a
neo-con. But a conservative realist.
“Our foreign policy should seek to support our national interest.
We should review those alliances, methods and approaches which
have served our world well for three generations; working
together to the greatest possible extent with those nations which
share our values. But our sovereignty must be at the core of our
foreign policy.
“The United Kingdom must accept reality. No-one owes us a
living. No process is an end in itself. We can no
longer hide behind vapid statements that were, at best, ambitious
twenty years ago and are now outright
irrelevant.
“It is time to speak the truth: the world has changed. And we are
not ready.
“So, we must change too.
“The first thing we must define is what we want, and what we must
do. A nation state's primary purpose is to defend its
borders, its values and its people. Our national interest
is first and foremost to protect our country, to strengthen our
country, and to look after ourselves. That means a strong
military and a strong economy. That is not a selfish objective.
It is realism - because you cannot help others if you cannot help
yourself. Strengthening Britain must be the principal objective
at the heart of everything we do.
“Secondly, we must stop being naïve about international
affairs. We've let ourselves be fooled into believing that
international law alone can keep the peace. But when faced with a
regime with no respect for the law, we need to be realistic. We
can no longer simply put our trust in international partnerships
or supranational institutions as ends in themselves. Where
these work for us and deliver in our national interest we will
embrace them. NATO remains vital for European defence. We
should always prioritise closer trading relationships with open
economies, and as a trading nation we need to protect the rules
that underpin global commerce.
“Where international discussions achieve results, like with the
AUKUS Partnership or the CPTPP trade deal, we must support them.
But “international law” should not become a tool for NGOs and
other critics to seek to advance an activist political agenda
through international bodies and our domestic courts. And if
international bodies are taken over by activists, or by
autocratic regimes like China or Russia, we must use our
influence to stop them. And if that fails, we will need to
disengage.
“The message should be simple: we must do what it takes to
protect Britain. That means not just our independent nuclear
deterrent. But also the ability to protect our critical national
infrastructure – at home and under the sea. It means having the
capability required to contribute meaningfully to NATO-led
deterrence in Europe, and the new technologies for the battles of
tomorrow.
“Alongside this, we need to make sure that we have the
infrastructure to keep Britain strong. We cannot put virtue
signalling ahead of a realistic assessment of our national
interest. That means prioritising our Energy Security.
Building our domestic R&D capabilities in the key
technologies of the future. And defending critical industries,
and our arms manufacturing, which are core to our nation's
strength.
“If we approach this challenge as a zero-sum game – as a simple
choice between defence spending and public services – we will
struggle to persuade the public to back it. And there will
be painful decisions on government spending. Any country that
spends more interest on its debt than on defence, as the UK does
today, is destined for weakness.”
