Correlli Barnett

Bring our troops home in 2006

Correlli Barnett says that David Cameron should develop an independent foreign policy for Britain and call for the withdrawal of our forces from Iraq by the end of next year

In all his speeches and interviews since becoming the new Conservative leader, David Cameron has had little or nothing to say about foreign policy, other than to talk vaguely about the ‘security of the British people’. Yet a radically new approach to Britain’s role in the world surely ought to be a key aspect of Conservatism, not least because Tony Blair’s own record in foreign affairs has proved so disastrous and, indeed, unpopular with the voters. So what might be the inspiring principle of such an approach?

David Cameron has signalled that in domestic policy his first and foremost objective will be to enable the British people to achieve personal happiness and fulfilment through their own efforts. He has said that such enablement will be best served by organisations, whether in education or health care, which are fully self-governing and also close to the communities they serve. His fundamental domestic theme is, therefore, that of personal and institutional independence.

So why should not the same theme of independence inspire the future conduct of foreign policy? In this context, ‘independence’ would mean the freedom always to place our own national interest before all others, and as David Cameron leaves the honeymoon period of 2005 behind he has the opportunity to embark upon some serious geopolitical thinking.

By ‘national interest’ I do not mean such grandly aspirational aims as world peace and democracy. I mean that which directly relates to the wealth, security and liberty of the British people. For instance, the fate of the Croats or Bosnians or Kosovars in the 1990s, or any of the peoples of Africa today, can hardly be said to be directly related to our own prosperity and security; nor, for that matter, can the condition of the Iraqi people under Saddam Hussein, or the Afghan people under the Taleban.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in