CONTENTS

politics first | Spotlight
Daniel Kawczynski
Member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee and Conservative MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham
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Undoubtedly, the event that will have the most profound implications
on the Foreign Office’s capabilities is Brexit. As our newest top
diplomat, Boris Johnson has the job of negotiating Britain’s place
in the world. In this time of political uncertainty, the Foreign Office
must be capable of taking on a new and increased workload. However,
in order to do that, structural changes need to be made, particularly
now that there are two new departments to work alongside the Foreign
Office with the newly-established Brexit Secretary and International
Trade Secretary positions. But the overarching question in post-Brexit
Britain is: are they ready and able to tackle the jobs and issues which
will face not just Britain, but also their departments?
Refusing to show any acceptance of defeat, the government
failed to make any contingency plans for a Leave vote, something
which Philip Hammond (still Foreign Secretary at the time) defended
when he appeared before the Foreign Affairs Select Committee this
summer. Chair Crispin Blunt branded that decision as a “serious
oversight,” despite Mr Hammond’s claims that contingency plans
were not necessary. Mr Hammond later added that Britain was not
in a position to start Brexit negotiations with Brussels. The mere fact
that when Article 50 will be invoked is unknown, places enormous
responsibility in the hands of the Foreign Office; the uncertainty
surrounding Britain’s diplomatic future is a problem that they must
be equipped to deal with, especially now that they will have to do
jobs previously undertaken by the EU.
So, for example, the European Union’s negotiations of free trade
agreements with over 50 countries. Without the EU, Britain will have
to negotiate all of its FTAs independently. That is a job that, in the
short-term, may prove to be a challenging feat; in the “Implications
of the referendum on EU membership for the UK’s role in the world”
publication, released by the Foreign Affairs Select Committee before
the referendum, the Committee wrote that: “Since the UK has not
negotiated FTAs on its own behalf for over 40 years, the Government
does not currently possess the knowledge or capacity to manage such
a large-scale undertaking.” Nevertheless, the Foreign Office and the
new Department for International Trade, headed by Liam Fox, should
be completely capable to deal with that as a long-term issue.
Now that the Foreign Office must be prepared to take on a heavilyincreased
workload, the most necessary structural change is to
increase its budget. In 2014-15, the Foreign Office’s resource budget
was £1.7 billion, the fourth smallest budget of any government
department. Part of that £1.7 billion is designated as Overseas
Development Assistance in order to fulfil Britain’s commitment to
spend at least 0.7 per cent of our Gross National Income on overseas
aid. So, in practice, the Foreign Office’s budget is around £1.3
billion. That figure was arguably too small before a Brexit vote, but
it is essential for the departmental budget to increase now that they
must take on more challenging jobs. Furthermore, considering that
there are now an additional two senior ministers working closely with
the Foreign Office (David Davis and Liam Fox), a new Foreign Office
budget must be drawn up which takes into account the finances that
these two ministers and their jobs will require.
In the past, the Prime Minister has been the leading figure in
determining foreign policy and its aims and directions. Whilst that
seems likely to continue, with Theresa May taking an assertive and
dominant role in setting and directing foreign policy, “The FCO and
the 2015 Spending Review” report, published by the Foreign Affairs
Select Committee, dictated that: “The FCO needs to be equipped to reassert
its leading role in foreign policy-making.” Probably one of the
most important roles of the Foreign Office (and the senior ministers
within the department) is to negotiate Britain’s place in the world, both
within the EU and outside. Although Prime Minister May will remain as
our primary ambassador, the importance of the role of Boris Johnson
must not be understated.
The referendum’s Leave result took a majority of government
ministers and departments by surprise, and the Foreign Office’s
failure to make contingency plans for a vote to leave the EU has left
Philip Hammond’s successors with a substantial workload. There will,
undeniably, be various challenges which face Britain and the Foreign
Office in the coming years, but, ultimately, the Foreign Office is
capable of tackling these issues and is able to rely on the expertise of
Mr Johnson and within the department itself, which has helped Britain
to become the world’s second largest soft power. With representation
in 168 countries, Britain’s diplomatic network is one of the largest,
furthest-reaching in the world. Whilst short-term problems will
inevitably arise, in the long-term, Britain will remain a prominent
political force in the world.