Defence investment matters - but so does our strategy
4 min read
We are living in an incredibly unstable world, with decades-old global norms and institutions crumbling and serious threats to our own security.
While the threats may not feel as direct as they do in eastern Europe or the Middle East, geography is deceptive. Because whether it’s our power stations, our transport network, our banking systems or our hospitals, our critical infrastructure is already in reach of our enemies.
While our next Prime Minister is in post, escalation is not just possible but likely.
Andy Burnham is right to develop a policy agenda centred on locally powered growth and opportunity in our cities, towns and rural communities here in the UK. My fear is that ultimately it will be global events that determine the success or otherwise of this domestic agenda. To really protect and drive opportunity in these places, he will also need clarity of strategy, values and resource in his foreign policy.
It’s the lack of resources that has rightly been in the news following John Healey’s resignation. It’s personal for me too: As the former head of a humanitarian aid agency, I tolerated cuts to our international aid budget last year. I did so because I recognised the urgency of increasing defence spending and I know that means making tough choices about other budgets. But it’s now clear that the aid cuts have not supported the meaningful scale-up in defence spending needed to make us safer. In fact, I suspect time will prove the opposite, as reduced global aid flows trigger more migration, faster spread of pandemics, and further marginalisation and radicalisation of young people.
Investing in defence is the bedrock of our security, as is engaging in international development and diplomacy, given the preventative and stabilising role they play.
But equally important is strategy. We cannot go it alone in the world. We must decide whether we’re willing to remain reliant on a volatile United States for our security and prosperity, whether we forge alliances with other ‘middle powers’ in the way that Mark Carney suggests, or whether we double down on our relationship with Europe, which I personally think is our best bet. We must decide what our red lines are in our diplomatic and economic relationship with China, particularly for domestic industries like car manufacturing where cheap Chinese alternatives flood our market.
While it’s easy to jump to the alliances of foreign policy, we must also be clear about the values that guide us. Clause IV of the Labour Party’s Constitution sets a clear ambition, to “secure peace, freedom, democracy, economic security and environmental protection for all.” Yvette Cooper is dogged in her commitment to ending violence against women and girls. But our values should be woven through all our foreign policy, from tackling the threat to our democratic freedoms from misinformation, to standing with people in the world’s worst humanitarian crises. In this sense, despite the challenges we face, our international agenda can also be a hopeful one.
One final point is important. Foreign affairs isn’t just the concern of government; it’s the concern of all of us. On defence, we must work at pace to build public and political understanding of the threats we face the need to keep ourselves safe. In Estonia, every high school kid now learns about defence and security, and thousands of people are being trained in how to use drones as part of a national civilian preparedness strategy. We too need a strategy for society-wide resilience if the threats to our security worsen.
But there is also opportunity for our communities in foreign affairs. Whether it’s the trade deals that generate opportunity for small businesses, the rallying of community groups around Ukrainian refugees, or the work, study and travel made possible by a closer relationship with the EU, foreign policy offers hope too.
