Three senior members of Britain’s Conservative shadow Cabinet have just been in Washington seeking to restore bruised relations with the Bush administration, now that David Cameron, aged only 39 and with an Eton and Oxford background, has become the Conservative leader. It has been a reminder of the absurd and damaging mess the Conservatives have got into over foreign policy.
It was not that long ago that the Conservative Party had the enviable reputation of being the best political party on foreign affairs, helped by such outstanding foreign secretaries as Anthony Eden (a disaster as prime minister), Alec Douglas-Home, Peter Carrington and Douglas Hurd. The electorate may not have given the Conservatives high marks on the National Heath Service or Social Security, but when it came to East-West relations, Europe or the Commonwealth, the party gave the impression of knowing what was in Britain’s interest and how best to advance that interest.
After Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher made her infamous anti-European Community speech at Bruges, the Conservatives began to break up over Europe. Today few Conservative MPs take a pro-European stance. The party is not officially in favor of leaving the European Union, but many of its MPs and supporters would welcome such a move. The party wants to renegotiate a number of key issues in order to obtain improved terms for Britain. But it is most unlikely that the 24 other members of the European Union are going to add to their problems by making life easier for a future Conservative government.
David Cameron was thought to have improved his chances of being elected the Conservative leader by telling MPs that if elected he would remove the Tory MEPs from the center-right grouping, which he regards as too federalist, in the European Parliament. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has strongly criticized this imprudent proposal that has divided Tory MEPs. Abandoning the center-right grouping would reduce the Conservatives’ influence in the Parliament, and the Conservatives could link up instead with some weird and extreme fringe groups. This would be red meat for their political opponents in Britain.
When Iain Duncan Smith was the Conservative leader he sought the closest ties with the likes of Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and long before the invasion of Iraq he called for military action against Saddam Hussein. Today, with a strong majority in Britain now opposed to the Iraqi venture, and anxious to get British troops out of southern Iraq, David Cameron has taken over a party very much on the wrong foot.
We have yet to have a major statement on the Middle East from David Cameron; he is known to have minimum knowledge and experience on this subject. However during a recent by-election in Scotland — in which the Conservatives did badly — Cameron unwisely suggested there was now little difference between the approach of the Liberal Democrats to Iraq and that of the Conservatives. But the Liberal Democrats strongly opposed the Iraqi invasion while the Conservatives, in the main, voted for it. His comment was ill received across the political spectrum.
It is true to say that all the main political parties would now like the British troops withdrawn from Iraq, as soon as it is possible without greatly adding to the huge problems of the new Iraqi government.
Before handing over to Cameron, Michael Howard was reported as being in favor of invading Iraq even if it was known Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction. If this approach is adopted by the Conservatives they will have opened up a new and highly vulnerable flank.
Howard ran into trouble with the White House after expressing remorse for supporting the case for the Iraqi conflict that had been spelt out by Prime Minister Tony Blair. About to visit America, Howard was foolishly told by the resident’s adviser, Karl Rove, that he would not be welcome in the White House.
In an excellent move, William Hague, the former leader of the Conservative Party, was made shadow foreign secretary, and he led the recent visit by shadow cabinet members to the United States. William Hague, an unsatisfactory Conservative leader, has successfully rebuilt his reputation in Parliament and the country — partly by writing a highly praised political biography of William Pitt.
While respecting William Hague’s abilities — if not sharing his right-wing and anti-European views — it is obvious he faces a daunting task.
Before the next general election the Iraqi conflict will surely lose its importance in British politics. Iran and its nuclear policy will require clever handling by the opposition; I suspect the Conservatives will sound too strident. The crucial issue for them remains Europe. If they are to win over younger voters they will need to rethink their entire approach, and face up to the realities of the European Union today.
