The Principles of British Foreign
Policy
Philip Vander Elst, who has written extensively on political and
philosophical matters, tackles a number of key questions in the second edition
of the revised paper on British foreign policy.
Should British foreign policy reflect any political and moral principles or
should it merely be shaped by current conceptions of national self-interest,
which may change from decade to decade? Does Britain have any particular long
term or permanent interests as a nation state or are we living in an age so
radically different from previous ones that none of the assumptions and
traditions of the past have any relevance today? Has Britain's foreign policy
traditionally had a special pattern to it that makes it unlike the foreign
policy of other countries? |  |
Politicians are fuelling
distrust
There is one way politicians can start the process of regaining public
trust, said the eurosceptic think-tank, the Bruges Group, and that is to keep
an important promise they made in the last election campaign.
In 2005 every major party promised that the people of the United Kingdom will
have a referendum on the Constitutional Treaty. The Lisbon Treaty is clearly
no different from the previous one. This has been affirmed by numerous
political leaders and commentators. Yet the government, Labour MPs and the
Liberal-Democrats do not intend to honour their promise and vote for the
referendum amendment |