John Baron MP welcomes PM’s break with failed interventionist policies

MP supports new era of pragmatism in foreign policy

Yesterday the Prime Minister, Rt Hon Theresa May, addressed a gathering of Republican Congressmen in Philadelphia. During her speech, she said there must be ‘no return to the failed policies of the past’ that saw Britain bogged down in questionable overseas conflicts. The Prime Minister insisted that the ‘the days of Britain and America intervening in sovereign countries in an attempt to remake the world in our own image are over’, but she stressed that the two countries should still meet their ‘obligations of leadership’ to tackle new global challenges.

John said,

“My 15 years in Parliament have, in large part, been defined by my opposition to our misguided interventions in Iraq, Helmand, Libya and Syria – sometimes being the only Conservative voting against. I therefore welcome the recognition that we should no longer attempt to remake the world in our own image – this has been a painful and costly policy, which has tended to distract us from greater dangers.”

“We need to mend our foreign policy process which suffers from lack of investment, expertise and therefore credibility – little wonder Parliament has become more questioning. We need to rekindle our pragmatism, re-assess our priorities and be better informed. Better funding of our hard and soft power should be part and parcel of the process.”

“We must indeed be strong, smart and hard-headed when meeting new global challenges, which include the rise of potentially hostile nation states, global poverty, resource scarcity, disease and organised crime. We also need to recognise that international organisations are failing in many of these areas and need re-tuning for the 21st Century.”