Launch of the Global Britain Report: The Confidence to Lead
The Coalition for Global Prosperity launched its first report titled “Global Britain: The Confidence to Lead” in Westminster Abbey. This report is the first to be published by our new Research Unit, led by Ted Elgar. We were delighted to welcome The Rt Hon Liam Fox MP to the event, former Secretary of State for International Trade as well as Defence, who gave a speech which stressed the vital connection between Britain’s international development endeavours and the relative strength of its soft power.
Ryan Henson, CEO of the Coalition, welcomed guests to the reception and briefly outlined that the Coalition advocates for a strong UK overseas aid budget alongside effective diplomacy and defence strategies. This ensures that Britain remains at the forefront of saving lives, alleviating poverty and bringing freedom, prosperity and security to those who need it most, as well as Britain itself.
Ted Elgar, the Coalition’s Head of Research, then gave some remarks, thanking the many contributors who offered their expertise and insights which were indispensable to the report’s eventual findings. Ted emphasised that the binary opposition of fatalism in development perspectives – “there’s no point in helping, nothing will change” – and arrogance – “it’s easy to accomplish these things” – is self-limiting, not least because Britain’s rivals do not subscribe to either mentality. He therefore underlined that going forward, confidence should be the central theme of Britain’s foreign policy, as reflected in the report’s title.
The Rt Hon Liam Fox MP then spoke, beginning by disclosing that the Coalition’s report, in essence, represented “a Venn diagram of [his] entire political life”, given Fox’s former roles in previous governments as both Defence and International Trade Secretary. He flagged a book he wrote in 2013, Rising Tides, which set out how in an era of globalisation, we have arrived at an unavoidably interconnected and interdependent world. Yet, “the resentment of global institutions is palpable today”, he said. However, he stressed that efforts to increase social stability thus improve political stability, which in turn, improves mutual stability. Fox declared that this is an “unbreakable continuum”, no part of which can be undermined. Stepping back from the world stage does not come without a cost, as security vacuums inevitably arise. Fox highlighted that in 2009, at the end of the financial crash, 0.7% of imports coming into the G20 were covered by restrictive measures, while a decade later, this figure has risen to 10.3% of all goods. He made the point that without the ability to access those big markets, recipients of the UK’s international development aid can only do so much to bring prosperity to their citizens.
Commenting on the specific recommendations outlined in the report, Fox said he was very grateful for the Coalition’s work, as it sets out clearly what Britain’s problems are and what specific action needs to be taken in the future. This is especially important in Fox’s view, as “one of the challenges for Britain is leading global institutions, and getting people in them”, so that we can “make a reality of Britain’s global influence.” “We’ve got to do a whole lot better than we have been doing”, he said.
One of the key issues Fox wished to spotlight was water, an issue which will “change the course of the 21st century more than any other.” 40% of the planet depends on drinking water which surfaces on a Tibetan plateau. He then encouraged reflection on why China might be so interested in the region, given it’s the world’s biggest source of fresh water. China will only continue to build more dams in the next five years, he said, thus connecting this reality to the other reality of climate change. He declared that “we’ve got to start to join the dots, to connect the pieces to see the whole jigsaw.” Fox finished his speech with a clear message: “We have a binary choice: you either shape the world around you or you are shaped by the world around you. Britain can shape the world in a capacity greater than many people believe. But it won’t come cost-free or effort-free.”
Fox then took some questions from attendees. Asked about the changing impact of global institutions, Fox said that they are clogged up with too much regulation. The WTO is designed to liberalise global trade, but has interpreted the word consensus for complete unanimity. In the face of this challenge, Britain needs to work its way around this pragmatically, which we are good at, he argued. The key to changing the regard of global institutions is not by telling other countries what to do, but by being pragmatic, offering reform, and saying “you can join us as you see fit.” There is a definite gap which needs to be bridged, and the key question is, who is going to do it?
Fox’s response to the question of how best to frame the need for aid spending in the current economy was straightforward: “it is in our national interest to do so”, he said. Talking about the issue of immigration, he argued that “if we cut off the route [for developing countries] to the creation of sustainable prosperity for themselves, don’t be surprised if they get on a boat and start moving.” “Dealing with immigration policy is multifaceted, and involves development, security, and foreign policy”, Fox noted, and will need cross-government working and the creation of new committees.
Finally, someone asked whether Britain’s soft power was being eaten away, and if there was a political will to get it moving in the right direction. “I would love to say yes but I can’t really do so”, he said. The will to want this to happen is different from the will to make this happen, he explained. “Change never drives itself”, he stated. He noted that Tony Blair once said that it took him his entire first term as PM to realise that while he thought he was pulling levers, he was actually pushing string. The mechanics of government itself need to change, Fox argued, because in its current configuration, “we aren’t tapped into our abilities, as our structures are disparate.”
