David Cameron has won some banner headlines this morning for repudiating Margaret Thatcher’s South Africa policy. As posted on Thursday, ConservativeHome is supportive of the Tory leader’s international development policy and it is difficult to get excited – one way or the other – about his reflections on the Thatcher governments’ opposition to sanctions. David […]
A synopsis of Isabel Oakeshott’s interview with William Hague in the Sunday Times: He has had a remarkable transformation from failed anorak to immensely popular politician and speaker (his latest Conservative Member’s Panel rating will be revealed on Monday). "There is a completely different atmosphere in politics when you have a good chance of winning". […]
Has everyone seen today’s open letter from ‘Muslim leaders’ to the Prime Minister? It appears in today’s Times and you can click on the graphic on the right to enlarge a scan of it. I found it deeply dispiriting and I am clearly not the only one. Quoted on BBC Online, LibDem Treasury spokesman Vince […]
Former Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind has written for this week’s Spectator (not yet online) and urged the Conservative Party to split with Tony Blair on three foreign policy fronts: "There must be a clear recognition that the invasion of Iraq was a serious mistake that has helped the terrorists. It has also made Iran […]
David Cameron returned from the first part of his summer holiday today and was interviewed on Radio Five. He used the opportunity to talk about the A-list and to give strong backing to William Hague’s recent criticisms of Israel: "Elements of the Israeli response were disproportionate and I think it was right to say that […]
As today’s homepage demonstrates it is not only Tony Blair – through his Middle East policy – who is causing unhappiness in his party. A number of leading Tories are also unhappy with the Conservative leadership’s willingness to criticise Israel. The critics of the Tory leadership feel that the world comnmunity has failed Israel over […]
David Cameron did not talk much about foreign policy during his leadership bid. He gave the EPP promise, of course, and promised to champion the people of Darfur but he gave few other clues to his foreign policy outlook. Although he gave strong backing for the Iraq war once it had happened, he is known […]
The article is more subtle than the headline but William Hague’s piece for today’s Sunday Telegraph [Telegraph site is down at time of posting] hardens the hint of criticism of Israel that was evident on Thursday. Matthew d’Ancona – writing on the page opposite to Mr Hague – describes the former Tory leader’s words as […]
There have been quite a few articles in recent days bemoaning the fact that neither the Government nor the Conservative Party has a serious foreign policy. The most ‘unserious’ aspect of current foreign policy is the reverence for the UN. I’ve written about the UN’s failures before but this, from Jonah Goldberg, says it particularly […]
William Hague has spoken in today’s Commons debate on the deteriorating situation in the Middle East. A pdf of his full speech is here. The following extract is worth highlighting, however: "The right of Israel to defend itself is clear and its desire severely to damage the ability of Hezbollah to attack the Israeli civilian […]