Nick Westcott / Oct 2026
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The UN General Assembly high level week has been a good opportunity to take stock of Britain’s place in the world. It is worrying.
The British media focussed overwhelmingly on the prime minister’s meeting with President Trump. The atmospherics were good, but Andy Burnham did not make much progress on AI governance, and the dispute over the future of the Chagos islands was resurrected – an issue on which in 2019 the UK suffered its biggest ever defeat in the UN General Assembly. Burnham’s speech to the UN focussed overwhelmingly on persuading the British public that international affairs affected them, that Russia was a threat, and that Britain could play a constructive role in resolving disagreements and conflicts. Elsewhere at the UN, foreign secretary Ed Miliband sustained Britain’s profile on climate change, humanitarian action and Sudan, but others took the lead on the Middle East.
International threats to Britain’s security, prosperity and influence are clearly increasing – not just from Russian aggression or US unreliability as a partner, but from growing trade barriers, financial instability and the pace of AI development. As an open global economy, Britain is exceptionally vulnerable to creeping protectionism; and having left the EU, neglected the Commonwealth and relied on the US commitment to NATO, we find ourselves with fewer friends we can rely on in a crisis.
To help manage these risks, rebuilding and renewing Britain’s armed forces will take time and a great deal of money, so the immediate response should be to reinforce Britain’s diplomatic efforts.
The Government has just appointed its first ever female Head of the Diplomatic Service and Permanent Secretary at the Foreign Office, Lindy Cameron. This is a welcome step. But she arrives at a time when Britain faces its toughest diplomatic challenges for decades. The country is not at war, but these physical and economic threats will require a far greater diplomatic effort if Britain is to protect its interests.
The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is just completing a drastic re-structuring – a legacy of the abrupt merger of FCO and DFID in 2021 and the drastic cuts in aid from 0.7% to 0.3% of GNP. Less aid certainly needs fewer people to administer it. But up to 20% cuts at senior and mid-levels has lost the Office much experience and expertise in areas critical to the UK’s future: in Asia, the Middle East, the US, UN and particularly the European Union.
In today’s hard-nosed world of realpolitik, it is experience in heavy-duty negotiations and in dealing with dictators that matters more than project management skills.
But diplomacy is not done only by diplomats. Almost all government departments interact with foreign governments, and the FCDO needs to help spread diplomatic skills more widely across Whitehall. It is especially worrying that, apart from those who come from diaspora communities, fewer and fewer British politicians have experience of working or building political networks overseas. British business remains internationally engaged, but government and politicians need to listen more closely to business views.
And Britain’s most visible ambassadors – its sports men and women, its artists, actors, musicians and academics who really do have international profiles – are less able to use that influence because of the artists visa restrictions in Europe and the cuts to the British Council and research budgets. Visibility matters for influence, and it’s worth every taxpayers’ penny we spend on it.
So for Ed Miliband and Lindy Cameron, I suggest five priorities.
Firstly, fight like hell to keep the FCDO budget from further cuts.
Secondly, hang on to the experts you’ve got, and keep the pipeline of expertise in regions and subjects rolling. Britain needs to ensure it has the skills we’ll need not just today but a decade hence.
Thirdly, build strong European networks, not just diplomatically but politically and economically. Europe remains our nearest and biggest market and indispensable security partner.
Fourthly, don’t neglect small countries, especially in Africa and Asia. They are still our friends. Remarkably, many still look to Britain with great affection; and the Commonwealth remains a community based on values that we share. This increasingly matters in a turbulent and contested world.
Finally, have a clear strategy. Not a long White Paper of good intentions, but a short, simple strategy based on sustaining the relationships we need for national survival.
Then British diplomats of every kind will know what their purpose is and feel they have the political backing to get on with the job.
