Britain ‘reconnects’ with traditional European allies
The Cable | No. 04.2024
Welcome to the fourth Cable, our weekly roundup of British foreign and defence policy.
European security continues to be at the heart of the new Labour government’s agenda. Last week John Healey, the Secretary of Defence, conducted a whirlwind tour of European countries important to the United Kingdom (UK). These included France, Germany, Poland and Estonia – with Healey stating that ‘these visits send a clear message that European security will be this government’s first foreign and defence priority.’
Of particular note was the signing on 24th July of the Joint Declaration on Enhanced Defence Cooperation between the UK and Germany. This new bilateral defence agreement between the two biggest European defence spenders has six key priorities, the most important of which focuses on improving interoperability and expanding defence industries (especially for long-range fires), reinforcing the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and maintaining military support for Ukraine. Upon signing, Healey announced that ‘our new defence declaration…will kickstart a deep, new defence relationship.’
As vital as British-German cooperation is, realism is required about this bilateral agreement; London and Berlin have signed defence agreements in the past and the results have been mixed. It is important to remember that Germany has been a laggard on defence since the end of the Cold War and the fabled ‘Zeitenwende’ has not fully materialised – German defence industries still operate at low capacity. The declaration also comes a week after Berlin announced plans to cut military aid to Ukraine in half in 2025. Given that it lacks concrete policies, the new British-German agreement is much more a signal of intent for future cooperation.
In other news, there has been a flurry of activity in the UK defence industrial sector. At the Farnborough International Airshow, held between 22nd and 26th July, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) announced a £6.5 billion deal with MBDA to produce ‘complex weapons’ and invest in British manufacturing and technology. Additionally, the MOD ordered Lightweight Multirole Missiles with £176 million from Thales UK for the British Armed Forces. Finally, the MOD announced plans with Sheffield Forgemasters to restore the UK’s large calibre gun barrel manufacturing capability.
How Britain is seen overseas
As the Labour government’s foreign and defence policy agenda takes shape, think tanks, universities and governmental research services across the world continue to analyse this new era in British politics.
The German Marshall Fund in the United States (US) released a short article on last week’s British-German Joint Declaration on Enhanced Defence Cooperation. The article welcomed the new government’s positive approach to Europe and Germany, while also supporting Labour’s proactive push for enhanced European security. It notes that the declaration could be seen as an attempt to isolate France, but notes that it could draw France in to enhance cooperation between the three powerhouses of Europe.
The Institute for International Political Studies in Italy published an article on the future of Europe’s strategic deterrence, analysing both British and French nuclear capabilities. The article states that ballistic missile firing nuclear submarines (SSBNs) will remain central to European nuclear deterrence. It also calls for clearer commitments from London and Paris to European strategic deterrence, such as through the signing of a new Ottawa Declaration – where both powers pledged ‘a deterrent role of their own contributing to the overall strengthening of the deterrence of the [NATO] alliance.’
How competitors frame Britain
Sputnik released propaganda claiming that the newly announced British-German defence agreement aims to produce long-range strategic missiles whose main purpose would be to target Russian nuclear weapon facilities. The Kremlin only has itself to blame for inducing Europeans to develop new defence capabilities.
Tracking the Royal Navy’s global deployments
As always, a Vanguard class submarine of the Royal Navy was on active patrol in the North Atlantic during the fourth week of July 2024, protecting the nation’s vital interests. HMS Queen Elizabeth, the flagship of the fleet, was seen in the Strait of Dover, heading towards Portsmouth. HMS Richmond visited Arhus in Denmark on 26th July, having left Portsmouth two days before, while HMS Protector was pinpointed in the west Atlantic. HMS Duncan remains in the eastern Mediterranean having conducted anti-drone training.
In other parts of the world, HMS Lancaster is in the Indian Ocean. Offshore patrol vessels HMS Forth, HMS Trent, HMS Medway, HMS Spey and HMS Tamar were busy as ever. HMS Forth visited Mare Harbour in the Falkland Islands for maintenance, HMS Trent remains in the Caribbean, HMS Medway visited Gibraltar, HMS Spey arrived in Singapore, while HMS Tamar made another port call in Tuvalu.
How Britain thinks about foreign affairs
The last few days have seen a flurry of activity by Healey, and the Foreign Secretary, David Lammy. The Labour Party Manifesto promised to deliver a ‘Britain reconnected’ through a ‘reset’ of relationships, in particular with the European Union (EU) and key European allies. Healey launched a two-day defence diplomacy drive with visits to France, Germany, Poland and Estonia, while Lammy went on a diplomatic mission to India. While travelling, the ministers used social media to talk about ‘reconnecting’ and ‘resetting’ Britain’s relations with European allies.
Implications
As with the doctrine of ‘progressive realism’, the language of ‘reconnection’ and ‘resetting relations’ shows that the Labour government is developing a vision for the next few years of British foreign and defence activity. But it is unclear whether it aims to instrumentalise Britain’s alliances to serve British interests, or whether it will allow those alliances to instrumentalise the UK.
If not to serve a nation’s interests, what purpose do alliances and strategic arrangements have? Certainly, there will be instances where interests overlap. This is how most alliances are formed, and alliances with long-standing overlapping interests have remained the strongest. Yet, foreign policy discussion in the UK in recent decades has focused too much on Britain’s ‘role’ and what it can do for others. The new government should not be afraid of leaning into Bevinite thinking and ask, in a more realist mindset, how allies can be made to work for its progressive interests.
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