Douglas Carswell's Blog

When foreign policy is left to "experts"

When the people set the foreign policy agenda:

Slave trade abolished

Free trade promoted

Liberalism and democracy advanced across Europe

When "experts" run foreign policy:

EU membership

Common Fisheries Policy with no fish

Endless bailouts for Euro basket cases

Doha trade deal never happens

What else do you notice? That's right. The earlier successes happened in the nineteenth century, a lot earlier than those twentieth century failures.

That's because in the nineteenth century those who made British foreign policy were more vulnerable to the views of the people than they are today. Bizarre, isn't it, that before the universal franchise Lancashire mill workers or Methodist congregations could exert more pull over what Whitehall officials did in their name around the world than the electorate does today.

Whitehall officials must answer properly for the foreign policy decisions they make in our name. Starting with a confirmation hearing for the chief EU negotiator who landed us with the Euro bailout bill.

It is not just more democratic. It'd mean better foreign policy.  

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