Blog 2023 Malcolm Blair-Robinson

Foreign Policy

I simply do not know why anyone thinks David Milliband would be a good Leader of the Labour Party. Ed maybe but David no. He is one of the worst Foreign Secretaries in our history with a narrow blinkered view of the world, lacking in strategic focus and forever falling back to promote the many chips he carries on his shoulders.

The world is not a perfect place and most countries do things differently to us. Some in ways of which we disapprove. But if that is their way, unless they are on the rampage of conquest with us in their sights, the smart thing is to find the common interests to enable the world to move forward.

Our David has mucked up our relations with Russia, failed to make progress in the Middle East, inflamed distrust with Iran, supported a failing policy in Afghanistan and now he has quarrelled with China. Yes, it can be argued that he speaks from the moral high ground but in the conduct of relations between states this kind of sanctimonious finger wagging really does not work. It also looks very cynical to foreigners who notice that we are still without a proper Constitution of our own, presently have a corrupt Parliament sitting and a voting system that is the least democratic anywhere in the civilised world.

Manufacturing

There are signs that firms are repatriating manufacturing to the U.K because greater efficiency, improved quality, lower transport costs and greater reliability of delivery make this country once again a competitive manufacturing base. This is a profoundly good piece of news for the potential quality of economic recovery and of huge strategic importance to our future economic health.

If the momentum can be sustained it will benefit our balance of payments and push exports back into the driving force. It will create real jobs for people which really do add value to to the national wealth, rather than simply inflate existing assets. It offers the potential to create jobs in deprived communities to restore social and economic cohesion in these disgraceful blackspots. It will mean we make more of what we buy.

It will also create the employment opportunities away from the financial services and legal sector which have contributed so adversely to the creation of our current medieval economic model which sucks money from the poor and showers it over the rich.

This is just a beginning and a ham fisted government could wreck it. But a beginning it is and good news to come at the end of a year of a glut of bad tidings.