A report by some of the UK’s leading diplomats said the nation’s foreign office is “somewhat elitist and rooted in the past” and urged it to take steps to become something of a middle-rank power to shed that image.
The report, accessed by the Guardian recommended that 1% of gross national income be devoted to international engagement, including aid so that it complements the commitment made to raise defence spending to 2% of GDP.
The World in 2040: Renewing the UK’s approach to International Affairs said the foreign office acts “like a giant private office for the foreign secretary of the day” and responds to the foreign minister’s “immediate concerns”.
The report also asked the UK Foreign Office to modernise the premises and remove some of the colonial-era pictures on the walls.
“The physical surroundings [of the Foreign Office headquarters] also hint at the Foreign Office’s identity: somewhat elitist and rooted in the past. Modernising premises – perhaps with fewer colonial-era pictures on the walls – might help create a more open working culture and send a clear signal about Britain’s future,” the report said.
The paper urged the UK to take a more practical and pragmatic approach to foreign relations as a middle-rank off-shore nation. “(We) should not always see ourselves as the leader in efforts to tackle global challenges. UK convening power has achieved significant results. But effective solutions to global problems in a multi-polar world need a wider array of leaders. We should give space, be more of a ‘team player’, showing humility and respect, ready to follow and support wherever appropriate,” the report reads.
The diplomats suggested that the UK follow a model similar to Canada and Australia so that it can oversee not just aid and diplomacy but also issues related to climate emergency and trade.
“We cannot simply brush aside concerns around the UK’s historical legacy and questions of nationhood. Former colonies are making increasingly vocal demands around the need for reparations from colonialism and compensation for the loss and damage arising from historical industrial emissions,” the report warned.
“The UK has often sought to project an image of ‘greatness’ to the world that today seems anachronistic. We will be envied for what we are good at, not what we say that we are good at,” the report further added.
The report was written by the former cabinet secretary Lord Sedwill, the former No 10 foreign policy adviser Tom Fletcher and the former director general at the Foreign Office Moazzam Malik, among others.
It went on to highlight that if the UK’s domestic and international conduct on issues such as climate change and human rights contains discrepancies it will expose the country to “accusations of hypocrisy on the world stage” and “weaken the institutions and values essential to the UK’s interests”.
“e will need to build new issue-based alliances with states whose interests and values may be less closely aligned. We have historically under-invested in our relationships with Asia and are at risk of doing the same with Africa now,” the authors of the report warned.
It urged the state to work closely with the universities, the creative sector, the sports bodies, news media and civil society organisations, empowering each entity to become an effective ambassador for the UK and help increase the nation’s soft power.
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