00:00 talk to Sir John Curtis, Professor of Politics at the University of Strathclyde. John, what
00:04 does the return of David Cameron as Foreign Secretary say about where Britain's foreign
00:08 policy is heading?
00:09 Well, I think the honest truth is it probably doesn't tell us a great deal. It's worth bearing
00:15 in mind that foreign policy in the UK is not only a subject that is usually a matter of
00:22 relative consensus within the governing party, but is also a matter of relative consensus
00:27 between the governing party and the opposition. And that's certainly true so far as the Russian
00:32 invasion of Ukraine is concerned. And so far, at least, that's also been true, despite some
00:37 of the pressure on Sikir Starmer to change his line. It's been true of the attitude of
00:42 both government and opposition to the conflict between Israel and Hamas. And I don't think
00:49 we can necessarily expect that Lord Cameron's move into the office is necessarily going
00:55 to signal a change. That said, of course, there is no doubt that the UK, along with
01:00 the USA, is perhaps finding the humanitarian consequences of the Israeli invasion of Gaza
01:12 getting to be increasingly uncomfortable. We've certainly seen the United States try
01:17 to persuade Israel to allow more in the way of humanitarian passages and temporary pauses.
01:25 And we wait to see whether or not the UK government also begins to be somewhat more critical.
01:30 But I think if that happens, that won't be because Lord Cameron has suddenly become Foreign
01:35 Secretary.
01:36 Will a substantial reshuffle transform the fortunes of the UK's Conservative Party, given
01:42 how far behind they are in the opinion polls?
01:47 There is no obvious reason directly why it should do so. Of course, Lord Cameron is relatively
01:53 well known, not especially popular. Indeed, the early polling suggests that even amongst
01:59 Conservative voters they are even divided about whether they are for or against his
02:05 return to high office. But in truth, so far as that this reshuffle might make any difference,
02:16 it's whether or not Victoria Atkins, the new Health Secretary, a new Cabinet Minister,
02:21 being promoted from the more junior ranks into the very difficult job of Health Secretary,
02:28 whether or not she can reach an accommodation with the doctors who have been engaged in
02:32 industrial action for a several period of time, and whether it's the wake of that or
02:37 waiting for the NHS to be put down. Because of the issues of health and health insurance,
02:44 the NHS is certainly a considerable problem for the part of the UK, of course, for the
02:50 state of the economy, which is still in the hands of Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor.
02:54 Since 2016, Britain has had five Prime Ministers, seven Foreign Secretaries, seven Housing Ministers,
03:01 I think nine Education Ministers, and 15 Housing Ministers. Forgive me if I've missed anyone
03:06 out. Does it matter?
03:08 Well, certainly many people would argue that if you have constant turnover, then Ministers
03:16 have no chance to learn the job. So again, go back to Victoria Atkins. You know, Stephen
03:21 Barclay, her predecessor, had certainly got very heavily involved in the detail of health
03:26 policy, while all of a sudden now we've got a new broom coming along who's not previously
03:31 worked in the Health Department, who's going to have to get up to speed very quickly when
03:36 we are approaching the depths of winter, which of course is the time when the health service
03:41 is always under greatest pressure. And it certainly can be argued that this turnover
03:46 is not to anybody's advantage. It is, of course, a reflection of the fact that certainly since
03:51 the Brexit referendum that David Cameron lost, the Conservative Party has been in pretty
03:57 much continuous turmoil. And the turnover of four Prime Ministers since the EU referendum
04:03 is then also reflected in the turnover of those also occupying Cabinet office.
04:15 [BLANK_AUDIO]
