The Foreign

---

By James LandaleDiplomatic correspondent, BBC News

David Cameron is not The First former Prime Minister to become Foreign Secretary .

Alec Douglas-Home left Downing Street in 1964 But returned to cabinet as Edward Heath 's Foreign Secretary in 1970. Arthur Balfour resigned as Prime Minister in 1905 But Lloyd-George made him Foreign Secretary in 1916.

Nor is the now Lord Cameron The First Foreign Secretary to hold The Post from The House of Lords - Margaret Thatcher made Lord Carrington her first Foreign Secretary .

So Lord Cameron comes to The Role with historical and constitutional precedent.

But he also comes with baggage. The political baggage I will leave to others.

Opposition MPs have already criticised his role in and the fact they will not be able to scrutinise the new Foreign Secretary in The House of Commons. Nor are Eurosceptic Tory MPs exactly dancing for joy.

But Lord Cameron also brings with him foreign policy baggage from his Time In Number 10.

He is The Man who; The Man who of closer relations between Britain and China, a policy now long abandoned; The Man who which brought down Muammar Gaddafi But left a near Failed State in its wake; The Man who after they used chemical weapons, a political failure that many believe opened The Way for Russia to play a bigger role in the Middle East .

So There is much for Lord Cameron's opponents, both At Home and abroad, to get their teeth into.

But Lord Cameron also brings political heft to The Foreign Office. He may be The Fourth Foreign Secretary in Four Years (and The Eighth since the Tories took office in 2010) But he is well known on The International stage.

He has relationships with key leaders that can be leveraged to Britain's gain. Lord Cameron may be seen by allies as a political grown up, someone with whom they can do business.

European leaders will remember Lord Cameron opened The Door to Brexit But also that he campaigned against it and much water has passed under the diplomatic bridge since 2016.

The bitterness of Brexit is beginning to dissipate and European nations are increasingly looking to rebuild bridges with the UK.

China hawks will worry too about Lord Cameron being Too Close to Beijing - financially and politically - But the government's policy of " protect, align and engage" with China is pretty settled - Laid down in the " integrated review refresh" of UK foreign policy published earlier this year.

Lord Cameron's first statement as Foreign Secretary was naturally hugely loyal, both to the Prime Minister and his predecessor in King Charles Street.

But will he use his undoubted political weight to shift UK foreign policy?

He has long been a friend of Israel But has in The Past been willing to be candid and critical too. He once referred to Gaza as a " giant open prison" and was willing as Prime Minister to urge Israel to restrain its military operations and do more to protect civilians.

One issue where he has strong views is development aid. He was the Prime Minister who legislated to ensure the UK always gave 0. 7% of its national income on foreign aid, a commitment Rishi Sunak cut to 0. 5%.

In his statement today, Lord Cameron pointedly chose to praise the UK's " aid and development capabilities as some of the finest assets of their kind anywhere in the world".

A First Test will come next week when The Foreign Office is expected to publish a White Paper setting out its Development Policy for The Next seven years.

So Lord Cameron's appointment comes with potential risks and benefits. One of his predecessors in Downing Street, Lord Rosebery, once said having a former Prime Minister in cabinet was " a fleeting and dangerous luxury".

Mr Sunak, the Conservative Party and the rest of the country are about to find out if that is true.

Related Topics

Source of news: bbc.com