It is a mixed blessing to be slated to speak at a Party conference on the same day as the Prime Minister. While you may get a larger audience, there is little chance of stealing the news headlines. Indeed the television and newspaper coverage of Tony Blair's speech was only matched by a discussion of how much he was sweating as he delivered it. Robin Cook, Geoff Hoon and Clare Short received virtually no coverage for their contributions, despite some interesting trailers of the government's priorities for foreign and security policy.
Robin Cook delivered a confident and amusing speech which was well received by delegates. He listed the achievements of British foreign policy and ridiculed the Conservative Party approach. While avoiding the word "ethical", he confirmed that human rights were at the heart of his foreign policy. He even claimed an endorsement from Lord Justice Scott for his changes to arms exports procedures. It was in this area that he was most vulnerable to criticism from Labour Party members, and speeches from the floor politely asked for a further tightening of arms sales policy. He must have felt that he got off comparatively lightly given widespread criticism over the continuing sales of arms to repressive regimes, and particularly the delivery of Hawk aircraft to Indonesia. It appears that he has little hope for an ethical foreign policy for arms sales against MOD and DTI opposition. Looking to foreign policy priorities for the next parliament, the Foreign Secretary list eight areas: controlling small arms, stopping the spread of missile technology, new European and US rules on arms sales, the International Criminal Court, offering to host a UN staff college, reform of the Security Council, a helpline for British travellers, and a Special Envoy on the death penalty.
Geoff Hoon seem bored by both the occasion and the message that he was delivering. He started by buying some cheap applause with the story of the soldier killed during the rescue mission in Sierra Leone. He announced one new initiative: a new joint amphibious capability with European and NATO allies. This is presumably an extension of the long standing UK/Netherlands amphibious force. He dutifully (and with some justification) criticised his Conservative predecessors for poor procurement and for the cutbacks after the end of the Cold War, which had resulted in the difficulties he now faced. He made the most of his triumph in achieving a real (albeit very small) rise in the defence budget in the latest Comprehensive Spending Review. He saw the key priorities as relieving overstretch, strengthening European defences, and "above all ensuring our forces have the equipment they deserve" . As he then went on to state that all the warships would be built in British shipyards, we can presume the European dimension and the value for money aspects of procurement remain secondary considerations to providing UK jobs. The intermittent polite applause around the hall was more than he deserved for a lacklustre performance
Clare Short gave a speech with more substance and gravitas than either of her colleagues. She had the confidence to intersperse the formal presentation with a number of thoughtful off-the-cuff elaborations. She made a convincing case for the need for stronger international institutions to combat world poverty. This was important given the violent demonstrations against globalisation that were happening in Prague as she spoke. She also explained clearly where the international community was on debt relief, and how the next stage was made more difficult by the conflicts in the indebted countries. Her achievement in the inter-departmental budgetary battles was proportionally much greater than either Robin Cook or Geoff Hoon. The 50% increase from £2.2 billion to £3.6 billion drew applause from delegates, although John Spellar and Liz Symons of the MOD did not appear as enthusiastic as others. She spent little time on anti-Conservative rhetoric as she had much to say about DFID's work around the world. She announced new initiatives in Africa directed mainly towards improving primary education in Rwanda and Malawi. She finished to prolonged and genuine applause from the Conference. On this showing, she has grown yet more in stature within the Party as well as proving herself to be an able Secretary of State.
A common feature of all three speeches (apart from knocking the Conservatives) was a focus on Sierra Leone. After what each Minister said about the importance of Britain helping in this war-torn country, we can expect more involvement over the coming months. This will have adverse implications for the overstretch within the British armed forces.