On Wednesday June 17th, Mr & Mrs Gordon Toland once more most kindly hosted the Annual Summer Reception for the Conservative Foreign & Commonwealth Council (CFCC).
The Reception was held on a warm evening in the Hosts’ West London garden and was well- attended by CFCC Members, including several new Members, Ambassadors and senior Representatives from a number of invited countries.
The guest speaker for the evening was the Rt Hon Wendy Morton M.P. , the Shadow Minister for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs who was introduced by Catherine, Baroness Meyer, CFCC’s Chairman.
In her introduction. Lady Meyer said that Wendy Morton had become a Conservative MP after she had been a District Councillor for Richmond, Yorkshire - William Hague’s former Constituency - , an executive officer at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and a co-founder – alongside her husband – of an electronics company related to the agricultural sector; an area of her personal interest.
She had fought and won four elections to become the MP for the West Midlands Seatof Aldridge - Brownhills.
As a Parliamentarian, she has held a number of Senior Positions including that of Chief Whip - the first for a Conservative woman to hold such a position. In her current position as a Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister, she has had to grapple with a number of complicated issues in order to hold the government to account being the main purpose of her ‘Shadow’ Minister’s responsibilities, most notably in recent months - Chagos.
Wendy Morton expressed her pleasure in meeting and learning about the work of the CFCC and she would be talking about Foreign Policy.
Keys for Foreign Policy to be strong and effective are People, Relationships and Trust and that including face to face conversations. She had learned the importance of these factors when working at the Foreign Office, little knowing that one day she would be in the position of a Front Bench Foreign Affairs spokesperson challenging and holding the government to account.
A good example of this was the decision by government to uphold a claim by Mauritius for sovereignty over the Chagos Islands and the consequent cost to the UK tax payer and National Security
She and her Front Bench colleagues had challenged vigorously the government’s decision on Chagos cooperating closely with Lady Meyer and her fellow peers in the Upper House.
She described how the UK has a strong FCDO network from within its numerous and significant multi-national memberships, not least NATO.
Then there is the unique Commonwealth family of 56 nations large and small representing all continents, with a shared history, developing inter-nation trade & investment, cultural programmes, approach to changing climate conditions, healthcare and education, amongst many others. The UK is a beacon for democracy with its world renowned Parliament. It has gender equality and it pursues global engagement rather than isolation – being among the values the Conservative Party stands for.
Turning to the Challenges, Wendy Morton pointed to Security. The international landscape is changing and ever more attention is necessary as a priority ingredient for a Foreign Policy.
Prompted by Catherine Meyer, she noted that Baroness Lynda Chalker , Life Patron of the CFCC. Baroness Chalker had been the Minister for the Overseas Development Authority (ODA) later the Department for International Development (DFID) (which merged with the Foreign Office) at the time she had been working at the Foreign Office. She recalled Lynda Chalker was an excellent debater from whose expertise she had learned about dealing with the intricacies of defence expenditure and how to handle an issue that arose at time being the return of the Elgin Marbles.
Following her address there were a number of questions ranging from relations with China to what should be done differently to the day to day running of the Foreign Office.
She said that In the past, staff members might never see their Minister. It was important, she felt to be seen by staff members.
It had been an enjoyable evening for all and thanks were given to Mr & Mrs Toland and to all who had organised it and assisted with the arrangements above all to Wendy Morton for communicating her thoughts so forthrightly and clearly.
