British Foreign Policy Towards The I.R. Iran With Special Reference To The Two Main British Governing Parties: 2000-2015
The Labour party’s development, and socialist approach in foreign policy has to be put into the context of British economic interests; “which would put real flesh on the old bones of British foreign policy”.11 The Labour party’s socialist approach in the foreign policy has been essentially based upon shrewd economic considerations, being aimed at retaining Britain’s trading, and financial role, and as a result, maintaining Britain’s economic position.
As Professor Partha Gupta has said, “an oversimplified or sentimental view of the Labour’s development, and socialist foreign policy should not be taken.”12 According to him “consideration of national interest, especially in relation to the needs of British economy, helps to determine Labour’s policy in foreign affairs.”13
To put the British Labour party’s foreign policy towards the Islamic Republic of Iran in the first decade of the twenty first century, into the proper context, one has to take a brief look at, how just essential, the issue of economy is to the British Labour party in its foreign policy formulation, and that is understanding the formation of the British Commonwealth, as an instrument of international diplomacy, in the context of, and under the banner of humanitarian aids, and assistance, but in fact meaning to protect British economy, and interest, in the contemporary post-cold-war of the twenty first century. This therefore would lead to a more clear understanding of the British Labour party’s diplomacy towards countries, such as the Islamic Republic of Iran, in a world-wide context rather than a regional temporary issue.
The Commonwealth Development Corporation and the British equivalent for the Commonwealth of the Marshal Plan, the Colombo Plan, was mainly based upon shrewd economic considerations being targeted at retaining Britain’s trading and financial role in the ex-colonies, (and as time has progressed in the undeveloped, and developing nations of the world as a whole) and consequently safeguarding British economic position.
The Colombo Plan, which, as has been said was based upon shrewd economic considerations, and the gradual conversion of the Empire into the Commonwealth was the Labour Government of 1945-51’s major political adjustment and achievement which has carried on, well into the twenty first century. Improving the economic and social conditions through Britain’s aid programme in the former colonies of the Empire was what made the maintaining of imperial ties by the ex-colonies through the Modern Commonwealth of Mutual material benefit. The plan was attractive and seductive for the ex-colonies, due to the fact that its effect was to santion what was expedient now, while at the same time seeming to endorse most of what had been done in the past. The Labour government managed to harmonise the socialism with the Conservative who were traditionally and conspicuously the strong supporter of the British Empire and its expansion. This was because Labour’s approach to maintaining and protecting of British interests in the period of being in office 1945-51, had been shared by those Conservatives who were well liked and respected by their own party and who were also close to Churchill. Before the end of World War Two, Stanley, the Colonial Secretary, a close friend of Churchill who had even been spoken of as a future Chancellor, and Andrew Cohen, the Governor of Uganda, had been speaking positively of the policy that Labour had eventually adopted during 1945-51 to protect British interests, which was virtually completed by Macmillan, the Conservative Prime Minister when he left office in 1963. Consequently, the imperial sentiments of the Conservatives had become integrated with the Labour’s colonial, and social foreign policy of trusteeship.
