Parliamentary Scrutiny of Foreign Policy

The key to the government's power in making foreign policy, going to war and making alliances rests with the 'royal prerogative', a pre-democratic relic of monarchical rule, that gives the Prime Minister, ministers and officials wide-ranging discretionary powers to make foreign policy, agree treaties and make war without being required to seek parliamentary or popular approval. The royal prerogative applies in other areas of national life as well, such as defence policy, security, the civil service, honours and passports, and decisions in all these areas do not require parliamentary approval.

The Governance of Britain green paper promised reform of the prerogative, making parliamentary approval necessary both for armed conflict and treaty ratification.

Our full analysis shows how foreign policy decisions in a host of spheres are taken by the government under the royal prerogative and thus outside effective democratic control:-

• making war and deploying the armed forces
  
  
• agreeing international treaties
  
  
• partnering the United States and choosing allies
  
  
• negotiating with other EU member states over the EU budget, the UK contribution and a variety of other legislative and policy issues
  
  
• giving much of Britain’s development aid and humanitarian assistance
  
  
• playing a role in international decisions on trade or climate change
  
  
• contributing to the policies of the World Bank, IMF and other international bodies
  
  
• playing a military role in Nato
  
  
• representing the UK on the UN Security Council.