By Alice Wesley

Shocking things happen in politics on a regular basis; that is the nature of the beast. But the recent appointment of former Prime Minister David Cameron as the new Foreign Secretary following the untimely exit of Suella Braverman as Home Secretary and an explosive Cabinet reshuffle has caused even the most experienced members of the British press to hang their mouths open in astonishment.

An unelected former Prime Minister appointed to a senior Cabinet position and given a life peerage? A feat almost unheard of in the British politics of recent times. Yet this democratically dubious move by Sunak took place last week with total disregard for public opinion, what it might reflect about the Conservative Party as it suggests that not a single elected representative can carry out this portfolio.

Supporters of this decision may say that his experience on the global stage makes him an ideal candidate for handling international diplomacy and the complex issues facing UK foreign policy; others question the validity of his position given the reason for his resignation seven years prior. As the result of losing a hefty campaign to remain in the EU. One thing is clear, the most controversial and unorthodox aspect of his appointment to the Cabinet must come from the fact he is not an acting Member of Parliament and the huge problems this raises around democratic legitimacy.

The now ‘Lord’ Cameron withdrew from his position as head of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister immediately following the Brexit referendum result, stating his feeling that the party needed ‘fresh leadership’ to take the country down the tumultuous road ahead, making his return to a role so rooted in policy issues related to this area even more contentious.

The appointment of a, decidedly new, member of the House of Lords to an important position within the Cabinet highlights a fundamental flaw in the Conservative government as it currently exists. If PM Rishi Sunak cannot find an MP capable of conducting the office of Foreign Secretary among the 350 Tory representatives in parliament currently, what does this say about the state of British politics and the position of the party to govern? Surely the democratically correct thing to do would be to hold an election as not even the Sunak seems to believe in his MPs ability to carry out their mandate.

There have been many tumultuous moments in the years of Conservative government, but arguably none so chaotic as in recent years. Cameron is the seventh person to hold the position of Foreign Secretary in the 13 years that the Tories have been in power, but one a handful of peers to ever be awarded the office. This problem of turnover afflicts the entire cabinet. In the past two years alone, we have seen three Prime Ministers, three Foreign Secretaries, five Home Secretaries, two Defence Secretaries, four Chancellors of the Exchequer, and four Deputy Prime Ministers; to name but a few. The lack of stability within the Cabinet, coupled with the inability to offer a Foreign Secretary who is an elected Member of Parliament, clearly indicates a belief from the senior leadership that there is a lack of good candidates to hold these positions, and demonstrates clear questions over the position that the Government is in.

Why then not call a General Election?

Well, the answer is seemingly obvious. It would be remiss to suggest anything other than the answer be that the Tories are a power-hungry and desperate group who recognise that their catastrophic actions over the economy, the handling of the recent pandemic, and Brexit have done anything but alienate their support base and drive the country toward a flaming pit of doom and despair. There is a seemingly unspoken understanding that their ability to win the next election is in tatters, and yet they cling to power.

The UK, a supposedly democratic country, having its politics undermined by a polarized system that allows a party who have demonstrated a clear inability to govern in the best interests of the nation to continue with little that can be done to hold them accountable before the next election cycle. This shows deeply rooted issues with the way that British politics works and offers clear questions about how fair and just the system truly is.

Edited By: David Williamson

Alice Wesley is a final year Politics student and co-edits the ‘News’ portion of The Scoop.

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