The British Embassy in Washington and Anglo-American Relations during the Blair Governments, 1997–2007

Abstract

Tony Blair served as British Prime Minister for ten years, the first Labour Party leader to win three successive general elections. By the time he came to power in 1997, Britain was, at best, a second tier power in the world economically, and a significant military force only when compared with other European nations, for America, Russia and China easily surpassed British strength. Nevertheless, Britain was a permanent member of the UN Security Council, it possessed nuclear weapons and Blair was determined to play a role on the world stage. In foreign policy, he was in the forefront of a new interventionist approach and he encouraged the United States to be less hesitant about intervening in regional problems for humanitarian reasons. At the core of his foreign policy was the country’s relationship with the United States, as had been the case for British premiers since the Second World War (with the possible exception of Edward Heath, in 1970–1974). Given the centrality of the Anglo-American relationship to British foreign policy and American dominance of that partnership, Washington was where the power resided. The British Embassy in Washington had the proximity to the levers of American power and the expertise to be a vital ingredient in advising Blair and his government and in pursuing policy. It merits detailed analysis. Yet, the mission has rarely been the focus of scholarly scrutiny.¹