ABSTRACT
This chapter examines, in historical perspective, foreign policy as an issue area in British politics. The focus is broad to reflect the thematic approach taken in Chapters 3–7, which each examine a different aspect of Britain’s international role. Therefore, the scope of this chapter includes foreign policy and defence in general, as well as – more specifically – Europe and nuclear weapons. It does this by focussing on several core aspects of how foreign policy can play a role within and impact on domestic politics. First, it examines how salient foreign policy issues have been for the British public over successive decades and relative to ‘bread-and-butter’ domestic concerns. Second, it examines public perceptions of the parties’ handling of foreign and defence policy, establishing which parties have had more (or less) of a reputational advantage in this area and whose approach has been more closely aligned with public preferences. Third, it examines the role of foreign policy issues at general election campaigns – in terms of whether they have been seen by voters as relevant issues at the ballot box and their relative importance for the national situation. Fourth, it assesses whether and how foreign and defence issues have been consequential for voting behaviour at general elections.
