[vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” css_animation=””][vc_column][vc_column_text]On Friday June 2nd, 2017, the British Foreign Policy Group (BFPG), in partnership with Birmingham City University, held a national foreign policy event in advance of the general election. The discussion was free to attend and open to all, bringing in an audience ranging from business and civil society to academia, with people from the West Midlands, London, and other areas from all across the UK. This event represented the start of the British Foreign Policy Group\u2019s National Engagement Program, which aims to create greater national engagement on foreign policy, with a focus on reaching out to the British public beyond solely London.<\/p>\n
The discussion took place over two morning sessions.\u00a0The first discussion consisted of an overview of\u00a0BFPG national foreign policy polling carried out by BMG Research. Tom Cargill, BFPG’s Executive Director presented the report, Dr Michael Turner from BMG Research explained\u00a0some of the more striking and intriguing results of the polling,\u00a0and BCU lecturers Dr Stefania Palidini and Arantxa Gomez looked at the data in light of a specific case study involving the UK’s defence capabilities and Gibraltar.<\/p>\n
To read the BFPG analysis and view the data in full please click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n International affairs has played a role during this election campaign, but not a sufficient one given its importance to all of us. The second panel, consisting of Baroness Smith, Crispin Blunt, and Geoff Hoon provided perspectives from the 3 main political parties although without taking overly formalised party political lines. They discussed what the UK\u2019s foreign policy prospects are- including Brexit, but also talking about how we protect our borders, safety, prosperity and world influence after this general election and after we leave the European Union.<\/p>\n The second discussion raised a number of issues, some of the key ones debated are listed below:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Audio of Second Panel<\/strong><\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” css_animation=””][vc_column][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” css_animation=””][vc_column][vc_column_text]Baroness Smith – Liberal Democrat Peer, former member of House of Lords Select Committee on International\u00a0Relations<\/strong>– Initial Remarks[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” css_animation=””][vc_column][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]\n