What will David Lammy’s ‘gear shift’ mean?

Next summer, David Lammy will celebrate 25 years as a Member of Parliament. At 51, he has just been appointed Foreign Secretary after three years shadowing the role. Despite rare and valuable ministerial experience, he is an unlikely candidate for Britain’s chief diplomat.

His first pronouncements as foreign secretary stress change: ‘a reset on Europe, a reset on our relationships with the global south, and a reset on climate’. We will have not only resets but ‘gear shifts’, whatever that might mean: ‘gear shifts on European security and on global security, given all the problems that we’re seeing in the Middle East’. It is very Starmerist to treat change as a destination rather than a journey.

His overriding priority, as he falls in line with the mantra of the new administration, is growth. ‘I want to centre our foreign policy on British growth.’ His levers in this area are limited: trade agreements are the preserve of Jonathan Reynolds at Business and Trade, while the new chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will hold the reins on ‘securonomics’.