Envoy for repatriation

A few days ago Douglas Carswell laid out a way for the Prime Minister to regain the eurosceptics’ trust. One of his ideas was to replace the UK’s new chief diplomat in Brussels with someone directly accountable to Parliament. This idea has a snowball’s chance in hell of succeeding.

First, the PM has resisted all sorts of political appointments – he’s even limited the number of Special Advisers – and I don’t think he’s about to start. Second, doing so would upend a constitutional principle: that officials report to the government, not the legislature. For this reason even generals are not approved by Parliament, as they are in the United States. Third, the UK’s Permanent Representative has many tasks, from influencing fellow representatives to working with a range of ministers and officials. Some MPs could do this, but many could not.

A much better idea would be to leave Sir Jon Cunliffe in his new post and instead urge the Prime Minister to appoint a senior-level Special Negotiator who could work with the Foreign Secretary, keep Parliament informed and push the UK’s agenda.