AN ETHICAL FOREIGN POLICY

'...the fourth goal of our foreign policy is to secure the respect of other nations for Britain's contribution to keeping the peace of the world and promoting democracy around the world. The Labour Government does not accept that political values can be left behind when we check in our passports to travel on diplomatic business. Our foreign policy must have an ethical dimension and must support the demands of other peoples for the democratic rights on which we insist for ourselves. The Labour Government will put human rights at the heart of our foreign policy and will publish an annual report on our work in promoting human rights abroad. Robin Cook, May 1997

Here are a series of nuggets to illustrate the driving force behind, and impact of that ethical dimension. Not all, it is true, have been New Labour's success: some are taken from the years immediately before and even after the era of the ethical dimension. See if you can spot the difference.

See all related nuggets on this page.