Cameron defends Britain’s place in the world

Blair fought his pre-emptive wars. David Cameron is fighting a pre-emptive PR war.

In his speech at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet tonight he is expected to take on those who say Britain is a country in decline before the argument has been widely made.

The PM feels there’s plenty of reason to expect such an assault, felt he caught the first whiff of cordite over the Defence Review, and he doesn’t want to be remembered as the PM who took Britain off to some sort of international nursing home.

So he’s expected to use this speech to talk about Britain’s power, influence and special capacities (language – the City much else besides) and say that once the economy is sorted we can continue our role as a front rank of the second rank powers (my phrase, not his).

It’s a touch defensive you could argue, or good sense, getting your narrative out there before someone else dominates the landscape with theirs.

What is different about this government from the Blair/Brown years? No. 10 would argue there’s a bigger commitment to trade than the last government managed …though you don’t have to be very old to remember both Blair and Brown leading trade delegations to India and China and Tony Blair even talked trade with Col Gaddafi (along with security issues) in a tent in the Libyan desert.