Lisa Nandy, the new shadow foreign secretary and, until recently, a contender for the Labour leadership, is better known for her domestic policy positions than for her approach to international affairs. Throughout her time in parliament and particularly as a leadership contender, the MP for Wigan has been known for her views on British towns. An economic model based on city-led growth, says Nandy, led to decades of decline in towns across the UK, and that contributed to the feelings of powerlessness and frustration that led to the Brexit referendum result and to Labour’s 2019 election defeat. Her views on towns and buses became memes on social media during the Labour leadership campaign. Her foreign policy positions were less well known.
As shadow foreign secretary, Nandy, theoretically, takes on one of the most important briefs and shadows one of the great offices of state. In practice, the shadow foreign secretary typically defers to the party leader on big foreign policy decisions. The role is better viewed as a prominent spokesperson role, well suited to Nandy, who proved herself to be an able communicator during the leadership campaign.
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