ABSTRACT
Robin Cook set out a mission statement that sets clear objectives for the Labour government's foreign policy and was part of a broader commitment to establish a third way in foreign policy. This extended to the Labour government attaching greater prominence to international aid and development, illustrated by the establishment of the Department for International Development. America's attention was particularly focused on Iran, Iraq and North Korea, which Bush depicted as forming an 'axis of evil'. The 1997 election of a Labour government with a pro-European outlook marked not only a dramatic change in the fortunes and views of a Labour Party that last held office some 18 years previously, but also signified the political conversion of a political party previously opposed to European integration. Britain's political parties have consistently failed to provide an informed debate on European affairs, and the lack of public engagement on European integration creates a democratic legitimacy problem in the context European integration.
