28 Feb BFPG’s February 2026 Review

I write this month’s newsletter from Berlin, where I’m speaking at the Young European Security Conference, which seeks to inspire the next generation of brilliant young leaders to engage more with national security. It’s an excellent initiative, and it was fascinating to hear perspectives from across all of Europe, and to have the opportunity to engage with them on issues of critical importance to the UK.

Speaking of young people, and I’m delighted to say that next week we’ll be launching our BISA-BFPG Undergraduate network in Edinburgh. The network is an opportunity for undergraduate students across the UK to engage with UK foreign policymaking. If you, or someone you know, would like to get involved, they can sign up here.

Elsewhere this month, the UK foreign policy ecosystem was firmly focused on the Chagos Islands, as President Trump once again changed his position on the Chagos Islands, calling on Keir Starmer to abandon the deal. Trump was backed firmly by the Conservatives and Reform, the latter of whom have particularly made the Chagos Islands a centrepoint of their foreign policy. It is relatively unusual to see this level of division between parties on a foreign policy issue, and certainly, President Trump turning on the deal hasn’t helped the government, which now faces both a domestic and international wrangle on what to do about the islands.

Evie Aspinall
Director of the British Foreign Policy Group

Latest Analysis

Senior Researcher Jack Pannell looks at the evolution of Parliament’s role in foreign policy, and how MPs may have an increasing say on how the government engages internationally.
READ HERE

Reflecting on last month’s crisis on Greenland and the UK’s response, Felix Milbank compares how the UK government approaches foreign policy and the Union, and what the UK can learn from Denmark’s relationship with Greenland.
READ HERE

As the Greens and Reform continue to disrupt domestic politics, their positions on foreign policy become more and more important to understand. Associate Fellow James Jennion examines the policies, or lack thereof, of both parties on China. READ HERE

BFPG Director Evie Aspinall spoke with Bloomberg TV on The Pulse with Francine Lacqua to discuss the talks, as well as negotiations with Iran, Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s speech in Munich, and Europe’s relationship with the United States and China.
LISTEN HERE