Parliament should require its approval of all nominations for positions representing the United Kingdom overseas of people who are not career diplomats or other current public servants. This should include special envoys. We'd also like the Government to outline the remit of such positions.

We feel that modern Prime Ministers increasingly use important overseas appointments for patronage. We feel that such appointees undermine the integrity of current career diplomats and other public servants. They face no examination from Parliament to match the confirmation they would require in the United States from the Senate. We think that diplomacy and democracy alike would benefit from such scrutiny.