Hear me out – a £20m townhouse for diplomats is taxpayers’ money well spent

You can bet the Americans, Russians and Chinese don’t quibble over cost in the same way when it comes to the advancement of their interests abroad, writes Salma Shah

When it comes to international affairs, we mustn’t fall into the trap of believing that a hair shirt is proving something about our resilience (EPA)

According to a leaked memo from the Foreign Office, Liz Truss is considering a proposal to buy her diplomats a “party pad” in New York for £20m.

The idea that a beautiful townhouse would be used for ambassadors to swan about in is too much for some, who are rightly asking whether this is a good use of taxpayers’ money.

It is always infuriating to see the government’s poor spending at a time when people are worried about their bills and there are “apocalyptic” warnings coming from the Bank of England about food prices.

But buying property for diplomats is a good investment. The property is to be purchased for the UK’s representative to the UN, which is a pretty important gig. We are permanent members of the UN Security Council, and this makes us a global mover and shaker. Unfortunately, it also means we will incur costs to justify our continued presence at the table, as we forcefully make our case for international security and peace.

We must keep using all tools at our disposal to ensure we are in the room and glad-handing all the right people, so we can state our position. It is not just a question of national pride, but a diplomatic imperative. We need a whole government response, not just to the economic shocks coming our way but the root causes of them, like the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We need to be able to secure and convince others in the UN of our way of thinking.

There must be rules to govern the proper use of the £20m space, which is effectively a working building. I can’t imagine Barbara Woodward, the current representative and a somewhat sober figure, is going to be a 24-hour party person. She certainly doesn’t have the time and most bureaucrats don’t abuse the use of their grace-and-favour homes. They understand that those grand surroundings are an aid in building alliances. It is a show of our resolve to the job at hand, not the individual occupying it.

Soft power, intangible as it is, really matters; most “parties” are either hard work or a necessity. Events in these pads are planned strategically. Everything that happens serves a longer-term purpose to strengthen ties – being able to build relationships is not something you can do over a coffee in the nearest shop by the office. It takes careful consideration.

Arguably there is already a sizable property portfolio in the US, but the ambassador, consul-general and permanent representative all do very different jobs. They need the freedom to conduct their business for their particular needs.

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When it comes to international affairs, we mustn’t fall into the trap of believing that a hair shirt is proving something about our resilience. You can bet the Americans, Russians and Chinese don’t quibble over cost in the same way when it comes to the advancement of their interests abroad.

It also serves as a distraction from other government spending failures. The £20m is a lot of money, but this is very little in comparison to the billions that are misspent. Take the poor recovery of fraudulent Covid loans, which cost nearly £4bn. That truly hurt the public purse.

We cannot allow governments to waste our money. But we must have an open mind about what they are using it for. A £20m townhouse to stay at the top table is cash well spent.