Is Jonathan Powell unaccountable?
For the past three months there has been an exchange of bureaucratic fire across the 600 yards that separate the…
There is nothing strategic about Starmer’s defence review
This Strategic Defence Review has been a long time coming. Back when he was still shadow defence secretary, John Healey…
Is Britain spending 3 per cent on defence, or not?
Your starter for ten: what is the difference between an ambition, a promise, a certainty and a commitment? If you…
The problem with Trump’s Golden Dome project
Donald Trump did not get to where he is today by taking no for an answer. Mark Carney, the Prime…
Could the EU sideline Britain in its defence loan scheme?
The Security and Defence Partnership which the government agreed with the European Union this week has had more spin applied…
Can Trump get Britain to up defence spending faster?
When Sir Keir Starmer was elected leader of the Labour party five years ago, it must have been a feat…
Labour’s defence review seems anything but strategic
Fans of the classic British sitcom will feel a warm glow, as details of the forthcoming strategic defence review (SDR)…
How to get Gen Z to fight for Britain
It is easy to despair of young people as self-absorbed, isolated from reality and unwilling to take on the hard…
What exactly is the point of Starmer’s EU defence pact?
Sir Keir Starmer’s cherished agreement on defence with the European Union seems to have been high on the diplomatic agenda…
Should Canada join the Joint Expeditionary Force?
The narrow victory of Mark Carney’s Liberal party in last month’s federal elections in Canada was an extraordinary reversal of…
Why Britain must prepare for war with Russia
I’m old enough to remember the last years of the Cold War. There were definite signs of a thaw by…
Mike Waltz’s fall from grace will change little
Oh what a circus, oh what a show. It began on Thursday morning, with stories circulating that the US national…
Why Starmer’s ‘coalition of the willing’ was doomed to fail
Ever since the beginning of March, when Sir Keir Starmer chaired what was called the ‘leaders meeting on Ukraine’, I…
Trump should be allowed to address Parliament
Labour MPs have been busy this week. No, not running the country – but voicing their opposition to Donald Trump’s…
British fishermen could pay the price for an EU defence deal
You’re being ridiculous, they kept saying. Why do you keep talking about fish? The Brussels lobby could scarcely conceal its…
J.D. Vance’s disdain for Europe has never been clearer
Being vice president of the United States is a strange role. John Nance Garner, Franklin Roosevelt’s understudy for his first…
Why is the army fixing Birmingham’s bin crisis?
‘Join the Army and see the world’ used to be the War Office’s boast. In those inter-war years it meant…
Why did the British defence chief visit China?
On Wednesday, the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, gave a speech to students at the…
The Republican party is dead
On Tuesday, the United States Senate Committee on Finance met to question Jamieson Greer, Donald Trump’s Trade Representative. The subject…
Nato needs to prepare for America’s withdrawal from Europe
Mark Rutte, the Nato secretary general, has a reputation for genial flexibility and an ability to evade trouble. During his…
Is the RAF right to buy US fighter jets?
When it comes to defence procurement, there are no minor decisions. Complex technology, long time frames and staggering sums of…
Britain’s underfunded army is letting down Nato
The British army is overstretched. This is not breaking news to anyone who takes an interest in defence. Although its…
Don’t count on Trump defending Poland from Russia
The Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, has warned Russia that the alliance would defend Poland against any aggression and would…
What Lord Frost gets wrong about the Tories’ future
It hardly feels like a serious discussion of the Conservative party’s future until Lord Frost has indicated where the leadership…
How many peacekeepers can Europe send to Ukraine?
We may look back to find Sir Keir Starmer partly defined by the phrase ‘coalition of the willing’. It is…
