Ted Jeffery

Wes Streeting has told us last week that we have 1,000 days to get war-ready amid the intensifying threats and aggression from Vladimir Putin. The Defence Secretary's '1,000 days' deadline rests on an earlier warning by the former prime minister Keir Starmer. He had warned that Russia could attack Nato by the end of the decade. However, looking at the Budget this week, it’s clear Labour’s priorities don’t lie with getting Britain ready to face the threats of tomorrow. Chancellor John Healey made no mention of the government’s 'Be Ready' resilience campaign, and the funding for 3 per cent of GDP on defence by 2030 has been pushed back to next year’s spending review.

In a recent Ipsos poll, half of Brits say there are no circumstances in which they would fight for King and country. This echoes a similar poll published back in July, which found that only 6 per cent of people in the UK would volunteer to fight for the country in the face of an 'imminent' invasion. Is it just me, or am I part of a very small minority who still think Britain is worth fighting for? Let us not forget the famous Oxford Union debate of 1933. Shortly after Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, Oxford students debated and passed the motion, 'This House will in no circumstances fight for its King and Country'. Several years later, many of that generation shed blood and gave their lives for King and country on the beaches of Dunkirk and in the fields of western Europe.