Westminster Notes - Trump is pursuing Ukraine’s surrender not peace

“This Trump/Putin love-in is not ideological but opportunistic, based on the further enrichment of already obscenely rich men.”

In these Trumpian days, the Prime Minister’s vapid assertion that he will not be forced to choose between the US and Europe in terms of defence and security is increasingly absurd, writes Dave Doogan MP.

At a fundamental level, the problem is the US administration cosying up to the sworn enemy of Europe in President Putin of Russia, the man individually responsible for the death, injury and displacement of tens of thousands of people since his brutal invasions of Ukraine, first in 2014 and again in 2022. But over and above this calamitous development, for the West and NATO states in particular, is the fact that this Trump/Putin love-in is not ideological but opportunistic, based on the further enrichment of already obscenely rich men.

Unfortunately, this represents a substantial and knotty puzzle for the embattled Prime Minister Sir Keir to set to work on. He has already demonstrated, ably assisted by his gaggle of incompetents in cabinet, that the Labour Party are not very good at puzzles.

So, what should he do? Well, he should protect and enhance trade with the US ensuring this is not contaminated by defence and security tensions. This is vitally important for Scotland in particular. He should immediately defund the Defence Nuclear Enterprise. This abomination threatens to cost the Taxpayer £150 BILLION over the next 10 years. He should ringfence the savings for investment in conventional defence. Whether we agree with the UK’s nuclear deterrent or not, the UK patently cannot afford it, so the point is moot.

With these savings, he should invest in land, space, sea, cyber and airborne defence capabilities in significant volumes so as to ensure they are manufactured domestically to retain an economic return on that investment. He should wrench the UK’s nose from the Indo-Pacific where it certainly does not belong, seeking to impress a newly belligerent White House, and focus exclusively on defending the Euro Atlantic with our European and especially Nordic allies.

And finally end any pretence that there exists anything special about the UK’s manifestly subservient relationship with the US.

Defence is difficult and expensive yet, fundamentally for any sovereign state, non-negotiable.