Little more than a year ago, Keir Starmer could be described as what Napoleon called a “lucky general”. But now, six months after a landslide election victory, “lucky” is an adjective unlikely to be found anywhere near a prime minister more usually described as having made missteps and unforced errors. And yet, perhaps, amid this tumult – a shifting geopolitical landscape, an authoritarian to the west of us conceding to the imperial ambitions of another to the east – Starmer’s luck holds. For the situation offers him an unparalleled strategic opening through which my government can find and define its purpose.
The prime minister himself has called this a “once-in-a-generation opportunity”. The paradigm has shifted. It will not return to “normal”. Most significantly, the shibboleth of atlanticism – that unshakeable belief that the US-UK relationship is always right and always in our interest – has released its grip on our political imagination. We are free to define defence and security on our terms. And – as an increasingly anxious public pushes defence up the league table of concerns – we must do so.
