AUKUS and the Indo-Pacific. A tilt to it, yes. A lunge, no.

Putin’s Russia is closer to home – remember the Salisbury attack – and Islamist extremism is already here.

Defence and security. Having tilted towards the Indo-Pacific, we need a tilt back to Europe

Wallace has done well to win an exceptional defence settlement, but it may not be enough to fund all the Integrated Review’s ambitions.

Tory MPs, Downing Street and the Treasury are poised to clash over plans to cut the army to 60,000. Who will win out?

One MP said this is more than enough for Islamists here, not nearly sufficient for Estonia and “for the Middle East, you’d want something in between”.

The Conservatives risk obsession with China to the exclusion of other threats, including Russia and Islamist extremism

As the great eye of the Conservative Party swivels its gaze towards the Far East, it’s in danger of missing other threats that are closer to home.

Andrew Gimson’s Conference sketch: Hancock says the chances of leaving on 31st October are 100 per cent

The Health Secretary answered questions about the NHS with equal confidence.

Interview: Francois insists that the ERG wants the backstop ditched altogether – not tweaked

“In my personal opinion, Olly Robbins should go to the Tower, in which case he should arrive by river.”

Steven Edginton: The BBC’s Question Time last week. Abbott was the victim of her own rudeness – not of racism. As I saw at first-hand.

The only explanation I can find is that she mistakenly assumed I was just another Tory public school boy, to whom she did not need to bother giving the time of day.

Britain’s defences are far weaker than the public realises

A new book, White Flag?, tries to sound the alarm. Will anyone listen?

Lord Ashcroft: A Defence Secretary who believes that the UK should consider getting stuck in to other people’s wars

At a ConHome conference interview yesterday, Williamson suggested we should do so if it will save or improve lives without disproportionate cost.

Lord Ashcroft: How’s this for a slogan? The Conservatives will make your life a bit better.

And: Churchill-mania, Moggmania, and the passion of Rory Stewart. Plus: too many lobbyists.

Andrew Gimson’s Conference Sketch: Williamson declares that British forces are no longer in retreat

The Defence Secretary outlined a programme of national self-assertion from Ukraine to the South China Sea.

Lord Ashcroft’s Conference Diary: How Leave voters reflect – good humouredly, mostly – on being called knuckle-dragging bigots

Plus: Labour anti-semitism, May’s African dancing. Will Mordaunt speak to the conference? And: will Russia take on NATO?

White Flag or Union Flag?

As our proprietor and his co-author prepare to release a new book on defence, we say again what we’ve said before about the implications of Brexit for the armed forces.

WATCH: “Are you going to investigate the Remain campaign?” Oakeshott asks Cadwalladr

“It is not about Remain or Leave,” the Observer journalist replies – while notably failing to say “yes”.

Iain Dale: What happened at the President’s Club was no worse than many women’s events

Plus: Vicious Cybernats. Bolton’s brass neck. Widdecombe’s ratings. Johnson’s death wish. And: the courage of my friend Tessa Jowell.