The former Immigration Minister contends that the Government should instead require employers and universities to equip British workers.
He long warned of the perils of NATO expansion, the need to manage China’s emergence onto the world stage, and the paucity of Western strategy. Tragically, he has been vindicated.
It may not be possible for the West to find one, but it’s in our interest to try – no less than to support war-torn, Putin-invaded Ukraine.
In terms that both Russians and Ukrainians would very easily understand, there are trade-offs that can be made between land and money.
If extreme escalation is to be avoided, then the best option is for Zelensky and Putin to eventually meet in face-to-face talks.
We must learn the lesson that appeasing belligerent regional powers never pays off in the long run.
Their country is not in any danger of attack, but the leadership in Moscow have spent a decade building a frightening alternate reality.
Tehran is precipitously close to crossing the ultimate red-line. We can ill-afford to blink now.
The impulse of Brexit is to prove Britain’s openness by striking out, but this tilt increases our security dependence on Europe.
We should have supported an extension to the conventional arms embargo at the United Nations in August – and must back sanctions.
Let’s have a no-holds-barred strategic review which asks how we can best defend our interests given the vertiginous acceleration of military technology.
It is our third largest market – we must work with it if we are to help resolve global problems from the environment to nuclear proliferation.
A remarkable amount has been achieved. Often against the odds and in the face of adversity. And certainly in circumstances far less benign than those faced by New Labour.