Lord Robertson might not be a household name, but his damning indictment will set alarm bells ringing in No 10
FFormer politicians tend to fall into one of four categories. There are the ‘bidding hire’ type who will talk about anything, nothing is off limits.
While the second group includes those who make considered judgments on certain issues, there are also those who give briefings immediately without citing their names.
Finally, there are those who always guard their counsel and rarely speak openly; All interventions are carried out behind closed doors.
By now Lord George Robertson, Labour’s former defense secretary and former NATO secretary-general, certainly fell into this last category.
He is a man of tremendous political integrity and commands great respect; This is partly because he uses his wealth of knowledge to tailor his critical interventions to leaders such as Sir Keir Starmer.
His loyalty to Labor was certainly tested during the Corbyn years, but no one doubted his loyalty to the party.
So the fact that this great leader of the Labor Party has reached the point of frustration and finally feels the need to speak out so damningly publicly will set alarm bells ringing in Downing Street and throughout the government.
At a time when the world is embroiled in conflict around the world and the UK appears powerless and ill-equipped to respond, Lord Robertson has clearly reached the peak of his anger on this issue.
The fiasco in sending a warship to defend British bases in Cyprus, which were under Iranian bombardment, was perhaps the tipping point.
While HMS Dragon waited to be refitted in Portsmouth, another ship had question marks over its navigation because it had not yet been upgraded to operate in warm waters, both the Greeks and the French were able to send ships to protect the Mediterranean island and British bases.
Lord Robertson’s argument gets to the heart of the matter. While the UK is stingy with defense spending, it spends huge amounts of money to keep people at home on welfare.
Claims of an increase in front-line military service cuts during the year due to the Treasury’s refusal to fund salary increases for military personnel are actually untrue.
But ultimately this is about exposing the complete paralysis of Starmer’s government.
Since the humiliation of the welfare rebellion last summer, Sir Keir has failed to implement major change. It is simply not possible for him to significantly reduce welfare spending to finance the extra spending needed on defence.
With his future as Prime Minister constantly in doubt, inaction and doing nothing become the only decisions he can make with little political authority to rely on. While this sometimes works, such as not participating in the bombing of Iran, it often leaves his government and country adrift.
That’s why the Defense Investment Plan has been on his desk for so long. The Prime Minister does not have the clout or courage to decide between the Treasury and the Ministry of Defence.
Without this plan, the UK cannot move forward with rearming and preparing for a turbulent, increasingly unstable world.
This is precisely why Lord Robertson, the staunch faithful, has chosen to speak as he always does. The rarity of their interventions makes the impact all the more painful for a government that has lost its way.
