Politicians have squandered global authority – ditched ‘big stick’ | Politics | News
The great US President Teddy Roosevelt said that the secret to successful diplomacy is to “speak softly and carry a big stick.” But recently our political leaders have done the exact opposite: they have loudly indulged in fantasies of liberal intervention abroad, but refused to provide even the basics of national self-defense.
Just this week a consultancy report claimed Whitehall had failed to allocate capital funding to new projects such as barracks, naval bases and munitions factories needed to deliver on the Government’s long-term promise to increase defense spending to 3.5% of GDP. Other indicators of institutional negligence are equally concerning.
The army has reached its smallest point since the early 19th century and the RAF has shrunk by two-thirds since the end of the Cold War. Even the Royal Navy is a shadow of the force that once supported Britain’s maritime greatness.
In its review of 2025, the independent magazine Navy Lookout complained: “Hull numbers continue to fall, amphibious capabilities are running out, support shipping is fragile, global presence has shrunk and there is still too much future capacity available on PowerPoint slides rather than at sea before new ships are ready to replace them.”
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The road to hell is paved with good intentions. This is certainly true of the employment tribunal system, which was established in 1964 to protect staff from unfair dismissals and workplace injustices. However, this has now become an arena where opportunists can make false compensation claims.
Youth worker Joseph Johnson has been criticized by court judges for bringing 54 cases against schools and charities since 2016, most for race or gender discrimination. Despite a single decision in his favor (concerning the unlawful deduction of wages), he could not win a single case, which showed that his complaints were unfounded.
Johnson is not unique. In June this year, it was revealed that law graduate Zakir Khan had made 42 claims of employment discrimination against law firms and public bodies. Like Johnson’s catalog of misery, none of Khan’s cases were successful.
A lot of time and money is wasted on these troublemakers. A government website has a list of 193 vexatious plaintiffs who have been banned from taking legal action. This group is partly responsible for the huge backlog of 491,000 open cases in the court service. So what is the Labor Government’s solution? Disastrously, in a blow to unions, the Employment Rights Bill will make it easier and more lucrative to pursue cases in court. More lawsuits will follow, exactly what our faltering economy and public services don’t need.
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The New Year’s Honors List has sparked the usual debate about gong awards. Some critics focus on the injustice of individual exclusions or inclusions. Others denounce the entire system as a relic of the feudal past.
In my opinion, these honorary awards are not only harmless, but also bring great pleasure to the families of the recipients. I will never forget the thrill of driving my vintage Rover P5 to Buckingham Palace as I accompanied my family on my father’s mission; where he was awarded the OBE for “services to architecture in Northern Ireland”.
But I was even more proud when cricketer Geoff Boycott was knighted. As his unofficial biographer, I had challenged his claim that his girlfriend, Margaret Moore, hit him at a hotel in Monte Carlo. In my opinion, Moore was asking him for cash to pay off his huge debts; whereas Boycott was an innocent man who fully deserved to be knighted for his tremendous contributions to cricket.
