MICHAEL KNOWLES LONG-TERM DECISIONS FOR A BRIGHTER FUTURE
MUCH of the news over the weekend was dominated by events in the Middle East and Russia’s offensive in Kharkiv.
David Cameron has spoken about how events both at home and abroad are becoming increasingly inter-linked.
The Foreign Secretary spoke about Russia sponsoring sabotage attacks on factories in London.
Moscow has been accused of similar plots in Germany, Sweden and the Czech Republic, while simultaneously preparing its ground offensive in Kharkiv. Russia is becoming ever-more totalitarian.
Iran’s destabilising activities in the Middle East are well-documented and also growing.
China is ominously belligerent towards Taiwan.
As we’ve seen so acutely in recent years, events around the world impact our lives at home, not least the price of our shopping basket. The Prime Minister will today set out why he is the man to lead Britain through these tumultuous times.
He will no doubt point to the green shoots of economic recovery and falling inflation. Rishi
Sunak may point to his commitment to increase defence spending to 2.5%.
In Lithuania, at the Nato summit last year, Mr Sunak showed his international credentials by galvanising support for Ukraine.
But he will no doubt be trying to regain the political initiative after a torrid few weeks.
Setbacks included a drubbing in the council elections, compounded by the failure to secure the West Midlands or London mayoralties.
The defection of Natalie Elphicke to Labour and Sir Keir Starmer’s attempt to take Mr Sunak on over small boats all add to the pressure the Prime Minister is facing.
After several weeks of noise about what he should do, the Premier will set out his vision of how to protect Britain from these challenges while maximising the potential for this country.
Both the Conservatives and Labour want to fight the upcoming General Election on the economy.
But the first duty of Government is our security and that is as it should be.
We can only seize the advantages of technology and launch an economic turnaround if our nation is kept safe.