Appeasement never works; in one week, we have two examples of why in both foreign and domestic affairs, with the Gorton and Denton By-election result and the joint US and Israeli military action against the Islamist extremist regime of Iran.
The British Labour Government’s response to both outlines why we are diminishing power on the world stage, and it is not a reputation I want for my country.
I joined the Labour Party because of how my worldview was shaped when I was serving as a commissioned officer in the Royal Navy, and my subsequent experiences of difficulty navigating into civilian life, having been medically discharged as a young man.
In my service, I saw the scathing defence cuts that savaged our capabilities as well as service personnel’s terms and conditions due to austerity.
An action taken by the conservatives that is now coming home to roost. A saw disappointment for somebody who considered themselves a ‘small-c’ conservative.
During my service, I was a warfare Officer on one of Britain’s Type 45 Destroyers, working alongside the US Navy to ensure free trade in the Arabian Gulf in the face of mounting aggression from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The Royal Navy’s primary focus in defence doctrine was this area because of its strategic importance to our prosperity and the threat posed by Iran.
With some exceptions, our entire fleet of Carriers, Destroyer and Frigates is tied up in home ports. Including our Type 45 destroyers that could’ve been utilised to take on the drone warfare in foreign theatres.
It is estimated that at one point, around 1/4 of our defence budget was expended on presence in the Middle East. It is a cruel irony, therefore, that despite this foreknowledge, we had abdicated this duty entirely when it mattered most, with our Government opting to appease and become passive in the face of an opportunity to confront a regime that many consider to be the single largest sponsor of terror worldwide.
One with 21 attempted terror attacks on UK soil to its name, alongside atrocities against its own people. Iran was as much our fight as it was the United States and Israel’s.
I’ve lost count of the number of articles I have written for GB News, agonising over the PM’s lack of intuition and his hesitation at moments when Britain has needed decisive leadership.
The Prime Minister outlined that his priority was the safety of our Armed Forces personnel. I wish he could have heard the same speech I had from my first and most influential Commanding Officer, whom I was fortunate to learn from during my service.
I must break ranks with my party leader on radical Islamists. Give an inch, they take a mile - Stuart Fawcett | Getty Images
Britain needs to regain its soul and courage. As Winston Churchill said, ‘you cannot reason with a tiger when your head is in its mouth’.
Our leadership is too busy assessing the legality and morality of grappling with it. What would my solution be? An end to the Orthodoxy of managed decline.
Immediate increase in our military capabilities, especially our Navy and drone capacity, with a focus on less temperamental high-end technology.
A National Civil Defence service and more proactive - in-house recruitment to provide careers in our military people can participate and be proud of.
I’d pay for it by drilling oil in the North Sea (instead of importing it from the Middle East), and reopen British refineries to create the world’s cleanest burning fuels.
With the tax revenues, we could open a Sovereign Defence and Wealth fund that could pay for a robust military apparatus alongside a more sustainable move toward climate responsibility over a longer period, one which doesn’t compromise our prosperity and security.
In the immediate term, I reiterate that Britain’s democracy should stop kowtowing to extremism at home and abroad, stand up to it, defeat it and stand firm on our values and identity as a Western nation in doing so.
More From GB News