THE TELEGRAPH: If we continue on this path then the UK will be at the mercy of countries that put a premium on hard power
The last seven days should have dispelled any remaining complacency about Britain’s place in the world.
Sir Keir Starmer spent the week buffeted between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. The Prime Minister gave ground on the Chinese super-embassy to the fury of the United States, worked to talk Mr Trump down from his aggressive rhetoric on Greenland, and then last night pulled a House of Lords vote on the Chagos deal scheduled for Monday.
This may foreshadow another U-turn by Sir Keir’s Government. It is now uncertain whether Britain’s relinquishing of sovereignty over the archipelago will in fact go ahead. This would be a reversal that should be welcomed, but it is tragic if it has only occurred because of foreign pressure. » | Telegraph View | Friday, January 23, 2026
I am no fan of Keir Starmer’s, but he is not the architect of Britain’s relative economic decline. Farage and Brexit are.
What Europe needs is an integrated and single European military, and the UK must play a major part, an integral part. As long as Europe remains an agglomeration of individual nations, it will remain weak. The build-up of a European military—land army, air force, and navy—is essential and urgent; and it must have a single command structure.
Economic growth for the UK is essential and urgent. We Brits need to stop dilly-dorking around, looking this way, and that. We are Europeans, and we must belong to the wonderful European Union, the club that has brought Europe peace, prosperity, and hope.
If Keir Starmer is guilty of anything, he is guilty of vacillation and indecision on the European Union. — © Mark Alexander
