The Tories are proposing to build an integrated UK air and missile defence network. It’s long overdue. They did nothing about it in the 14 years they were in power.  Now they promise a £10 billion plan — but only over 10 years. So not exactly a rapid build out.  But better than the government. Which called missile defence a priority — then allocated under £800m over four years to it.  This despite the fact a Commons defence committee recently reported we have ‘next to nothing’ when it comes to missile defence. The Tory plan is to start with protection for critical infrastructure and military bases then build out to protect the UK mainland and British bases overseas.  A basic capability would be in place in a first Tory term, if there ever is one, with stockpiles and coverage expanded over the following five years.  A few of the pieces are already in place. Sky Sabre is mobile medium-range interceptor that’s already been deployed to Poland and the Middle East.  Type 45 destroyers carry Sea Viper interceptors for coastal and fleet defence.  RAF jets can be scrambled to take out drones and some missiles — though that’s expensive and they can’t deal with ballistic missiles.  But none of that comes anywhere near a standing national defence against longer-range ballistic missiles, the biggest threat. Nor do we have the necessary stocks of interceptors and counter-drone weapons.  Some media comment has likened the Tory plan to Israel’s fabled Iron Dome missile defence. But that’s misleading.  A truly national missile defence would cost a lot more than £10 billion. And Israel’s Iron Dome is much misunderstood. It is not one but three defensive systems for different missile threats.  The Iron Dome itself has been in operation since 2011 and takes out short-range rockets, artillery and some drones from the likes of Hamas and Hezbollah. Britain doesn’t face such a threat.  Then there’s David’s Sling which deals with mid-range missiles: cruise missiles, aircraft, drones and tactical ballistic missiles, out to roughly 100–300 km, with the hit-to-kill Stunner missile. And at the very top — most relevant to the UK but the least discussed here — is Arrow 2 and Arrow 3, sculpted by Israel Aerospace Industries, with US involvement.  This is the system that takes on medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. Arrow 2 works inside the atmosphere; Arrow 3 intercepts outside it, above 100 km, at ranges out to about 2,400 km.  This should be of most interest to Britain. Because threats to us are much more likely to be from longer-range missiles.  It is significant, though apparently unnoticed by the Tories, that Germany signed up for Arrow 3 in 2023, the first time the Israelis have exported the system under licence.  The first deployment was made south of Berlin last December. A second site has been announced in Bavaria.  Germany is planning full operational readiness with sites in the north, centre and south of the country by 2030. Not in 10 years time, as the Tories envisage.  Just as significant, the cost of the first Arrow 3 deployment was under £3 billion. Total Arrow spend including interceptors and launchers will be under £5 billion.  Which rather makes it a mystery why nobody in Labour or the Tories is saying we should follow suit — buy off the shelf the most sophisticated, tried and tested missile defence system on the planet.  Germany will is acquiring Arrow 3 as part of the European Sky Shield Initiative. Which you’d think might appeal to Europhile Labour. The cost should appeal to the Tories.  At least the Tories have put missile defence on the agenda. Labour, it’s reported this morning in The Times, is still dithering about how to get defence spending to 3% of GDP — and looks like postponing the matter for another year.  In the current dangerous geopolitical climate that is close to a dereliction of duty which shames the Burnham government. You wonder how John Healey can even look at himself in the mirror

The changing face of Europe. As I tried to point out on @bbcquestiontime

My monologue from today’s The Times at One with Andrew Neil @TimesRadio ROYAL NAVY RIP While US destroyers duke it out with Iranian navy fast boats over the Strait of Hormuz, we learned yesterday that the Royal Navy’s HMS Iron Duke, a Type 23 frigate, was being withdrawn from active service, despite a recent £100m five-year refit, which suggests that was largely a waste of money.  More important, it underlines the stark reality that we no longer have a functioning navy.  That’s right. The country of Rule Britannia, which once had the most powerful navy in the world, capable of protecting an empire which covered a quarter of the globe, no longer has a navy worthy of the name.   For the factual basis of what I’m about to say, I am indebted to Britsky, who posts important naval data on X and has become the reliable go-to source for information on our disappearing Navy.  HMS Iron Duke joins another ageing Type 23, HMS Richmond, in retirement. Leaving the Royal Navy with just five frigates to monitor Russian submarine activity in the North Atlantic and other Russian activity in the Channel.  Even that doesn’t reveal the full, desperate picture. Of the five frigates still supposedly available for service, one, HMS Kent, has been almost 750 days in refit and is not available for service. HMS Portland and HMS St Albans have also been laid up for some time.  Only HMS Somerset is currently deployed and HMS Sutherland could be, pretty quickly. So the Royal Navy can call on the immediate services of only two of the five frigates we have, all dating from the 1990s.  What about the more powerful Type 45 destroyers? Sad to relate the picture is even bleaker. There are only six. One, HMS Dragon, has been deployed to the East Mediterranean to protect Cyprus, though that took some time.  Another, HMS Daring, has been in refit for 3,260 days and still not available for duty. HMS Defender has been out of action for over 1,000 days, HMS Diamond for just under 700 days. HMS Dauntless is in maintenance. Other than Dragon, out of our six destroyers, only HMS Duncan could be deployed quickly.  What about our hugely expensive, powerful Astute class submarines? Better you don’t ask. We have only five — and only one, HMS Anson, is on active service somewhere in the Indian Ocean.  The other four — Astute, Ambush, Artful and Audacious — have been laid up for a total of 4,000 days. That’s right 4,000 days. HMS Ambush alone has been inactive for 1,400 days. It’s currently laid up on the River Clyde.  So the currently deployable, conventional Royal Navy, excluding the ancient, creaking subs carrying our nuclear deterrent, amounts to two frigates, two destroyers and one sub. That’s not a navy for a maritime nation. That’s a joke.  Yes, we have two big aircraft carriers too. They also seem to spend a lot of time in maintenance, which is where they are at the moment. But both could currently be deployed pretty quickly, which is an improvement. But we don’t have the frigates or destroyers to form a carrier fleet. So they can only be used in concert with better equipped allies.  We might be short of fighting ships. But we’re not short of admirals. We currently have around 30 rear admirals or above, which works out around four per deployable ship. That’s admirals. Not captains.  None, of course, of this bloated top brass has been held accountable for the near disappearance of our naval power. Nor have any Tory politicians who for 14 years presided over our navy’s degradation. Nor is the current Labour government in any apparent hurry to put matters right. Our airforce and army are in no great shapes either. But it is the state of our non-navy, an integral, vital part of our island history, which is the real national scandal.  And, as is so often the case in modern Britain, nobody is held to account. Nobody forced to carry the can. Nobody making it their mission to put it right. And that is the real national disgrace.

Six months out from November’s midterms and President Trump scores his worst approval ratings ever: Overall, 37% approve, 62% disapprove of his second-term record. On his handling of the Cost of Living, only 23% approve, 76% disapprove. On Inflation it’s 27% v 72% disapproval. On the economy overall it’s 34% approve, 65% disapprove. On Trump’s War with Iran, 66% disapprove, 33% approve. There’s no way back from these dire ratings before November — and the longer the Strait of Hormuz remains closed the worse his approval ratings will get. An entirely self-inflicted albatross. Source: Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll April 24-28, 2026, among 2,560 U.S. adults with an error margin of +/- 2 percentage points.

This is the reason why we can never reform healthcare in the UK — or even have a sensible debate about it. The moment anyone suggests alternative/additional ways of funding health Labour rushes out privatisation smears and claims US private health insurance is being proposed. Labour has been doing it for decades. It explains why the NHS is effectively beyond reform. The two worst health systems in the rich world are in America and the UK. It’s why nobody has ever copied them. It would be mad to go from ours to theirs (or vice versa). But Europe is awash with health systems that can call on several sources of funds, including many with compulsory public health insurance schemes. They have better health outcomes than the NHS. They are free at the point of use (like the NHS). Most of them are better funded. But Labour puts them out of bounds, refuses even to discuss or consider. So patient care suffers. NHS struggles on. Labour is always telling us we need to get closer to Europe. It’s where we belong. But not when it comes to health, where it insists no lessons can be learned. Pretty pathetic, really.