The new cabinet cannot be accused of laziness. John Healey, secretary of state for defence, has just been on a 48-hour tour of France, Germany, Poland and Estonia, all of them important military allies in different ways, trumpeting the new government’s ‘Nato-first’ defence policy.
The highlight of Healey’s breakneck trip was his meeting with the German defence minister, Boris Pistorius. The two men have much in common: born 30 days apart in 1960, they worked as political advisers before achieving elected office. Both are solid, reliable, unshowy centrists within their parties. And on Wednesday, these two workhorses agreed a joint declaration on enhanced defence co-operation between the United Kingdom and Germany.
It is aggravating to be told by ministers how significant this empty screed is
We are told in sombre terms by the Ministry of Defence how important this document is. It represents ‘the first step in a deep new UK-German defence relationship’ and is ‘the most comprehensive defence agreement’ the two countries have signed.
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