Labour needs to be clearer on defence

It used to be axiomatic of British politics that the Conservative party held a reputational advantage when it came to defence and security, and that Labour always had to make a greater effort to reassure the electorate. Opinion polls suggest that’s no longer true, but atavistic political instincts are resilient, and even now Sir Keir Starmer and his shadow cabinet colleagues feel a degree of pressure. Hence the deployment of Yvette Cooper.

The shadow home secretary, who is only 55 but one of the veterans of the modern Labour party, has told the Times that an incoming government would conduct a 100-day review of the threats facing the United Kingdom to produce a comprehensive assessment of the national security landscape. Cooper is a reassuringly dour figure: she has been shadow home secretary for two and a half years, previously held the role from 2011 to 2015 under Ed Miliband and for the intervening five years was chair of the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee.