Eliot Wilson Eliot Wilson

Starmer’s ‘national security’ pitch looks insecure

Credit: Getty Images

Still haunted by the memory of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, Keir Starmer has devoted today to reassuring the electorate that he is committed to maintaining nuclear weapons. The Labour leader is determined not to be seen as unreliable on defence and national security, so has announced that HIS government will introduce a ‘triple lock’ on the nuclear deterrent.

A ‘triple lock’ is a tedious phrase, beloved by politicians who have been so careless with promises that they have to engage in a linguistic arms race. If they say they will do something, voters simply don’t believe them, so instead they must create the impression of an inviolable pledge, a measure that will be permanent and irreversible – something that is, happily, impossible in our system of government. The coalition created a ‘triple lock’ on the state pension in 2010, under which the payment would increase by whichever of three measures was highest: average earnings, inflation or 2.5

Written by
Eliot Wilson

Eliot Wilson was a clerk in the House of Commons 2005-16, including on the Defence Committee. He is a member of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).

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