Boris has appeared in the Commons this afternoon via Zoom to outline the details of the defence spending review in much of the press this morning. The £16.5 billion new spending over four years will fund: a new artificial intelligence agency; the creation of a national cyber force; and a new “space command,” which will be capable of launching a rocket in 2022.

Perhaps the element that will stir up the biggest wave of patriotism is Boris’s pledge to upgrade the Royal Navy and “restore Britain’s position as the foremost naval power in Europe”. Specifically by once again overtaking the French – one way to quell Thatcherite objections to big spending. Which is odd, because Britain is already the foremost naval power in Europe, ahead of France in almost every category. Let’s see the BBC try and scrap Rule, Britannia from next year’s Proms…