Starmer is bigging up Labour’s defence credentials this morning by giving a speech in Manchester surrounded by veteran PPCs, including touting Labour’s plan to build “four nuclear submarines”. Which turn out to be the ones the government has already committed to…

When asked, yet again, by GB News’ Chris Hope if he would push the big red button he finally conceded and said he would go for it: “It’s a vital part of our defence and of course that means, uh, we have to be prepared to use it.” In December he refused to go that far…

Starmer was asked if David Lammy and Angela Rayner, who voted against Trident’s renewal, had changed their minds. He refused say and claimed instead: “I lead this party I’ve changed this party if we’re privileged to come in to serve I will be the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom“. So just ignore the views of the Deputy PM and Foreign Secretary then…

Guido isn’t sure if Lammy’s strong faith-based views on deterrence have changed. He wrote in Christian News in 2016:

“The idea of loving thy neighbour and protecting our world for future generations simply cannot hold if we have stockpiles of weapons that will destroy our neighbours and destroy our world for future generations.

Not only do nuclear weapons contradict religious principles, any form of international relations based on the threat of mutual destruction is totally contradictory to the preamble of Article 1 of the United Nations Charter.”

How much time will it take for Rayner and Lammy going to beat Starmer’s newfound nuclear enthusiasm out of him? It didn’t take her long to get him to U-turn on Abbott…