Spending big on defence is a win for Rachel Reeves, Britain and the world

A tax overhaul would enable Labour to raise cash to boost security. But it must act swiftly

- Will Hutton

It was a week that shook the world. The spilled Ukrainian blood counted for nothing as Donald Trump openly sided with Russia to achieve a peace that can only reward it for its unilateral aggression. As profoundly, the US president has launched a new era in which might is right, "strong" men carve up the globe, and international law and multilateral institutions are eviscerated. Nor, as the former head of MI6 Alex Younger told BBC's Newsnight, is there any going back.

Britain may be only a middle-ranking power but, given the politics and defence capacity of the rest of Europe, it now has a special responsibility - in its own interests as much as Europe's - to take a lead in creating a functioning order to replace the old. For all its modest standing, Britain still retains important political and strategic assets. They must be deployed.

First and foremost, Britons overwhelmingly recognise Vladimir Putin and Trump for who they are, that Ukraine's battle is existential and that what we have done before we may have to do again. Our populist right, in the guise of Nigel Farage, is on the defensive much more than its counterparts in mainland Europe. Politically, the geopolitical challenges confronting Keir Starmer are as profound as those of 1945 or 1989: but also the opportunity to demonstrate defence and moral leadership.