On Monday, at a shipbuilding yard in Glasgow, Sir Keir Starmer presented himself as a Labour prime minister who wants to be credited with turning the UK into a warfare-ready state, as he spoke of the need for the UK to be prepared for the possibility of war at the launch of his government's Strategic Defence Review, Sky News reports.
The rhetoric couldn't be clearer: Britain is on a wartime footing.
The UK's armed forces must move to "war-fighting readiness" over the coming years, the UK faces a "more serious and immediate" threat than anytime since the Cold War, and "every citizen must play their part".
The prime minister promised to fulfil the recommendations of the 10-year strategic defence plan, which will be published in full on Monday afternoon.
But what he refused to do was explain when he would deliver on spending 3% of GDP on defence - the commitment necessary to deliver the recommendations in the Strategic Defence Review.
His refusal to do so blunts his argument. On the one hand, the prime minister insists there is no greater necessity than protecting citizens, while on the other hand, he says his ability to deliver 3% of spending on defence is "subject to economic and fiscal conditions".
This is a prime minister who promised an end to "sticking plaster politics", who promised to take difficult decisions in the interest of the country.
