It is vital to know if and when Labour will match the Tories on defence

Can Keir Match the Tories on Defence?

VOTERS must surely be tiring of the endless rows over the handful of issues dominating the election.

Meanwhile one of the gravest challenges of all has been worryingly absent — the defence of the realm.

Of course, areas such as tax and spending, the NHS and immigration are key.

But as our Defence Editor Jerome Starkey makes clear, they will shrink into insignificance if we get dragged into World War Three. As global tensions spiral, this is a threat we cannot ignore.

The  D-Day anniversary was a poignant reminder of the horrors of all-out conflict. After years of underfunding, Britain must ramp up its dep-leted Armed Forces without delay.

Rishi Sunak’s promise to hike military spending to 2.5 per cent of our GDP by 2030 was a bold commitment.

But it  is vital to know if and when Labour will match the Tories. So far Sir Keir Starmer has only said the 2.5 per cent target is an aspiration and he has tellingly refused to give a date for reaching it.

That is just not good enough.

How safe will this country be under a Labour regime when just a few years ago the party’s deputy leader Angela Rayner voted against the Trident nuclear deterrent, a cornerstone of our security policy?

Of course there will be a cost to boosting defence spending. But the price of failing to do so is beyond comprehension.

Meanwhile Rishi Sunak today warns Brits to be very careful what they wish for.

The PM tells this newspaper  a Labour victory would open the floodgates to higher taxes, soaring migration and weakened defences.

Handing Sir Keir Starmer a “blank cheque” — by giving Labour the huge majority predicted in the polls — would only make everything even worse, he says.

Mr Sunak claims that  would give Labour a green light to drive through  disastrous, ideologically-driven policies in spades with no   scrutiny or opposition.

He warns it would give them free rein to appease the left by pushing up taxes, cave in to outrageous union pay demands and dismantle Brexit.

The PM says: “This is not a by-election. This is not a time to protest.”

Voters will never be able to say they were not warned.

The Queen of Pop

THE joy of Prince William and his children when they met their idol Taylor Swift was a delight to behold.

After all they are going through with Kate’s cancer, they deserve such moments of happiness.

And their glorious selfie officially crowned Taylor the queen of pop.