“Reform and Farage ‘don’t do defence’ in Parliament”, the headline from the read last Sunday. It’s not a particularly flattering headline, especially for someone with as thin skin as Mr Farage. The analysis showed that Reform’s leader attended less than 5 per cent of all debates relating to defence, despite being the party’s spokesperson for the subject.

In an effort to quell such criticisms, Mr Farage, in what looked to be the old set of Top Gear, announced yesterday that a certain Angus MacIntyre would be Reform’s new defence spokesperson – presumably Ant Middleton was MIA. Speaking to , he said that he has spent “40 years in defence and the last five years have been personally quite frustrating for me.” 

It’s unclear what he is frustrated about. 

Whilst he drew attention to the fact that the Ministry of Defence now has “less money” than what it did some time ago, he neglected to touch on some of the other issues relating to the sector. Like, for instance, the fact that just over a year ago, Reform UK’s former Welsh leader, Nathan Gill, was jailed after being bribed to push pro-Russian talking points in the European Parliament. I’m no national security expert, but that seems a pretty big deal.

Or the fact that, just two years ago, claimed that it was NATO aggression that “provoked” Russia into launching its invasion of Ukraine. Yes, Wing Commander, I too would be frustrated if it turned out that the party I joined actually peddled pro-Putin lines and harboured people who took stuffed their pockets with Moscow-linked dosh.

Many have been left wondering who the chap is, but to the few who have been keeping up with the news cycle, it’s done little to woo them. Tory MPs in particular have been quick to shoot the appointment down – pun very much intended.

One told me that, given it’s taken Reform two years for an individual to be appointed to the role, shows that “they don’t really care about the security of our country” and another said that, whilst the appointment is “better late than never” “now has an opportunity to prove it is serious about defence.” 

Given what we know of Reform’s operation thus far, I find the latter a curious comment to make. The sudden announcement of a spokesperson does not absolve a party of its previous sins. A party that seems in hock to the demands of the Kremlin cannot ever prove that it is serious about defence. This is, one notes, the same party whose Deputy Leader once argued that Ukraine should “ some of its land to make peace with Russia. Need one say more?

For all intents and purposes, they could’ve wheeled out a resurrected Duke of Wellington and the criticisms would’ve remained the same. It doesn’t matter how many years of experience your spokesperson may have, nor what honours they are decorated with – the party still stinks of being pro-Russia.

Whilst they’re not in the pocket of Putin and his cronies, the government isn’t really offering anything better either. Despite Healey having plugged the £4.7bn gap in the Defence Investment Plan (DIP), the target of 3 per cent of GDP will only be reached by 2030, with 3.5 per cent – the NATO target – to be reached by 2035. We mustn’t be surprised by this. This is, after all, the same government which “national security” “social security.” 

Of course, our party also had its fair share of blunders in office too. Under our watch, the British Army lost 23 regiments, and, by the time we left office, close to 30,000 personnel were living in the worst-rated military accommodation. Yikes. It seems difficult, then, for the Tories to lecture the British public on the importance of national security, all whilst having presided over its “hollowing out.” 

But there is a difference between being honest with people about our previous mishaps, and trying to whitewash our abysmal record with the appointment of a bald, . Reform, through their appointment of Angus MacIntyre, are opting for the latter option. 

The hard truth is that our country’s defence doesn’t need a series of choreographed, showbiz-style announcements, but a team that actually understands where things went wrong and how we prevent ourselves from going down that path again.

I’ll be the first to if we begin heading down that road, but let us not fool ourselves into believing this appointment changes anything. Because for all the talk Reform give about being the only party that is serious about our national defence, they haven’t a leg to stand on.