If Andy Burnham were looking for a quick popularity boost, he might decide to order the deployment of a flotilla of Royal Navy vessels towards the South Atlantic today – so as to warn the Argentinians off the Falkland Islands.
Burnham will not channel his inner Margaret Thatcher when it comes to the Falklands. Partly that’s because his entire political mission is to undo the harms of Thatcherism
A good bit of gunship diplomacy is exactly what Britain needs at this point in history. Nothing would delight the public more than sticking one up the Argies again, especially after the England football team lost to a particularly unpleasant Argentinian side in the World Cup this summer.
Of course, Burnham will not channel his inner Margaret Thatcher when it comes to the Falklands. Partly that’s because his entire political mission is to undo the harms of Thatcherism. But it’s also because, as the world knows, Britain is no longer a sea power, or a serious military power, in any meaningful sense.
The Royal Navy today couldn’t dream of sending a similar-sized task force to the one which helped win the Falklands War in 1982. Britain now only has one warship permanently assigned to the Atlantic, HMS Medway, and even at a pinch, the UK government could only call into action perhaps five battle-ready ships at short notice.
