The first duty of a government is to keep us safe.  As the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said recently, the next few years will be the most dangerous and the most transformative that we have ever known.

He is going to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2030. This has not been matched by the Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer who supported Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader; when Labour’s policy was to leave NATO and dismantle the army. I would prefer a government which really believes in defence.

As well as keeping the country safe, this month yet again unemployment remains low by comparison to our European neighbours. If you listen to the media, you would think that the situation is dire, but we have a good economic story to tell; since the EU referendum, we have the joint fastest growth rate in the G7 and faster rates of economic growth than France, Italy or Germany.

Latest figures for unemployment released by the House of Commons Library show that in April 2024 there were 1,210 claimants in Altrincham and Sale West constituency, which was 2.0 per cent of the population aged 16 to 64. In comparison, the equivalent UK claimant rate was 3.8 per cent. In the Euro area the average is 6.4 per cent.

Education funding has been boosted by an additional £14.4 billion over three years and since 2010 British children have become the best readers in any western nation. National Insurance contributions have been cut twice, rewarding work and increasing take–home pay by £900.

Having accepted the Low Pay Commission's recommendations in full, on April 1, 2024, the National Living Wage increased by 9.8 per cent to £11.44 an hour and applies to workers aged 21 and over.

As well as this, the pensions Triple Lock has been protected, ensuring that pensioners are supported following the high inflation caused by the war in Ukraine. The state pension increased by 10.1 per cent in April – the biggest cash increase in the state pension ever.

Meanwhile Keir Starmer has gone from embracing Jeremy Corbyn to embracing erstwhile Conservative MP Natalie Elphicke.  I’m not sure that it displays the judgment necessary for a putative Prime Minister.

Sir Graham Brady is the MP for Altrincham and Sale West.