Gary Malia

Dear Keef Starmer, This latest idea — recalling veterans up to 65 — isn’t policy. It’s panic. It’s what happens when a government realises too late that nobody believes in it, and instead of asking why, it reaches for the nearest generation that still remembers duty. Let’s strip away the spin. If young people won’t fight for you, that isn’t a failure of youth — it’s a damning indictment of leadership. You’ve spent years telling them Britain is broken, shameful, historically suspect, and morally inferior. You’ve taught them that patriotism is cringe, borders are optional, and the country itself is something to be managed, not loved. And now you’re surprised they won’t bleed for it? So your answer is to turn around and say to the old hands: “Go on then, one more time.” Men and women who already served. Who already paid the price. Who already carried the weight — physically and mentally — long after the uniforms came off. Here’s the bit you fundamentally don’t understand, Keef: they didn’t fight for politicians. They didn’t fight for slogans, diversity statements, or focus-grouped values. They fought for their mates, their families, their homes — for a country that meant something. That country has been chipped away, mocked, diluted, apologised for, and managed into mediocrity by people like you. And now, when the cupboard is bare, you think you can knock on the door of the very people you helped discard and demand loyalty on command. You can’t conscript belief. You can’t recall pride. And you sure as hell can’t outsource courage to men with replaced knees and broken backs because your government inspires none. This isn’t strength. It’s institutional cowardice — hiding behind past generations because you’ve failed the present one. So let’s be crystal clear: If the young won’t fight for you — the old won’t either. They already gave enough. And they won’t be guilt-tripped into propping up a government that has no idea what Britain is, what it stands for, or why anyone should defend it. You don’t have a recruitment problem. You have a legitimacy problem. And no amount grey hair, or nostalgic press releases will fix that