Browsing bookshops is not just about the books. They are places where the intellectually curious congregate. As we say in my book group: bookshops are the new Tinder.

I wonder if it is in part the grammar of news reporting. The need to select a short clip to represent a long speech or announcement pushes report towards a coherent statement.
Summarising what someone said will require the reporter to use their own logic which will make it sound more rational.

My original comment concerned the logic of your argument. I’m afraid sarcasm and GIFs are no substitute for reason.

The is no Canadian equivalent of the Nassau agreement, for example.

That imposes a constraint on how quickly the UK can shift to a new doctrine or even speak publicly about the need for a shift.

I don’t think that follows. We should take account of the different circumstances of the UK and Canada. The UK’s security posture is highly dependent on the US and NATO especially due to its nuclear force all its consequences. The European continent faces different challenges from North America.

Is he saying that if we just ignore it then it will go away?

Yes, I’m agreeing with your fundamental point. Cutting the socially useless parts of finance would release resources while more resources are directed to security.

In terms of resources yes, defence could make up more and finance less. But defence goes through the government budget while finance does not.

She’s right. open.substack.com/pub/josgalla...

Yes, that’s how you tax the American consumer to benefit our treasuries. Japan used to be good at this.

Vickers and David Aikman (head of @niesrorg.bsky.social ) note rightly that lobbying from the financial sector should have been resisted.

Worryingly, the Bank is dismissive but offers no economic rationale that holds water www.ft.com/content/4f15...

Isn’t there a more recent law that might be relevant?