Labour is the party of sound defence and hatred of tyranny. Now it must show that in Ukraine

Our era has more in common with the 1930s and 1940s than any other period of recent history: it is the second age of dictators of modern times. As in the first age of dictators, this generation of despots act with ever-increasing impunity. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, invading Ukraine. Azerbaijan's president, Ilham Aliyev, ethnically cleansing Nagorno-Karabakh. The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, committing genocide against Uyghurs. Iran sponsoring proxy wars. Keir Starmer's and John Healey's Christmas trip to a Nato base in Estonia to visit British troops, and the soundbites that followed, demonstrate how the defence of the realm has…