Proud legacy
THEY may be frail in body but they are filled with the strength of spirit that carried Britain through its darkest days.
And yesterday our oldest and bravest generation gathered to celebrate the 80th anniversary of victory over the Nazis.
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From the pomp and pageantry in Whitehall to street knees-ups in towns and villages, the nation partied like it was 1945.
Time often dims the memory, but not for those who witnessed the tidal wave of unbridled joy which swept the nation on that day.
Six years of blood, toil, tears and sweat had finally delivered a new era of peace, prosperity and freedom.
The band of veterans who defeated tyranny dwindles with each passing year but they proved an inspiration yet again as they turned out in force to celebrate yesterday.
They were honoured with a ceremonial march through the capital by a new generation ready to defend our shores by land, sea and air.
The grey Bank Holiday skies were brightened by red, white and blue as the Red Arrows display team joined an RAF flypast over Buckingham Palace, focal point of the jubilation on May 8, 1945.
And there was a loud cheer for a group of Ukrainian soldiers for whom the hell of war is still a present reality.
Four days of celebrations were opened by the King, whose much-loved mother was barely 19 when the war ended. But as a former serviceman he is well aware of the great sacrifice made by that generation.
Nearly half-a-million British military personnel and civilians were killed in the Second World War and large sections of major cities were destroyed in the Blitz.
But, through the suffering and sorrow, and encouraged by PM Winston Churchill’s stirring words, they threw everything at the war effort — in the Armed Forces, or in coal mines, munitions factories and farms.
Those at yesterday’s celebrations have kept alive stories of heroism and sacrifice — and we owe it to them to do the same for our children and grandchildren.
Kamikaze Keir
SIR Keir Starmer must be on a kamikaze mission with his relentless pursuit of costly Net Zero targets.
Today a poll reveals six out of ten voters think he should put cutting living costs ahead of cutting carbon emissions.
Only last week Sir Tony Blair — who knows how to win an election — warned the PM about the folly of the 2050 goal at a cost of £4billion a year.
Time is running out for him to stop listening to eco-zealot Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and heed the public warnings.
If he doesn’t, it’s his chances of a second term in Number 10 that will be plummeting towards net zero.