When prime ministers are met with international crises, they sometimes turn to the best military minds at their disposal to help them solve the problem.
So with Sir Keir Starmer facing yet another political crisis, this time with the resignation of his defence secretary John Healey, it feels appropriate that he was able to turn to a former SAS commander to help save him from a desperate predicament.
Dan Jarvis, the MP for Barnsley North, had a very distinguished career as a military commander in Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq and Northern Ireland, seeing action on many occasions and serving with the UK’s most elite forces.
He was a paratrooper who led important operations and speaks with genuine authority on defence matters.
When he applied to be the Labour candidate for the Barnsley North seat, he was reportedly asked by someone how much leafleting he did. The question was probably a plant to expose his lack of political engagement.
His response was to admit that he had not done much leafleting, but he had led troops into Helmand Province in Afghanistan. The constituency party was clearly won over.
So when people are questioning the prime minister’s commitment to defence spending with Mr Healey’s resignation and that of former Royal Marines commander Al Carns, then being able to turn to Mr Jarvis was the perfect solution.
It is no surprise that even Tories like Tobias Ellwood and Tom Tugendhat, who served with him, have welcomed his appointment as defence secretary.
Mr Jarvis also comes with serious political experience – he served in serval shadow cabinet roles under Ed Miliband before becoming the metro mayor for South Yorkshire between 2018-22. He returned to Westminster in 2024 and immediately became a security minister.
But even someone as well qualified as Mr Jarvis will struggle to save a prime minister whose government seems to be in its death throes. He will also have the unenviable task of justifying the failure to fund defence properly.
Maybe the defence funding is a pill Mr Jarvis can swallow knowing that, by the summer, there is likely to be a new prime minister and his tenure in the office may only be weeks.
After all, a new prime minister and chancellor would look at the defence spending plan afresh and decisions made now may mean very little.
There is another play here. Mr Jarvis can cut the same political figure as Ben Wallace did for the Tories. Mr Wallace survived as defence secretary through multiple changes of prime minister because he was widely liked and respected.
If Andy Burnham or Wes Streeting take over from Sir Keir, do not be surprised if Mr Jarvis stays in post.
