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Many people remember where they were on the Saturday morning in March, 1982, when the House of Commons met to hear Margaret Thatcher signal war on Argentina. But I remember where I wasn’t. I wasn’t in the House of Commons. I was honouring a commitment in my Derbyshire constituency. That misjudgment will remain for the rest of my life a small but significant regret.

As the task force set sail and battle commenced, I was to learn a lesson. The English are a surprisingly bellicose people. When it comes to a fight that we think we can win, calculations of rational self-interest are cast aside. Forget this, and you will miss your country’s mood and end up spitting into the wind.

All through that conflict I spat into the wind. I supported the war without a...