Why we must actively defend international law and the rules-based order - Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York

We had fought, in the words of my wartime predecessor, Archbishop Temple, against ‘an evil the magnitude and horror of which it is impossible to describe in words’. We fought to uphold the values that Nazism had sought to destroy – the idea that we are one humanity, that we belong to each other, and have responsibilities to each other, whatever our class, race, religion, or nation – values which are deeply rooted in our Judeo-Christian tradition.

But this struggle did not end with the defeat of Nazism. The fight for our neighbour continued, no longer on the battlefields of Europe, but on the political front. In the hope of creating a society that was better than before, a new world was born out of the rubble of war.

At home, we established the modern Welfare State: the NHS, social housing, social security, child benefit, and free legal aid, among many other things. As William Beveridge wrote in his famous Report, "a revolutionary moment in the world's history is a time for revolutions, not for patching".

Globally, the rules-based international order took shape, so that law, not raw power, would govern relations between states. The United Nations was set up as a cornerstone, its goal to promote peace, defend human rights, deliver humanitarian aid, promote sustainable development, and uphold international law.

Without Victory in Europe, this new world would never have been born. Of course, it is not perfect – structures created by humans never are – but it is nevertheless a world founded firmly on the ideals we fought for. And I shudder to think what world we would be living in if victory in Europe had not been ours, but Hitler’s.

In our opposition to what was worst in us, we discovered what is best. That is what VE Day was about for my family – and it is what it means to me. Not a mere memorial, but a living legacy. In routing darkness, it gave birth to a new day, full of joy, peace, and hope, which still shines on us today.

But, 80 years on, this legacy is increasingly under threat.

Our government must actively defend international law and the rules-based order –whenever it is broken, whoever breaks it, whether friend or foe. If we don’t, the laws will lose all power to curb humanity’s worst excesses, and we will once again be shrouded in the darkness where only one law matters: Might is Right.

VE Day is not simply a day of remembrance. It is a call to action.

Stephen Cottrell is the Archbishop of York.