Sunday, 13 January 2008

MoD budget to be cut by £1.5billion: another betrayal

Well I suppose cynicism and dishonesty is what we've come to expect from this Labour Government. It was only a few weeks ago that Hash Brown was claiming to be the champion of the Armed Forces, in a re-write of history he was denying that he had presided over a decade of neglect and was even promising an increase in the MoD budget, would you believe. Well you were right not to; it was all the Brown Brothers' little joke. The defence budget is now going to be cut ...... by £1.5billion a year!
Following last July's Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) part-time Defence Secretary Des Browne announced an annual £2.5billion increase in the defence budget for the next three years (1.5%). He said: "This CSR means an additional £7.7bn for Defence by 2011 - the longest period of sustained real growth in planned defence spending since the 1980s. It is evidence of the Government's commitment to defence and to the men and women who serve with the utmost bravery in our Armed Forces". The country is waging two major wars, defence equipment inflation is running as high as 8%, the MoD offices in Whitehall are being refurbished - a budget increase would be expected, wouldn't it?
The extra 150 Ridgback armoured vehicles for the Army, the new Typhoons and Joint Strike Aircraft for the RAF and new ships for the Royal Navy are now all under threat. The three Services will now have to fight it out for what money is left.

These cuts are to be made at a time when this sleazy Labour Government is pouring £billions into the pockets of its friends at Northern Rock. The cuts provide the real evidence of the Goverment's "commitment" to the Armed Forces.

Link> The Times: MoD forced to cut budget by £1.5bn
Link> The Telegraph: Gordon Brown's hollow seasonal greetings
Link> MoD: New Carriers confirmed in Defence budget increase