Defence- where is it in your priorities?

It isn’t controversial to say that the public finances are in a mess. Next year, the Treasury will spend £44.4billion alone on interest repayments on public sector debt- which puts my Topshop store card in perspective. To put this in context, the Department for International Development only gets £5billion per year- and it is this Department which gives aid and funding to the poorest countries in the world. Looks like the Haitans will have to wait a bit longer for financial aid…


The £44.4billion is coincidentally also the exact amount we spent on Defence in the UK. None of the major political parties have committed to keeping up this level of spending, and today the Government announces changes in Defence strategy.


First on Labours agenda is closer working with EU allies, and an important realisation that we do not have money or manpower to fight all battles. However- none of the ‘big ticket’ items have been cancelled- such as Trident (our nuclear deterrent). The Liberal Democrats think the money used for Trident could be better spent elsewhere whereas the Tories have committed to Trident.

So it all depends where you think our priorities should be? What is for certain is that spending cuts have to come from somewhere- and with transport, police, school and hospitals already protected, the defence budget will have to work smarter to protect us.
 
Poli-Chick xx
 
PS- a lesson from the Tories in why you should always do your research....
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/conservative/7144801/Lord-Stern-denies-he-will-be-a-Tory-adviser.html