Tag Archives: aircraft carriers

Paddy: Royal Marines paying the price of two floating white elephants

In a typically passionate and knowledgeable intervention, ex-Royal Marine Paddy Ashdown has attacked cuts of 200 posts in his former fighting unit:

In an unpredictable age, we need forces that are fast, flexible and mobile. That’s what the Royal Marines do at a world-class level.

To cut their numbers to fill a Naval manpower black hole is not just poor reward for their service over the last years, but a folly which plays fast and loose with the nation’s defences.

The Royal Marines have carried the greatest burden in the defence of our country over the last decade – they have fought in more theatres and won more battles than any other British unit. They are also the crucial manpower pool from which we draw many of our Special Forces.

Posted in News | Also tagged , , and | 10 Comments

Nick Harvey MP writes on Carrier strike capability

Earlier this month the Defence Secretary announced that the MoD’s budget was in balance, for the first time in a generation. A number of tough but necessary decisions meant that the £38bn black hole inherited from the last Labour government had finally been eliminated – a major part of which was the decision to deliver Carrier Strike capability using a different type of Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) jet because of unacceptable cost growth and project delays. In particular, the Government has decided to change the type of jet which will fly off the Navy’s two new aircraft carriers – from …

Posted in News | Also tagged and | 8 Comments
Advert

Recent Comments

  • PM
    "I firmly believe that silence on Brexit is what lost Labour the May 2024 elections." Presumably you mean the May 2026 elections? Only a Lib D...
  • Richard Church
    I joined ULS 50 years ago this month, at Reading University, but didn't join the Liberal Party until a year or so later. The things that attracted me? Industria...
  • Tim Rogers
    Interesting polling by YouGov last week had a massive 91pc of LibDem voters drawn to a closer relationship with the EU short of full membership or CU or SM. It ...
  • BigTallTim
    Congrats Simon. I can only claim 45 years activism, having joined the SDP at its launch. Including the pleasure of being a Councillor for 26 years - 1986-96 and...
  • Geoff Reid
    Interesting to hear of Simon being Treasurer of the Union of Liberal Students. I was the North Regional Treasurer of ULS in 1967. After my appointment the bank ...