The defence secretary, Philip Hammond, has warned that he will resist further cuts to the armed forces in George Osborne's forthcoming spending review.
He told the Daily Telegraph that other Tory cabinet ministers believed the greatest burden of any cuts should fall on the welfare budget.
I wonder if this wealthy man has any clue as to how many ex-service people end up on benefits and in real need?
Last year the Mail suggested maybe 100,000 ex service personnel were homeless.
And tens and maybe hundreds of thousands carry the physical and mental scars of service.
Hammond appears not to know this and wants to cut their care.
I say if we cannot care for those at home we have no right going to war. And that as a result Hammond is unfit for the job he is doing.
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My money’s on him knowing full well and simply not caring one bit. It’s typical of the two-facedness of those who fetishise the military as an abstract institution but couldn’t care less about the real, human persons who actually comprise it. Cognitive dissonance? What cognitive dissonance?
If that is your only concern, I’m sure we can give more to ex-servicemen than to anyone else. That wouldn’t greatly increase the welfare bill.
Not saying I’d agree, but I don’t find your argument, on this, persuasive.
Spot on as usual Richard. Not only that, a lot of people from poorer backgrounds join the services as a means of escaping from a lack of opportunities in the areas where they grew up.
Like a lot of his colleagues, he is not only out of touch,but callous with it as well.
I can’t see why there should be a penny more for the MoD until they can prove they do not waste public money – the last reports show this has not yet happened – They might also make a few symbolic sacrifices on the featherbedding of the top brass too before Hammond calls for benefit cuts.
Richard
Disagree totally. We’ve been cutting back on defence for a long time & imo enough is more than enough. Leave the services alone !
I wouldn’t mind us finding one really big defence saving, by cancelling Trident’s successor, but, TBBH that is politically unacceptable.
In its absence, I’m afraid savings will have to come from welfare or education or the NHS but we can’t keep thieving from the lads that are putting their lives on the line in Afghanistan.
I would, of course, scarp Trident
And I accept we need defence forces
We do not need agressive ones
We persist in deploying them