Posted on 12/05/2007 4:27:16 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki
Treasury seeks £15 billion cut in defence
By Robert Winnett, Deputy Political Editor
Last Updated: 2:19am GMT 05/12/2007
The defence budget could be cut by up to £15 billion over the next decade under Treasury plans which are said to have split the Cabinet.
Although Gordon Brown recently announced a £2.8 billion rise in defence spending by 2010, Government pledges to replace the Trident nuclear deterrent and build two new aircraft carriers mean that cuts must be made elsewhere.
An order for 3,000 new armoured vehicles may now be postponed, it was reported yesterday, and the Navy is set to scale back its plans for new submarines and frigates.
advertisementWrangling over the plans is understood to have caused the Ministry of Defence to postpone publication of its latest 10-year industrial strategy until agreement is reached.
The proposed cuts are reportedly being opposed by John Hutton, the Business Secretary, whose Barrow constituency would suffer if submarine orders were reduced.
Senior MoD officials are also said to be at odds over the plans and it has been claimed that the disputes may be behind Lord Drayson's abrupt resignation as defence procurement minister last month.
James Arbuthnot, the Conservative chairman of the Commons defence committee, said: "Now is not the time, when the public is becoming convinced that the forces should receive more money and support, for the Government to start cutting back the defence budget."
An MoD spokeswoman insisted no decisions had been taken. "Many savings measures we look at in draft never come close to being taken," she said. "Speculation at this stage is just that - and has no effect on the eventual content of the programme."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/04/ndefence104.xml
Cabinet split over defence cuts
By Laura Clout
Last Updated: 7:48am GMT 04/12/2007
Plans to slash the defence budget by up to £15 billion over the next decade has caused a split in the Cabinet leading to the Ministry of Defence delaying the publication of its latest 10 year industrial strategy, due to be published next Thursday.
Overall spending on defence is due to rise from £34.1 billion next year to £36.9 billion in 2010, but Whitehall is said to be split over cuts which could include reducing the number of new Astute nuclear powered submarines being built at Barrow from eight to as few as four and cancelling orders for the seventh and eigth Type 45 frigate at Portsmouth or diverting them from the Royal Navy by selling them to the Malaysian navy.
The revelation, in a report by spending watchdogs on the cost of Britain’s 20 biggest weapon projects, put the likely cost overrun at £2.5 billion out of a total bill of £28 billion.
15 billion British pounds is approx. 31 billion US dollars.
Can we now finally agree that Blair was the best Prime Minister in a while? He would never go for this.
Isn’t Gordon Brown always partial to defense cuts?? I thought that the UK was ready to hold the line after years of savage cuts to their military, but apparently they are not done yet.
Brits will take this 15 billion and blow it on “free health care”. More medical and pregnancy support for Muslims so they can have larger families and swamp the UK quicker
The British military is rapidly regressing into third rate status.
“Can we now finally agree that Blair was the best Prime Minister in a while?”
No.
Really you think he was better than Major? Thatcher?
A lot better than Callaghan, but then you’re going back to 1979.
I said in awhile. Major? What would his stance be on troops in Iraq?
“I said in awhile”
Err, yeah, but Major and Thatcher were the two PMs who preceded him!
“What would his stance be on troops in Iraq?”
There hasn’t been a deal of difference between the mainstream of either party on the overall strategy in Iraq since the start. I doubt Major is out of step with that, though he doesn’t comment a great deal these days, in common with most former PMs. Of course he was Prime Minister during the 1991 Gulf War.
I heard reports that Defence spending for Afghanistan is going to increase by 39% (roughly another £1bn) with another slight increase in Iraq.
I see that certain parts of the AF are going to feel the squeeze, and in times of war I dont think that should be the case. But in our two major conflicts we are fighting at the moment, spending is just going up and up.
Maybe. But this was forseeable during Blair's tenure. Those Carriers were bound to 'crowd-out' other defense expenditures. The commitment to build them started with Blair.
You ARE joking,yes?.
The butchery of the armed forces was been made into an artform by your beloved Tony.It was Blair who underequipped troops, merged regiments whilst grossly overstretched British forces...
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