Defence
Do the Americans want Britain to renew Trident?
What is the point of Britain’s nuclear deterrent? If it is an insurance policy it is a remarkably expensive one that might not, in any case, ever be honoured. I… Continue reading
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Cutting and running from Afghanistan
MPs on the Defence Select Committee made a similar warning this morning about the UK’s withdrawal from Afghanistan as Con Coughlin made in The Spectator last month. He wrote that… Continue reading
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Nuclear weapons, Scotland and the future of the United Kingdom
David Cameron – who, in case you’d forgotten, leads the Conservative and Unionist Party – made a rare visit to Scotland yesterday. He spoke about defence. His message was clear:… Continue reading
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Nemo me impune lacessit: defending an independent Scotland
Sometimes I wish Conservative cabinet ministers would couch their arguments in favour of the Union in terms of principle, not process or drab accountancy. Philip Hammond, the unimpressive Secretary of… Continue reading
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The Great Defence Procurement Rip-Off, Housing Edition
There’s no business like government business. Reacting to Philip Hammond’s statement on future army basing yesterday, today’s newspapers have led on either the decision to strip the Desert Rats of… Continue reading
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Vince Cable tells Philip Hammond, cut Trident not welfare
On The Sunday Politics today, Vince Cable told Andrew Neil that he disliked ring fencing particular departments. But he accepted that the NHS and DFID budgets would remain protected for… Continue reading
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The Tory branch of the National Union of Ministers says cut welfare, not our budgets
Philip Hammond is a cautious and loyal politician. He is not a boat rocker. This is what makes his interviews in the Telegraph and The Sun today so noteworthy. He… Continue reading
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Europe's defence budgets may not be noble, but they are at least rational
Gideon Rachmann is unhappy that european defence budgets are still falling: Since 2008, in response to the economic downturn, most big European countries have cut defence spending by 10-15 per… Continue reading
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Govt confusion on defence shows how painful the next spending review will be
The government’s position on defence spending is, to put it politely, confused. After the completion of the SDSR and the defence spending settlement, there was an expectation that the military… Continue reading
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Half of the British Army's officer corps is privately educated. Does that matter? - Spectator Blogs
An interesting spot, courtesy of the good chaps at Think Defence. From Hansard: Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North, Labour) To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion… Continue reading
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Cameron: defence spending is protected. Hammond: no it isn’t
After Cabinet tensions on the matter, David Cameron was trying to reassure those worried about further defence cuts while visiting Algeria. The Telegraph reports a senior government source saying the… Continue reading
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UKIP is not a libertarian party - Spectator Blogs
I’m sure, as James says, that the idea of some kind of Tory-UKIP non-aggression pact will not go away. But that’s because many Tory backbenchers are remarkably stupid. Proponents of… Continue reading
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What today’s Trident announcement is really about
When Nick Harvey was sacked in September’s reshuffle, leaving the Ministry of Defence without a Liberal Democrat minister, anti-nuclear campaigners and the SNP claimed the move put the future of… Continue reading
20 Comments Trident: political football, folly, or matter of principle? - Spectator Blogs
Philip Hammond is one of those ministers who seems to be held in greater esteem by those inside the Westminster hamlet than those of us who live beyond its boundaries.… Continue reading
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Whitehall’s mistake over BAE and EADS
There have been some sharp responses to the demise of the proposed BAE EADS merger. My personal favourite is John Redwood’s pithy: ‘Several of you wrote in expressing dismay at the… Continue reading
40 Comments Philip Hammond’s tarnished relations with military top brass fly into the open
Talking to diplomatic sources this evening, there’s a depressed recognition that the Taliban and its allies have scored a major victory in forcing Nato to scale back joint patrols with… Continue reading
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Defence spending on ice
Where better for rebellious Tory MPs to hide from the domineering whips than behind a giant ice sculpture of a fighter jet? Defence spending is on ice in Whitehall, and… Continue reading
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The battle to be the party of the armed forces
Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has the unenviable task today of announcing a cull of army units as the force is cut from 102,000 to 82,000. The Army 2020 review, the… Continue reading
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Who is the enemy?
It is Armed Forces Day and army morale is low – according to the Telegraph at least. The prospect of a 20 per cent cut in personnel is provoking anger in… Continue reading
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Foxhound arrives in Afghanistan – five years too late
There was welcome news yesterday for our forces in Afghanistan, and for those who want to see them supplied with the best equipment, with pictures of the first ‘Foxhound’ patrol… Continue reading
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