Tories attempt to destroy the army they promised to enlarge

This week the Government announced further cuts to our Armed Forces – 5,300 redundancies in the Army. Cameron seems very confused, one day he is warning us that the UK must respond to the threat in North Africa by working “across the region”, providing intelligence and counter-terrorism assets to Algeria, a close security partnership with Nigeria, building effective security forces in Libya and appropriate training and support in Mali. This represents a potentially significantly increased role for our Armed Forces across the world.

So one day he said we must be prepared to work across North Africa but at the same time he reduces the army. Some would say that the army has the capacity to be reduced but the Generals are having their hands tied behind their back. To try and stop a public backlash the Tories are insisting on voluntary redundancies but to remain a functional army the Generals need to be able to choose who is made redundant.

But many would say that no redundancies can be accepted whilst we are still fighting in Afghanistan and there is further unrest in North Africa.

Labour has previously argued that the Defence Review should be re-opened after capability gaps such as carrier strike were exposed by the conflict in Libya. But while the SDSR did not mention Libya, Tunisia or Egypt, striking given the events of the Arab Spring, neither did it mention Mali, Algeria or Nigeria. A strategy which was flawed in 2010 looks hazardous in 2013.

The SDSR committed the UK to an Army of 95,000, a cut of 7,000, but while the threats we face have increased personnel numbers are being cut further to 82,000, a total cut of 20,000.

While David Cameron has told us that “we are in the midst of a generational struggle”, he has not told us how the new security strategy can be realised with far less troops. Or is he hoping to get by on the plan of Dr Fox – more TA and Reservists?

According to the Tories the gaps in the regular Army capability arising from redundancies are to be filled by a doubling of the Reserves. A recent survey by the Federation of Small Businesses showed that one in three employers said nothing would encourage them to employ a reservist, and the TA is facing recruitment shortages this year.

Though I have great respect for the TA, there is no way they can replace the Regular Army, not even in high intensity peace keeping operations let alone full scale war like we are experiencing in Helmand Province.

But then again why would you trust the Tories? When they were trying to get elected in 2007 they promised to increase the army and at that time Egypt was just a tourist spot!

What happens to those made redundant? To be honest they will get a good resettlement package and in some cases a good pay off but we should worry about those soldiers who are leaving the army as their time is up, those responsible for organising their resettlement and transition to civie street will be more concerned about dealing with the 5,300 troops being made redundant.

In just over 2 years the Tories are destroying the best army in the world, causing more damage to the Infantry and the regimental system that the IRA or the Taliban could ever dream of.

As the Ipswich Borough Council ‘Veterans Champion’, I will doing all I can to help any Ipswich based soldiers who are made redundant.

Top of the Policies - Defence and security

On Monday I presented policy that I hope may go towards the future Defence policy of the next Labour Government - I had two minutes to submit my policy- calling for a complete overhaul of the Territorial Army.

On the vote afterward, I was not a winner with a Reservist soldier and labour activist, Dan Fox winning with his policy thoughts for 'Cyber Defence'

It was an informative and also fun evening, and slightly nerve racking as I was one of 13 speakers and two were sitting MP's.

The event was chaired by Jim Murphy the Shadow Defence Minister, and there was £75 behind the bar! So no £250,000 to speak to a shadow Minister needed. wonder what Dr Liam Fox would have charged?

The evening was one of a number of events run by Pragmatic Radicalism along with Labour Friends of the Forces.

Dr Fox - 'Big Society Army' - soldiers on the cheap

Dr Fox, the Dr Beeching of the Armed Forces

Yesterday I was interviewed on BBC Radio Suffolk about the latest Tory plan for the Armed Forces, and I followed that up today by being interviewed by the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) for their TV channel. The more I spoke about Dr Fox and his plans for defence the angrier I got.

It just adds up to an Army on the cheap, Dr Fox will destroy the Army like Dr Beeching destroyed the railways. The Territorial Army cannot replace the Regular Army, you can not model our Armed Forces on what they do in the USA or Australia.

Changes are needed, we do need to make cut backs, the Heads of the three services need to look at the bigger picture, rather than just look at it from what they think is best for their own service.

The territorials can do more, they need to create closer links with the Regular Army- the 'One army' concept.

The Tories state that a smaller Armed Forces is needed as we are pulling out of Afghanistan and that we will no longer try and 'police' the world. So where does our deployment to Libya, or the 'Arab Spring' come into their thinking.

Who will deploy on the streets, when their is a fireman strike, the bins are not being emptied in Glasgow, the Rive Trent bursts it's banks, we suffer a further foot and mouth crisis?

Morale is the lowest I have ever know it in the forces, troops in Germany are warned that they be moving back to the UK, somewhere in Scotland but no land has been found to train on yet.

Most of these troop movements will happen after the next General Election, Labour will be left with the mess that Cameron, Osborne and Fox are creating. So much for the Tories promising extra troops before the last election- we now have plans for 19,000 less troops.

Yesterday on Radio Suffolk an angry mother phoned in, her son was injured in Afghanistan and has just been told he is being made redundant, not sure he would be keen to be told the TA will replace him. She called Dr Fox an idiot, I am sure many members of the Armed Forces would have stronger words for him.

In East Suffolk, we have small towns and villages that still feel cut off by Dr Beeching and his cuts to to the Railway network that he forced through in the 1960's now We have another Doctor trying to implement similar drastic, ill thought out cuts to the Armed Forces. you do not cut the Army when you are at war- Dr Fox , a fellow Rifleman from my Regiment was killed this week in Afghanistan - we are at war Dr Fox.