Robert Key was elected Conservative MP for Salisbury in 1983. He served as a Minister in the Governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major. He was Shadow Defence Minister for William Hague. Now he is the senior Member of the Commons Defence Committee.
British forces are the best in the world. Period. US forces boast more people and more power – but still the Brits are the only military they will trust and who constantly outperform them in operations.
This is no accident. It was the archers of Wessex who won the field at Agincourt. It was the Royal Navy, from their West Country ports who protected Elizabeth I and saw off Napoleon’s threats and Hitler’s submarines. Monty and Eisenhower planned the Normandy Landings from Wilton, ancient capital of Wessex and now HQ of the Army. Bristol’s aircraft industry is still a byword for excellence and Yeovil builds our helicopters.
Why is it, then, that the only people who do not seem to care about Her Majesty’s Forces – but are swift to take the credit for their success – are this Labour government?
In Iraq they (and the USA) won the battle – but failed to plan how to win the war of hearts and minds. They knowingly sent our troops into combat without the necessary body armour and kit.
They cut the helicopter budget when we were deeply into Iraq and Afghanistan and our troops depended on them. They reduced the size of the infantry by three battalions.
Since 1997 they’ve cut down from 3 to 2 Aircraft carriers, from 35 to 25 frigates and destroyers. The part-time Defence Secretary is also Secretary of State for Scotland and the Minister for Defence Procurement (one of the few stars in the Government) is so disgusted he has resigned and gone to play motor racing in America.
What people mind about most of all is the failure of this government to honour the military covenant. This is the unwritten contract that acknowledges the place of our forces in moulding our country down the centuries. They give their lives for our freedom, our safety, our national interest and to protect our prosperity, our standard of living and our quality of life.
In return we honour them and their families who follow the flag. We should always give them the best vehicles, ships, aircraft, weapons and kit we can afford. We should always promise to look after them if injured in body or mind and if they pay the ultimate price we must care for their families too.
Britain has the fourth biggest economy in the world. In 1987 we spent 4.5% of our national wealth on defence. Today that has been cut to 2.7%. No wonder some soldiers have said the living conditions are better in Afghanistan than Aldershot! No wonder army wives in my constituency show me homes not fit for purpose. No wonder we have to rely so heavily on charities like Combat Stress, Hope for Heroes and the Royal British Legion.
And no wonder recruitment and retention are a real problem. The latest figures say it all. Between April and September this year the Royal Navy lost 410 men and women, the Army 1,780 and the RAF 1,200 – that’s a total of 3,390 dedicated, highly trained, battle-hardened patriots, prepared to die for their country, who have said enough is enough.
You couldn’t make it up. The Royal Navy has a 39% shortfall in Merlin helicopter Pilots. In the Defence Medical Service they are short of 46% of anaesthetists, 50% of surgeons, 62% of orthopaedic surgeons and 80% of radiologists.
Why does any of this matter? After all, we are not about to be attacked by an invading army. Nor are we interested in fighting for new territories to extend our former empire. The nature of the threat to our nation and our way of life has changed. It was changing long before 9/11 – though that marked a new threshold.
We need to spend more to defend our homeland, to protect our trade and global interests, to work with our allies to ensure our freedom and western democratic ideals and to protect weak and vulnerable people from genocide, famine and disease. How much more? In my dreams I’d double it. In reality the military would probably make do with an increase from 2.7% to 3% of gross domestic product. Not much, when health spending has doubled!
To do this we also need a new foreign policy. We have moved on from the Cold War. But there are consequences of the scramble for energy, food, water and resources that demand British Forces have global reach.
Fair trade bananas, fridges and computers from China, cars from Japan, gas from former Soviet states, oil from Arabia, and holidays in the sun – all this and more is at stake. We are part of the global economy and over 90% of our imports still come to us by sea. All of that is at risk if this government continues to cut back on diplomacy and sell us short on defence.
In my constituency, over 12,000 people work for the Ministry of Defence. Half are in uniform. The other half are civilian scientists and researchers, aeronautical engineers, trainers, security staff, administrators and all the others without whom our fighting forces could not do their job at the sharp end. Then there are the little specialist companies who sub-contract to the big boys in a thousand different niche products. That pattern is repeated across the West of England.
In the United Kingdom, defence of the realm is part of the warp and weft of our nation. Every single man and woman in our armed forces and in our civil service owes their loyalty not to some passing politician but to The Crown. That makes us different. That is what makes a soldier back from Iraq change into his uniform for ceremonial duties at Buckingham Palace – or the Cenotaph. That is why the marching and the bands send tingles down our spines – and are as famous round the world as our battle honours.
For nearly three hundred years, the general election victor in Salisbury goes to the balcony of the White Hart at noon the following day, to sing to the voters below the marching song of the Wiltshire Regiment (now defunct, of course). This song reminds us of the bond between their local regiment and the farming communities of Wiltshire from which they recruited. It tells us of the interdependence of free people, underwritten by military strength, mindful of justice and morality, and guaranteed by that military covenant. I have had the honour of singing that song six times. I am not allowed to forget it – and I mean to sing it again.
Robert Key
The House of Commons |
