Defence Spending

[Aethulwulf]

Is 2% of GDP enough for the UK to spend on defence? Should it be 2.5%, or 3%, or higher?

If you want to make a change, now is the time to write to your MP. All the main UK parties are starting to draft their manifestos right now. Right now MPs are being asked for their ideas.

Find out the email address of your MP at http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps/ and let them know your opinion today.

[Aethulwulf]

Below is a sample email, that you could cut and paste. Feel free to change and adapt as you wish, but remember to include your name and address in the email...

Dear XXX

I believe that your party is in the process of starting to draft the election manifesto. I would like to ask you to put forward the idea of increasing defence spending to 2.5% of GDP for inclusion in the manifesto.

The British Army is at its smallest size for over 100 years, while the Royal Navy and the RAF are both struggling with manpower shortfalls. Funding effective armed forces is always expensive. But I fear that ineffective funding for our Forces could prove to be far more costly for the nation in the unstable years ahead.

A gradual increase to a 2.5% GDP funding level would, over a 5 year period, amount to annual increases of about 4.5% (on top of normal rate of growth). This should result in a significant increase in the UK's military capability and the security of the nation. It will also send a strong political signal and help to keep the UK's leading role in NATO, as other nations increase their defence spending.

I hope that you will be able to ensure a commitment to raising defence spending to 2.5% of GDP is included in the manifesto. I would be happy to discuss this further, if you wish.

Name
Address

[dmereifield]

Good idea, thanks for the template. I'd suggest anyone planning to do this (as I'm about to do) to personalise it slightly, else I fear any MPs receiving multiple identical copies of this from their constituents' will dismiss it more easily

[Aethulwulf]

I've had a reply from my MP to the email I sent yesterday:


Thank you for your email of yesterday and I appreciate you taking the trouble to feed in your thoughts on defence spending ahead of the finalisation of the manifesto. I will, of course, pass them on to the team who are currently very busy working on the manifesto and hope they will be included. Sadly the only parts of the manifesto I have any influence on pertain to the DWP not the MoD, but you make a very cogent case.

Best wishes

If you have not already done so, I encourage you to send an email to your own MP.

[JayDee]

It's a great idea i'll get onto it..shame my MP is slimy michael gove

[RetroSicotte]

Well I can send one, but my MP is SNP so the response will likely be the same as every time I've messaged them, that "We will cut Trident to pay for the forces".

[SKB]

What were the UK's defence spending percentages during the 00's, 90's and 80's?

[The Armchair Soldier]

What were the UK's defence spending percentages during the 00's, 90's and 80's?

Some guy on Daily Politics wants it pushed to 6%!

[2HeadsBetter]

Well I was eagerly waiting for him to spell out where all the extra cash was coming from. So that's two and a half minutes of my life I'll never get back. And why 6%? Why not 5 or 7?

Actually I've never liked this 2% of GDP target as it doesn't really mean anything. We should spend what we think we need balanced by what we can afford. If that's 1% or 10% GDP then so be it.

[RichardIC]

The percentage of GDP spent is utterly irrelevant because it can go up and down every year and you can't plan defence that way. It's just used by NATO to describe the minimum required for members to spend because they have to use some sort of comparator and it's the least bad option.

What is important is the level of capability needed and achieving it in the most cost-efficient way possible.

[RetroSicotte]

Well I was eagerly waiting for him to spell out where all the extra cash was coming from. So that's two and a half minutes of my life I'll never get back. And why 6%? Why not 5 or 7?

Actually I've never liked this 2% of GDP target as it doesn't really mean anything. We should spend what we think we need balanced by what we can afford. If that's 1% or 10% GDP then so be it.

It's interesting to check his twitter, he outright states he's pushing for 6% in order to try and get 3%.

Wouldn't have thought you tell them that so openly! :p

[S M H]

The percentage of GDP spent is utterly irrelevant

The gerrymandering of the defence spending by our political masters to spend the set percentage of GDP. Make any claim about it caveated with being economical with the truth. The government should be honest and say this is our security requirement. But with other more politically important priority we are only spending this much on defence not adding other budgets to make out we are spending more.

[Aethulwulf]

In the Sun today, Army chiefs and wounded war heroes deliver damning letter to PM demanding she save forces from cuts.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3522766/a ... from-cuts/

[dmereifield]

In the Sun today, Army chiefs and wounded war heroes deliver damning letter to PM demanding she save forces from cuts.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3522766/a ... from-cuts/

Will it make a difference? Feels like it will fall on deaf ears again....especially now that the MoD can point to Nato praise today....

[shark bait]

Thought I had better jump threads

They are saying they don't want to same excuse of meeting 2% and says that it is so due to creative accounting.

Its quite clear now it is creative accountancy. I say lets so some more creative accountancy and prop up the budget with 20% out of the aid budget instead.

I'd rather they just allocated proper budgets in the first place, but HMG like to brag about meeting 0.7% aid, which may be an extra bargaining chips soon, so lets keep it at 0.7% and siphon some off for MOD air and sea lift.

[dmereifield]

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3557014/a ... tries/amp/

Rumours of changes to the aid budget spending to be used to support defence. Seems like it will not come for free, the forces will have to take on even more responsibilities in delivering aid, apparently...

[LordJim]

Well that the funding for the RFA, Helicopters, the remaining A400s and MRV(P) sorted out then.

[dmereifield]

Well that the funding for the RFA, Helicopters, the remaining A400s and MRV(P) sorted out then.

Let's wait for the details, not going to get too excited about it making a material difference just yet. I've no confidence in this lot when it comes to defence...

[shark bait]

As long as they don't start counting the same numbers twice "raking off some of the ballooning overseas aid budget" is a good idea.

Scrape of 20% off the aid budget (£2.5B), and use it to prop up some of the logistics units, they can either be called upon to deliver supplies to civilians or troops.

[dmereifield]

According to the rolling updates from the been:

"The DUP are also keen to see increases in defence spending and want to see Northern Irish companies benefit from extra investment.
The party have long campaigned for defence spending to be set at 2% of GDP and increased budgets for the Army, Navy and Air Force have been raised in the discussions with Number 10"

Fingers crossed....

[ArmChairCivvy]

The DUP [...] want to see Northern Irish companies benefit from extra investment.

Right, missiles are already on the menu. Ships next?

[marktigger]

ships from where H&W closed years ago.

Aircraft from Bombardier?
Plant from Caterpillar

Yeap missiles and what else do Thales produce in NI shorts used to produce the Skeet target drone.

[abc123]

According to the rolling updates from the been:

"The DUP are also keen to see increases in defence spending and want to see Northern Irish companies benefit from extra investment.
The party have long campaigned for defence spending to be set at 2% of GDP and increased budgets for the Army, Navy and Air Force have been raised in the discussions with Number 10"

Fingers crossed....

I'm a Catholic, but I support this DUP proposal wholeheartedly...