The Conservatives were always against the idea of a 'European Army', they now seem to be against having a Royal Navy. The latest plan is to reduce our 6,400-strong Royal Marines by over 10% and scrap the navy's only pair of amphibious assault ships. Another plan is to cut the British Army from 82,000 to 65,000 (a 20% cut). Given they can't recruit soldiers to fill the current places, this may be forced on them anyway.
Meanwhile our entire fleet of destroyers is becalmed in Portsmouth due to technical problems with their engines and a lack of sailors. These ships are only eight years old, but are not able to operate reliably in the Middle East because the seawater there is too warm for the engines. HMS Diamond had to limp back to port due to a propeller problem, leaving not a single RN ship in the Gulf. We can't even send a frigate as not one of the thirteen we have is ready for deployment.
Overall the MoD will have a £20 billion hole in its budget over the next decade while the cost of maintaining our defence forces keeps going up, President Trump is talking about quitting Europe and NATO, and Russia under Putin and China under Xi Jinping are both expansionist, moving armed forces into neighbouring territories and threatening further incursions.
Not the best time to cut loose from our allies then.
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