The Tories’ Invitation to join the Government was never going to dwell on defence.
(You can listen to the brief chapter on defence here.) But that doesn’t mean defence isn’t an election
issue. It is, and it’s one that the Tories will win.
Brown’s defence record is abysmal even by his standards. Former service chiefs have described how Brown ‘guillotined’ defence budgets whilst fighting two wars, and field commanders in Afghanistan have made constant reference to equipment shortages. These accusations were corroborated by facts that Brown then tried to distort before a public inquiry.
That’s not all. As Alex notes, buried in Labour’s manifesto, is an admission that the Defence Spending Review (conveniently delayed until after the election) will equip the armed forces for the 21st Century. This implies that the 1998 Strategic Defence Review failed to equip British forces for the 21st Century, bequeathing a legacy of sacrifices lives and wasted money.
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