Is Britain’s growing national debt a matter of national security? In a speech this morning, Liam Fox said so. Sure, he said, you can protest at the defence cuts — but strength comes from having a strong economy and strong national accounts.
“Those who are arguing for a fundamental reassessment of the Defence Review are really arguing for increased defence pending. But they fail to spell out the inevitable result — more borrowing, more tax rises, or more cuts elsewhere. The bottom line is that a strong economy is a national security requirement and an affordable Defence programme is the only responsible way to support our Armed Forces in the long term.”
In a unusually economics-orientated speech, Fox laid out his theory about deficits and military power:
“As a result of the First World War in the 1920s and 30s, Britain’s national debt was regularly over 150% of GDP.
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