It’s official: Philip Hammond is the new Defence Secretary and it’s a wise choice.
The tough work: making the cuts, axing Nimrod, leaving the east coast undefended etc.: has been done. I doubt Cameron would have been able to get that little lot past his party as easily had it not
been done by Liam Fox.
Now, the task is implementation. It requires mastery of detail and a sharp eye for financial irregularities, and Philip Hammond is the man for that. As Osborne’s number two in Opposition, he will, like Des Browne, approach defence from the perspective of fiscal management. The future of Trident is less assured: Hammond will not threaten to quit over its abolition (as Fox quietly did in Opposition). And I’m not sure if Hammond would lobby as hard for an MoD budget increase after 2015: something that would have to start in 2012.
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