During the bloodbaths of the First World War, German generals were said to have observed that the British Army were ‘lions led by donkeys’.
The implication was that young infantrymen shivering in the trenches were governed by moustachioed incompetents who thought nothing of sending them into futile battles where they faced near certain death.
Harsh as it may seem, it was hard not to think of that exchange last week while watching Keir Starmer casually announce plans to send British troops to Ukraine should any peace deal with Russia materialise.
For years, I have argued that successive Conservative and Labour governments were spending nowhere near enough on defence to meet the perilous challenges we face in the world.
You hardly need to be a military commander to recognise the situation inside the Ministry of Defence is truly bleak. Troop numbers are down, morale is low, our equipment is in a shoddy state. Government procurement – particularly the billions wasted by Labour and the Tories and the Lib Dems on the useless Ajax armoured vehicle – remains a national embarrassment.
Meanwhile, we learned last week that a recent MoD assessment shows Britain is facing a £28billion defence funding shortfall over the next four years. At a time when China is attempting to infiltrate us at every turn and Russian submarines lurk menacingly beneath our waters, this is nothing short of terrifying.
The Prime Minister and his Chancellor repeatedly argue that the Government has committed to raising defence spending to 3 per cent by 2035. But that’s a decade away. Just look at what’s happening in the world. We need to get a move on, pronto.
We could soon be embroiled in operations in Iran and are being drawn closer towards conflict with Putin, yet thanks to spineless Starmer failing to properly fund our Armed Forces, we are now military pygmies on the international stage.
Nigel Farage argues that successive Conservative and Labour governments ‘were spending nowhere near enough on defence to meet the perilous challenges we face in the world’
Military chiefs are having to decide what projects to axe – what vital kit to scrap – in order to keep within their budget, according to Mr Farage
Rather than lavishing billions on benefits, Rachel Reeves should be handing that money to the military top brass to boost recruitment and invest in state of the art equipment, such as drones, fit for modern combat.
Instead, military chiefs are having to decide what projects to axe – what vital kit to scrap – in order to keep within their budget. It beggars belief.
Yet judging by his reckless announcement last week, Sir Keir and his bumbling platoon of no–hopers and non–entities remain under the delusion that we are somehow shipshape and ready for battle. Have these collective donkeys learned nothing from the previous Labour government’s disastrous foray into Iraq?
During that humiliating debacle, the MoD sent troops into battle woefully underprepared. Basic kit such as desert boots, T–shirts, and uniforms were delayed or insufficient for the harsh conditions.
Shamefully, many of our brave men and women had to request their families back home procure body armour for them due to a lack of basic protective gear. Seventeen years after leaving Iraq, it remains clear the Army still possesses neither the manpower nor the supplies required for a long–term operation.
Which is why I will be voting against going into any operation that clearly has no end point.
Because, frankly, the thought of our Armed Forces in their current depleted state entering yet another forever conflict scares the life out of me.
After the war in Afghanistan, the International Security Assistance Force had 18 allied nations committed to keeping the peace, growing to 37, with a peak of about 140,000 soldiers stationed there.
We could soon be embroiled in operations in Iran and are being drawn closer towards conflict with Putin (file photo)
Yet last week, it transpired that Starmer and French president Macron can muster only 15,000 troops between them to face down the Red Army in Ukraine. It is, quite simply, an absurd plan.
A Reform government today would rapidly boost defence spending. By cutting waste and slashing the overseas aid budget, we would reach that 3 per cent figure by 2030.
You can be certain, too, that we will look after our troops.
There will be an immediate increase in basic pay for starters. It is outrageous that private soldiers who risk life and limb are paid less than Amazon workers.
Meanwhile, we’ll overhaul procurement and provide veterans with support. In particular, we’ll make sure they receive legal protection from the historic prosecution witch–hunt orchestrated by Sir Keir’s human rights lawyer friends.
Because our Armed Forces deserve better. Britain deserves better.
