Al Carns powerfull speech

[soulman101]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBWQnrHYwKI

[Omegstrat6]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBWQnrHYwKI

Indeed, a very good speech Soulman and difficult to disagree with him- though I think there are nuances and complexities to some of the things he talks about. Losing both Carns and Healey will be a blow to Labour and surely a further indication of Starmer's inability to read the room.

Given his back ground and the position he held before resigning, it is hardly surprising that Carns focused on the importance of the armed services (rather than, for example, health services) but I don't think that he is wrong when he says that all the various strands that concern people-defence security, jobs, growth, border control, opportunities, cost of living, a sense of national unity (and he could have mentioned healthcare, education and housing too)-are inter-connected.

The bottom line is that there are no easy answers to the raft of issues this country faces but the sooner Labour realise that it is impossible to please everyone and that certain things will have to suffer degrees of sacrifice in order to focus on the key priorities the better. Less procrastination and more decisiveness (or as Elvis sang, "a little less conversation, a little more action"&#128513 please. I'm sure most people are still not clear what Labour's priorities are or what they stand for.

My personal belief is that upping defence spending should be one of those key priorities and it isn't something we can afford to think that we can slowly ramp up over the coming decade-the threat is real and it needs addressing now, not later.

Investment in our armed forces should not only increase our national security but should also create jobs, whether that be more jobs in uniform or jobs in manufacturing the hardware needed. Yes, we still need to keep up with technology and will need to continue to partner with our allies in developing hardware across all the services as well as investing in IT to keep abreast of cyber attacks. We will also need to ensure that we have x amount of high spec 5th Gen fighter aircraft but, as Carns points out, we equally need to focus on lower tech drones and the production of them in volume.

We paid Lockheed and the US a small fortune for our F35s and much of their maintenance and upgrades are continuing costs which benefit them. The mass manufacture of drones, on the other hand, can surely be done in the UK and create jobs here rather than be procured from abroad.

Carns is surely spot on when he talks of the changing nature of warfare and that the lessons from Ukraine need to be learnt quickly. Merely spending money in itself is not enough, it needs to be spent wisely (as previously woeful MOD procurement processes have demonstrated)