Just a quick question

1984ReturnsForReal_2

Can all those who were supporting the early scrapping of our Aircraft Carrier & abandonment of our Harriers to the junk yard please confirm whether they are still happy with these budget cuts now that it is getting rather unstable around North Africa & The Middle East?


I would simply liked to know if these recent events have perhaps altered your perception to perhaps include the need to be ready & able & all that. Rather than not ready, not able & not for another 10 years.

Thank you in advance for you co-operation.

Scoortblooche

Hello. And Bye.

wymondham

I have no issues with things being scrapped if thats what is needed (I have no idea!). BUT, we then cannot continue as the saviour of wars and get involved continually in overseas conflicts. If our forces are stripped of their capacity then there must come a time when we have to pull back and be a defensive force only.

When is it we will be renting the french aircraft carrier etc? or are we just on time-share?

AD9898_2

Let's not forget, the budget cuts, austerity, economy teetering on recession again, massive deficit etc... is pretty much down to one thing......The housing bubble of 2000-07.

People seemed to think that you can make money for nothing, our current situation proves everything has a cost.

To everyone who has owned a house since at least 2000, take a look at what it was worth in 2000 and what it is worth today, then take a look around at our country today, then ask yourself this question, 'was it worth it ?'.

Mallotum_X

Let someone else be the worlds policeman.

Have we got suffeient power to defend our selves from the threats we face. Not sure a conventional army/navy is much use against the terrorist threats we seem to be more likely to suffer from. Is anyone suggesting Libya is going to invade us, in which case what threat do we face from the current troubles?

Loughton_Monkey

Who needs aircraft carriers when we have the 'Big Society'.

Any hint of a threat from "The Colonel" will be met robustly by teams of volunteers, in places like Warmington-on-Sea. Whilst I write, there is a Captain Mainwaring forming a defense unit which will have any potential invader quaking in their boots.

So what are you worried about?

You stupid boy!

1984ReturnsForReal_2

Loughton_Monkey wrote: »

Who needs aircraft carriers when we have the 'Big Society'.

Any hint of a threat from "The Colonel" will be met robustly by teams of volunteers, in places like Warmington-on-Sea. Whilst I write, there is a Captain Mainwaring forming a defense unit which will have any potential invader quaking in their boots.

So what are you worried about?

You stupid boy!

Now there was me thinking one of them big ships with a load of helicopters on them & a few fighter jets for air support might be a good thing to have around.


Obviously I am completely wrong & the extraction of 200+ British citizens from the middle of a desert can be done with a toilet roll & double sided sticky tape.

I stand corrected.

FTBFun

1984ReturnsForReal wrote: »

Now there was me thinking one of them big ships with a load of helicopters on them & a few fighter jets for air support might be a good thing to have around.


Obviously I am completely wrong & the extraction of 200+ British citizens from the middle of a desert can be done with a toilet roll & double sided sticky tape.

I stand corrected.

We still have HMS Ocean for the helicopters bit.

I guess if push comes to shove we could fly Typhoons from Malta for air support.

EDIT: Unfortunately nothing changes regarding politicians' shortsightedness on defence matters. The previous Ark Royal was scrapped only a couple of years before the Falklands.

[Deleted User]

AD9898 wrote: »

Let's not forget, the budget cuts, austerity, economy teetering on recession again, massive deficit etc... is pretty much down to one thing......The housing bubble of 2000-07.

People seemed to think that you can make money for nothing, our current situation proves everything has a cost.

To everyone who has owned a house since at least 2000, take a look at what it was worth in 2000 and what it is worth today, then take a look around at our country today, then ask yourself this question, 'was it worth it ?'.

It isn't all down to a housing bubble though.
It was a credit bubble, of which a large part was spent on housing among other things.
The most reckless behaviour of the banks was in the USA. Banks based here and in the rest of the world were effected and brought the problem to their own countries through the interconnected nature of the banking system.

Initially not even the banks knew what exposure they had, making credit conditions worse. So the governments all around the world had to take action as a systemic failure would have caused catastrophic (and before anyone says it, we are not in that situation) problems.

The reduced lending and cost of loans and fees to businesses, especially SMEs which make up a major part of our economy, had the least protection when compared to big business and individuals. So they bore the brunt of it. This impact to the economy was partly mitigated by a massive drop in interest rates. The side effect being inflation.

The bailing out of the banks has left the country with massive debts and we are facing a budget deficit partly due to the decreased tax incomes thanks to the effect of the above on the economy.

The question is what would you have done differently?

If we regulated the banks more heavily they would have gone elsewhere and we would have still suffered in the end just not had what tax they pay (not enough) in the meantime.

If there is a global boom of course we are in competition to be a part of it. From that point of view we should be grateful it lasted so long.

All the political parties would have done the same. There are only two that stood a chance of election and, IIRC, the Conservatives spent a great deal of time accusing Labour of stealing their policies.

The way I see it is there would have to be a world wide concerted effort to regulate the banks to a similar level in all countries. The fact that all countries are in competition with each other means this will never happen unfortunately. In fact the reverse seems to be happening, the banks are getting away with paying less and less tax, higher bonuses, increasing their fees especially on SMEs and they are the majority financial contributors to political parties that we need to police them as best they can.

It has happened many times before and it will happen in the future. The only thing your average guy on the street can do is try and make the most of it, which to many included buying or investing in property.

1984ReturnsForReal_2

Mallotum_X wrote: »

Let someone else be the worlds policeman.

Have we got suffeient power to defend our selves from the threats we face. Not sure a conventional army/navy is much use against the terrorist threats we seem to be more likely to suffer from. Is anyone suggesting Libya is going to invade us, in which case what threat do we face from the current troubles?

Please refer to the above.

And obviously no longer go abroad for business &/or pleasure.

1984ReturnsForReal_2

FTBFun wrote: »

We still have HMS Ocean for the helicopters bit.

I guess if push comes to shove we could fly Typhoons from Malta for air support.

I suppose you are right (accidentally correct due to this particular location) perhaps next time it will be out of range but at least you understand the point.