This week’s actions by Iran in which their navy tried to abscond a British Tanker has led to a bit of political discussion regarding the deep cuts that the UK Armed Forces have endured thanks to Austerity. PM candidate Jeremy Hunt has come out and said there was “incredible menace” behind Iran’s actions in the Gulf, and that if he becomes prime minister he pledged to boost spending in this area to 2.5% of GDP by 2023-24.
HMS Dragon T45 Destroyer Commissioned 2012
Editorial credit: Peter Titmuss / Shutterstock.com
It will remain to be seen if this actually comes to fruition, however, given the desire to build stronger relations with the US in a post-Brexit world maintaining the level of defence spending is vital given the NATO pledges which few countries outside of the US adhere to. According to the UK parliamentary briefing paper, CBP 8175, from 8 November 2018 – UK spending in the area has fallen in actual terms from £40.2Bn in 2009-10 to £36.9bn in 2017-18 in real terms the fall is worse real terms as the 2009-10 figure inflation-adjusted would be down from £45.9Bn!
