The United Kingdom is a frontline nation already in conflict with Russia at sea, in the air and in cyberspace, and the government must wake up to that reality in the wake of John Healey’s resignation as Defence Secretary, Labour MP Graeme Downie has said.

Downie, the MP for Dunfermline and Dollar, gave the comment to the UK Defence Journal on Thursday after Healey quit the Cabinet over the funding settlement behind the Defence Investment Plan, which the outgoing Defence Secretary said fell well short of what the country requires at a dangerous time.

“The British people must be informed of the scale of the imminent threats we are facing,” Downie said. “The UK is a frontline nation already in a conflict with Russia at sea, in the air and in cyberspace.” It was time, he said, that government “woke up to that reality as well”, confronting the difficult decisions needed to “increase our capabilities immediately”, with a plan to fund them properly for the long term, “not by the kind of last minute rushed decisions we have seen reported in recent days.”

The Dunfermline and Dollar MP paid tribute to the outgoing Defence Secretary while delivering an unvarnished verdict on the plan he resigned over. Healey, he said, had “worked incredibly hard to support our service personnel” and the armed forces more widely, “but the DIP has clearly not been fit for purpose”, leading to the United Kingdom “falling behind our allies on progress and losing global leadership.” The top of government, he added, “has taken too long to sort this out.”

“I am very sad to see John leave government,” Downie said, “and I hope we now finally see a recognition of the grave times we are living in and finally take the action necessary to protect our country.”

The intervention is an early signal of how Healey’s departure is likely to play on the Labour benches, with the criticism of the Defence Investment Plan coming not from the opposition but from a government MP. Healey resigned on Thursday after being shown the full financial settlement behind the plan on Monday afternoon, writing to the Prime Minister that the money was backloaded, would reach just 2.68 per cent of GDP by 2030, and would force decisions that “could make the country less safe.”

Downing Street has yet to name a successor, with the Defence Investment Plan due to have been published before the NATO summit.

George Allison
George Allison
George Allison is the founder and editor of the UK Defence Journal. He holds a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and specialises in naval and cyber security topics. George has appeared on national radio and television to provide commentary on defence and security issues. Twitter: @geoallison
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146 COMMENTS

  1. Will be interesting to see how the remaining Minsters of State and Parliamentary Under-Secretaries at the MoD…
    Luke Pollard
    Lord Coaker
    Louise Sandher-Jones
    Al Carns

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          • We’re Does DIP Go from here..?
            Difficult to See it Moving on in its ( We Assume !) Current Form. Basically Political Suicide…!
            PM has Now ignored the Advise of the…Security Services!, The Military!
            Two Goverment Ministers!..
            Lord Robinson!..
            The Defence Committee!..
            And Even His Own Assessment!..
            Not Sure if He Knows Himself What he’s Going to do Next…????
            Doubtless Replacements Will be Found but their Authority Will Now be Very Limited…!
            Meanwhile the Damage to our Image to Alllies Both inside And Outside NATO is Truely Massive And Incalculable…!
            Papering Over this Crack ..Maybe a Crack to Far..!

        • You have to watch his Sky interview just prior, very much prepping the ground knowing he had already made the decision 👍

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                • Mate did you watch Al Cairns Sky news interview prior to resigning, very smooth, cool, calm and knowledgeable. I was having doubts about him over the last 12 months but he even raised the NI legacy act as an issue! 👍

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                  • Ok, just watched it.
                    Spoke very well indeed. Well well.
                    He says not enough Drones in DIP, that’s interesting. 🤔

    • Jones is ex Int Corps I think. But not of Carns standing as of yet.
      We need someone with gravitas. Any of those in the Labour Cabinet?

      • DM,
        HMG could probably do worse than appoint a career RM w/ SF experience to lead MoD. A lot worse, and don’t have even a clue re his political philosophy.

        • Agreed mate.
          He’s also hinting he might resign, depending on the government’s reaction and the eventual DIP.

    • It’s since transpired that Healey told them not to resign, so as not to throw the MoD into any greater chaos.

    • I suppose they decided if also falling on their swords will move the dial or if keeping the train on the tracks is more important..

      I suspect one of the seniors will take the shit stick of having to continue and the rest may go..

    • Reportedly Healey told them to stay in post to keep things running.

      Which is as eminently sensible and careful as Healey has usually been.

  2. Well said Graeme. The DIP has not been fit for purpose, the entire strategic defence review instituted by Starmer and Robertson has been a total nonsense.

    Remember we are supposing to be having missile launchers on the deck of the Queen Elizabeth class shortly according to Robertson’s review.

    The entire exercise has been a national embarrassment carried out by well meaning idiots. I include in that all three authors as well as the Prime minister who commissioned it.

    The strategic defence review should never have been two documents.

    • It’s always two documents, by my understanding.
      The headline grabber when the spin is broadcast for maximum effect.
      Then the White Paper with the grubby details which most miss.
      The 97 SDSR was no different, that wasn’t funded either, yet was seen as “good.”

    • We’re indeed Does this Leave DIP..?..
      Effectively Rejected by the Armed Forces With Just a few Weeks to Go.!.!! AS Not good Enough..!
      PM STARMER (Not for the First Time) Out on a Limb.!..
      But this Time he Has the Whole Defence of The Realm Sword on his Neck.! (On your Head be it Mate…!!)
      Rather Doubt if Any of Our Allies Inside NATO Or Outside are that Impressed Either..!
      Personally Claimed Were in Serious Danger and then Basically Ignoring Security Agencies, The Military, A Respectsd Defence Secretary, Defence Committee’s And Lord Robinsons Advise is Not Very Bright, Indeed i Would Say Very Very Stupid And Dangerous….!
      Wallpaper the Cracks on this PM….????
      Perhaps the KING Needs an Intervention Moment….???

    • SITREP re HMG: While sailing in harm’s way, the valiant ship and crew of HMS Clusterflock have been torpedoed w/ a full spread of HWT below the water line and beneath the keel, despite being fully locked and loaded at Action Stations. Initial reports indicate damage control party efforts have been totally ineffective, the ship is listing heavily to port (left 😉) and the Cap’n is about to order “Abandon Ship.” SAR is already inbound to rescue any MP crew members fortunate enough to survive political Sea State 8 or 9 conditions (reports differ) and ravenous, MP-eating, shark infested waters. Ironically, all Consrvative, Lib Dem, Reform, etc., crew members have apparently found space available in the life rafts, undoubtedly will be rescued, and will return to duty ASAP. Unfortunately, virtually all Labour MP crew members will probably perish in the unforgiving political seas and the bodies will never be recovered for conventional burial. A memorial burial at sea service for the valiant, if unfortunate, Labour crew members will be scheduled in due course. That is all. 🤔😉

  4. Suddenly defence of Great Britain is making the type of headlines that should have been occupying Parliament through out the Mandelson furory. Maybe now the Labour Party can join ranks and put the DIP mess to bed in short order. A one-year cessation of government spending in education, transport and civil programmes could be one way to inject urgent money into defence backed up with a public awareness campaign in the press and media that clearly explains the necessity to make industrial investments in defence. The Treasury should be given firm guidance on where the focus on our forces is required and be given the green light to proceed. Once the one-year spending moratorium is completed, a valuation period should follow before normal budget allocations are reinstated.

    • I’m sorry? I’m all for spending more on defence, but stopping all funding of education, transport, etc? If that were to happen we wouldn’t need to be invaded by Russia, we will have already crumbled.

      • No, we’re just going to close all schools, hospitals etc for a year.

        With all the crazy children running around, no-one will want to invade us!

      • What you are failing to grasp is the dire situation the UK is in. Holding new investment in education, transport and energy for twelve months will not bring the country to its knees, but the money saved will initiate programmes that would otherwise be delayed or cancelled. Many UK businesses are desperate for government investment in defence.
        Some military analysts believe a direct conflict with Russia is possible within the next four years, as it might head south and not the Baltic states. Such a move will ultimately bring Turkey into direct conflict and destabilise that whole region. The RN must be better placed by then to contribute seriously to NATO surface and submarine operations.

  5. Starmer said yesterday that anyone in his cabinet that supports Burnham might exit, the next day the Def sec leaves quoting undisclosed dip expenditure, after months and months of discussing it. Coincidence me think not

    • If the DIP committed the level of funding that the armed forces need and that the PM had previously committed to achieving within this parliament then there would be no grounds to justify his resignation. But it doesn’t. Ultimately the blame lies with Starmer for pursuing (yet another) logically nonsensical outcome.

      • Exactly. The Defence review wasn’t worth the paper it was written on, they never are.
        Robertson lambasted the government himself the other week.
        All a sham, to make headlines then months later those who follow matters see the actual nitty gritty.
        Charlatans, as I keep saying.
        I now honourably exclude John Healey from that, he did not act like Postumus, he fell on his sword.

  6. The DIP problem in a nutshell:

    ‘Ed Miliband is resisting pressure from Sir Keir Starmer to cut his Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s capital budget by at least 1%, which could redirect over £600m to defence. The Prime Minister’s team is reportedly eyeing deeper cuts to net zero spending, including £9bn for carbon capture, to help finance the Defence Investment Plan (DIP). Miliband’s stance is seen as undermining the defence funding effort’

    As someone remarked, what is the point of energy ‘security’ from renewables if you cannot defend renewable energy sites?

    It is kicking off again in the Gulf big time, the war in Ukraine shows no sign of abating and Britain is footling around behind the sofa in an attempt to fund yet more dotty windmills…

    • Indeed. If the entire budget allocated to Miliband’s decarbonisation obsession was reallocated to defence then we would be able to fund our forces reasonably well without having to make any meaningful cuts to public service provision or raise taxes. But we can’t do that because it would be sensible.

      • We also now have 550,000+ civil servants doing the jobs of 380,000 as recently as 2019.

        And we know that this government is only interested in finding more ways to tax the country in order to fund yet further increases in welfare spending.

        No wonder the entire country is disappointed and upset (at best).

        • A lot more civil servants because of Brexit. People forget how much work the EU did on our behalf that had to be done instead by us independently. Such as trade deals, etc. People that voted for Brexit are responsible for the mess we are in.

          • Independent analysis has put the long term damage at anywhere between 6 and 12% of our GDP, imagine that money flowing into the NHS and defence

            • I notice that you do not indicate the source of the ‘independent’ analysis.

              The rise in numbers of the civil service has nothing to do with ‘brexit’ and everything to do with public sector obstructionism.

              ‘…the big thinkers who decided policy and proposed legislation were different sorts of people from the effective managers needed to deliver them.

              The civil service hated this “Next Steps” reform and devised all kinds of ways to frustrate it…

              As at 31st March 2020, government was admitting to 295 “Arm’s Length Bodies”: 38 executive agencies, 237 non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs or quangos) and 20 non-ministerial departments. There are many more…

              NDPBs are a cunning civil servant ruse for getting things done without taking the blame…

              We do not know how many civil servants, or government staff, there are because the sources, such the Office of National Statistics, Cabinet Office, departmental payrolls and annual reports, all provide different numbers. If the Ibbs principles were followed, staffing would be aligned with policies and objectives, their effectiveness would increase, and personnel management and efficiency would improve. It is odd, to say the least, that, in the 35 years since they were approved, they have not been implemented…

              We need a Prime Minister who recognises the problem and has the strength to implement Ibbs in full. The government will be the better for it: more focused, efficient, accountable and effective. The way to achieve that is to break the civil service out of its comfort zone and set tough targets for departmental headcounts – maybe a 50% reduction overall. That is not achievable overnight – the pain and cost would be too high but recognising that it is achievable over time would set the government on the right path.’

              The Institute for Government

            • I’m convinced brexit is responsible for the lack of stems of Rhubarb on the allotment as well. As soon as we see a problem – even coming over the horizon, someone has to blame brexit.

          • Blaming those who voted to leave directly for the increase in Civil Servants. Now I’ve heard it all- disenguous twaddle.

            • It’s 100% linked and what all the experts said would happen. So yes it’s their responsibility. They might have been lied to by the media but ultimately on them for not thinking it through, which wasn’t complicated

              • Who had to write all the new laws replacing EU ones. Who had to negotiate all the trade deals globally. Who had to put controls on goods coming into the country as no longer done at port of entrance into the EU. Etc etc. all that requires civil servants, hence the surge. Instead of sharing them with the other EU members we had to create posts of our own

              • Again, no mention of who the ‘experts’ are.

                Leaving the European Union is a long term strategic change of direction for Britain which can only properly be assessed over the next half century. Given the current state of EU members economies, the omens are propitious.

                It has nothing to do with the current bloated state of Whitehall as the Insitute of Directors points out above.

                • Do a basic Google search, there are a load of independent economists that have reported on it, including a load of world leading economists and the world bank. The list would be huge if you listed them all

                • If we had in the Region of £25bn per Year to Pay to the EU And Also Able to Reduce the Deficit from +5% to 3% increases per Year to Conform to EU Rules..?
                  Perhaps we Could Return to the EU…!!!
                  Financially Thats Not Going to Happen..!!!!!
                  However Perhaps that’s were our Defence Money is Going to go to…???
                  All adds up to About £65bn…!

            • unfortunately we ended up having to re-write/amended laws and and draw up our standards. UKCA being a good example

          • “A lot more civil servants because of Brexit. People forget how much work the EU did on our behalf that had to be done instead by us independently”

            I wonder how other countries can be independent, some much smaller than UK…

            You really have no clue how things work in the Government.
            Please tell me how much the civil service reduced itself after UK went to Europe Union?

          • It’s a worry…and then the next fellah comes along threatening to make Miliband chancellor and to nationalise pretty much anything that moves…

            Democracy: the least worst form of government…

            • Yes but Socialist- Labour the worst form of Government and one which in the day of Social media wont last very long as we are seeing already. They say 2017-2028 will be crunch time.

      • Yes
        I have disliked that man ever since he stabbed his brother David in the back in a leadership campaign
        His zealotry over energy is baffling whilst harming the UK especially Aberdeen We just have to import oil and LNG and less tax revenue
        Net Zero (whilst desirable if on a level playing field) is closing our heavy industry down as our energy costing up to 4 times or more than our competitors reducing tax revenues
        Please don’t get me going on DRAX power which is subsidised and imports wood pellets from Canada and is not actually green and efficient power

        John Healey who was one of the few cabinet ministers who was

    • About -bloody- time Milliband was bought to book. He is naught but a seditious Marxists and Net Zero-or more specifically its timelines -will do nothing but continue to cause harm to the UK and its economy. I hope Starmer cuts the climate zealots budget and gives it to defence , then , with any luck, he too will resign so at least something good comes out of this debacle. I do not ,however, hold much hope of this happening as we all know Starmer doesnt run the Labour Party, the unions do , and they love good ol’ Mad Ed Milliband.

    • If it weren’t for those “dotty windmills” we’d be paying even more for our electricity.

      Maybe ending the £17billion annual subsidy to the fossil fuel industry might be a good place to get funding for defence?

      • 40% of the price of electricity derives from subsidies to renewables. As you and those like you have constantly remarked, fossil fuel prices are dictated by regional markets. But they go down as well as up, unlike our electricity prices.

        And what is the point of having massive and vulnerable renewable energy sites if it means that we cannot afford to defend them?

        Furthermore: ‘It’s now 20 years since the publication of the ‘Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change‘ in 2006: a review commissioned by Gordon Brown, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, in a Labour government led by Prime Minister Tony Blair. This review began the UK-drive towards the crazy carbon-phobic policies which are helping to impoverish the nation, aided by unrealistic scenarios. There is some irony that Blair is now calling for the abandonment of Net Zero…The scary scenario outlined by Stern’s review was based on the ‘Special Report on Emissions Scenarios’ (SRES) strong A2 pathway, which morphed into the RCP8.5.’

        ‘…the most extreme climate scenarios have now been officially put out to pasture…The scenarios — specifically, RCP8.5…were quietly retired last month by the international committee responsible for developing a new basket of official scenarios. It cannot be overstated how significant this change is — the now-obsolete extreme scenarios underpin the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), tens of thousands of research papers, government policy and regulation around the world, financial standards for the world’s banks, along with much of the media coverage of climate change, from which most people learn about climate science and policy.’

        There is no climate scenario that supports a rush to net zero by 2050.

        There are plausible scenarios where Rusdian aggression triggers NATO Article 5.

        That is why the Defence Secretary has resigned.

        • Yeah, yeah, yeah.

          Everyone here knows you’re the resident fossil-fuel industry troll, introducing the debate in renewables into every conversation possible (regardless of how tangential) and spreading disinformation about climate-change.

          £17billuon annual subsidy to the fossil-fuel industry. Fact.

          • Yet another utterly pointless atmospheric and unevidenced assertion.

            The refusal of Miliband to give up on a ‘net zero’ now lacking even the hyperbolic climate scenario (RCP8.5) on which it was based (you didn’t even know that, did you? You don’t even know what RCP8.5 is, do you?) is precisely why the Defence Secretary has resigned, the subject of this article.

            Why not try to keep up or at least make some kind of useful contribution, even if it’s only to shout ‘Happy Christmas!’

            • Hilarious that you’re doing the same misrepresentation that Trump did about climate-change. You’re using the fact that reducing fossil fuel use has reduce the anticipated impact of climate-change for arguing there’s no such thing 🤣
              I bet you don’t even realise how ridiculous you sound.

              Oh that £17billion. I can provide a reference to support my claims, something you can’t.
              globaljustice.org.uk/resource/fossil-fuel-subsidies-in-the-uk-who-pays-who-profits/

              • ‘Global Justice’ is not a scientific reference.

                Alternative opinions are available:

                ‘If we are generous to those who claim we subsidise fossil fuels, we could note that in 2022 there was about £24.6bn of one-off indirect subsidies. However, these schemes are now no longer in operation.

                On the tax side of the ledger, we have £9.8bn in producer taxes, £31.5bn of direct consumer taxes and a further £8.5bn in indirect consumer taxes, plus an unknown amount of VAT. Even in an exceptional year when the various energy bill support schemes were in place, taxes exceeded the alleged subsidies by a wide margin.

                Now the energy crisis has subsided we are left with just £200m of indirect subsidy to help the elderly and most vulnerable with their energy bills offset by close to £50bn of direct and indirect taxes’

                ‘Busting the fossil fuel subsidy myth’ David Turver

                Regarding RCP8.5, you are missing the point…again…

                The whole dotty ‘net zero’ drive is based on RCP8.5, now discarded as implausible.

                And all the nutters are still using it:

                ‘the UK Met Office have brazenly used RCP8.5 to flam up weather predictions which in turn has led to onerous requirements being placed on British industry and finance.

                In fact, the Met Office made a feature of its deliberate use of RCP8.5, highlighting its findings in bold type and describing them as “plausible”.

                So far in 2026, more than 2,600 studies have been published using the high emission scenarios, and tens of thousands before that.

                Energy companies are going to be forced to build flood defences and more elaborate cooling systems, to guard against a fantasy scenario’

                And that is why the Defence Secretary has resigned…because a bunch of lunatics are running the country.

                • A wanker on a defence website claiming climate-change doesn’t exist isn’t a scientific reference either.

                  No doubt you’ll say the Nobel Prize Committee isn’t a “scientific reference” either
                  nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2021/summary/

                  • In a spirit of helpfulness: whatever harmful chemicals you are ingesting are doing you no good…you know the rest.

                    You have missed the point…again…

                    Of course the climate is changing. It always has, always will:

                    ‘One of the most striking features of Earth’s climate history is its rhythmic natural structure. Throughout the Holocene, we observe:

                    multidecadal oscillations (~60 years),
                    centennial fluctuations,
                    millennial‑scale cycles such as the Eddy cycle,
                    and the Hallstatt–Bray cycle.
                    These patterns appear in ice cores, marine sediments, tree rings, and historical documents. They also correlate with solar and astronomical proxies. These cycles are not speculative; they are among the most robust features of paleoclimate research.

                    Yet current GCMs do not reproduce these oscillations with the correct amplitude or timing.

                    This is not a minor detail. If models cannot capture the natural background variability of the climate system, then attribution regarding the global warming from 1850–1900 to the present becomes inherently uncertain, because any unmodeled natural contribution to the warming (for example due to solar activity increase during the same period) necessarily reduces the fraction of warming that can be confidently assigned to anthropogenic forcings. And if the anthropogenic contribution to past warming is smaller than assumed, then its contribution to future warming — and therefore the associated climate risk — must also be proportionally reduced.’
                    Nicola Scafetta March 2026

                    • Yes climate has always changed…
                      It’s just never changed as it has since the Industrial Revolution.

                      As usual with propaganda, a small sliver of truth in all your bullshit.

                    • Try and keep up

                      ‘CRU emails, however, reveal that the authors of this material did not present a neutral view of the science. In particular, they downplayed the considerable uncertainty inherent in trying to approximate temperatures from proxy data over a 1000-year period, they suppressed contrary information, and they suppressed dissenting views in ways that made even their own colleagues uncomfortable. Thus, in one representative email written during the preparation of the TAR, Keith Briffa stated that “I know there is pressure to present a nice tidy story as regards ‘apparent unprecedented warming in a thousand years or more in the proxy data’ but in reality the situation is not quite so simple.”[1] He went on to say that “I believe that the recent warmth was probably matched about 1000 years ago.”[2] Similarly, another key researcher, Ed Cook, in a lengthy email bristling at the effort to eliminate the MWP, wrote that “I do find the dismissal of the Medieval Warm Period as a meaningful global event to be grossly premature and probably wrong.”[3]

                      3. These concerns, however, were brushed aside in the final TAR. The TAR’s version of the temperature record of the last 1000 years was based on the now infamous “hockey stick” study of Mann et al., a study that purported to show 1000 years of slightly declining global temperatures followed by a sharp increase in the 20th century. The hockey stick paper concluded that the 1990s were the warmest decade and 1998 was the warmest year in a millennium. The hockey stick graph was the single most important piece of information in the TAR. It was Figure 1 of the Summary For Policymakers of the TAR appearing on page 3, and it was widely relied on by advocates.[4]

                      4. Despite its prominence in the TAR, the hockey stick has now largely been discredited, with both the National Research Council (“NRC”)[5] and the independent Wegman Report[6] rejecting confidence in the conclusion that the 1990s were the warmest decade and 1998 was the warmest year in a millennium. Although the hockey stick paper was cited in AR4, its significance was downplayed, and EPA did not cite the paper’

                  • “climate-change doesn’t exist”

                    Climate Change always existed. You cannot distinguish “natural” from “biological” one.

                    It is irrelevant what Nobel Committee says, talking is not science.
                    Science is Proof, Evidence following Scientific Method not “consensus”.

                    What made the Medieval Warm Period? No one knows. So how do you know what is going today?

                    • The big clue is that the climate is now changing faster than at any time in history.
                      And it all appears to have started since the start of the Industrial Revolution and accelerated since then.

                  • How has the Nobel prize winner’s climate model stood the test of time?:

                    ‘Manabe’s model was the first comprehensive GCM. He produced it at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) in Princeton NJ. The seminal papers were published in 1975 and 1980.

                    And, after many modifications and renditions, it is also the most incorrect of all the world’s GCMs at altitude over the vast tropics of the planet.

                    Getting the tropical temperatures right is critical.’

                    Patrick J. Michaels, Senior Fellow, energy and environment issues, The Competitive Enterprise Institute

          • Climate change is driven by urbanisation and population growth. Its not all about Fossil fuels is it? Cuttiing down jungles and modern farming, where hedges are removed, patios etc doesnt help either. When the British in Burma they realised the teak forests were disappearing, they replanted. Britain is insignificant in an 8.3 billion world. In 1950 it was 2.5 Billion.In 1970 3.7 Billion its all soooo surprising.

    • Personally, I’m not against DESNZ in principle. A number of the things it looks to do and the projects it supports are worthwhile long term, and provide investment in infrastructure and construction sectors now. Also, a number of these projects aren’t about ‘Energy Security’ in the context of green energy (not that I’m necessarily against that), but also about the resilience of our grid infrastructure- which in my view is a national security concern. So not all bad, is what I’m trying to say.
      That said, there are a number of white elephants that are receiving far more money than they should. Almost anything to do with hydrogen, for starters, and quite a lot of the carbon capture stuff as well. Savings/redistribution of critical cash could very easily be found there without any appreciable loss in practical Energy Security (or Net Zero, to be honest).

    • Oh!

      ‘One of the little commented-upon aspects of the 2020 post Brexit TCA [The EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement] negotiations was procurement. We knew we wanted out of the EU’s absurdly restrictive and complex rules.

      The Procurement Act, passed last year, aims to make it easier for past performance to be considered when contracts are issued…the new Procurement Act will “benefit suppliers of all sizes, particularly start-ups, scale-ups and small businesses”.

      ‘It is a post-Brexit reform that has slipped under the political radar because of its rather technical nature, but it’s an important first stage in getting better value for the £300billion+ Government spends every year.”

      ‘There were some extreme predictions ahead of the vote in June 2016. Xavier Rolet, then chief executive officer of the London Stock Exchange Group, at one point claimed more than 200,000 jobs would be at risk, while plenty of others put the figure at between 75,000 and 100,000. Instead, the number of jobs in finance and insurance in London has climbed steadily since a contraction following the global financial crisis of 2008, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. The sector has added more than 67,000 jobs in the capital since the end of 2016.’

    • We’re experiencing January weather in June after experiencing August weather in May and you’re arguing in favour of fossil fuels?

      Wondering what the weather’s like where you live..

      • There is a very old saying over here that if you don’t like the weather, all you have to do is hang around for 30 minutes and it will be different.

        Climate, just like the weather, is always changing, has always changed for millenia:

        ‘One of the most striking features of Earth’s climate history is its rhythmic natural structure. Throughout the Holocene, we observe:

        multidecadal oscillations (~60 years),
        centennial fluctuations,
        millennial‑scale cycles such as the Eddy cycle,
        and the Hallstatt–Bray cycle.

        These patterns appear in ice cores, marine sediments, tree rings, and historical documents. They also correlate with solar and astronomical proxies.

        These cycles are not speculative; they are among the most robust features of paleoclimate research.

        Yet current GCMs (climate models) do not reproduce these oscillations with the correct amplitude or timing.

        This is not a minor detail. If models cannot capture the natural background variability of the climate system, then attribution regarding the global warming from 1850–1900 to the present becomes inherently uncertain, because any unmodeled natural contribution to the warming (for example due to solar activity increase during the same period) necessarily reduces the fraction of warming that can be confidently assigned to anthropogenic forcings. And if the anthropogenic contribution to past warming is smaller than assumed, then its contribution to future warming — and therefore the associated climate risk — must also be proportionally reduced.”

        Nicolas Scafetta March 2026

  7. We sadly enter Zombie Government phase. Unfit for purpose in a very dangerous world. Government that proscribes a bunch of lefty Palestinian supporters. but fails to proscribe the IRGC. Obsessed with welfare, illegals and more control over the indigenous populations civil liberties. A bunch of failed lawyers, political flotsam and no hopers. One could go on of course but why point out the obvious?
    Putin of course is laughing, as I guess most other countries leaders are. I now ask myself, along with several veteran friends, “why did we bother”.
    I am no Trump fanboy, he is a total arse. However Vance, at times, talks pure common sense about the UK and Europe. All to look forward to? The total demise of the two party system in the UK.

  8. It wasn’t great under the Tories, but it’s a wonder what being in Opposition does to you when it comes to spending…

    I dunno what to say, but when Change means nothing and the “Biggest Defence Spending Increase” in years means moving some Intelligence Budgets from the Home Office and FCDO, to the MoD.

    Whilst we have money, being a G7 and a £2,000,000,000,000/annum GDP tax revenue. Defence is needed, we’ve underinvested in it for decades and we’ve played loose too long and this CapEx is needed for a few years to commit to new planes, new ships, new buildings, hell, new uniforms.

  10. Starmer is Russia and China’s best ally. He’s destroying the country and its defenses and must go now; he’s a traitor.

      • I don’t reply to you usually. Because you’re a numpty of the first order. Just calling folk fascist shows what you are. A troll.

      • You have little respect for anyone, and therefore you deserve no respect, and we shouldn’t tell you what you are. An ultra-leftist communist who worships a traitorous government and always prioritizes illegal immigrant criminals, you are an endophobe who hates his own people. You are disgusting. A traitor, just like your admired Mohamed Starmer.

        • I think you’ll find Spock is/was a Tory, and wants all illegals deported?
          He just opposes what he sees as extremists, which I don’t always agree with, as one man’s extremist isn’t necessarily another’s.
          But still….

        • I have respect for anyone who shows the intelligence to properly inform their opinions based upon facts rather than political slogans and slop they watch on social media.
          As Danielle confirms, I said many times I’ve predominantly voted Tory – some of us are old enough to remember the state the U.K. was in back in the 70s before Thatcher.
          I’m also a strong advocate for the enforcement of the law, and that includes the deporting of all illegal immigrants.

          But I understand that to a hysterical fanatic like yourself that classifies anyone you don’t agree with as a “traitor”, the nuance of my position must be incomprehensible. (That was probably badly worded, you probably don’t know what “nuance” means.)

          So whereas you’re obviously rabidly anti-Muslim, I’m simply anti-Islam. I don’t think Islam, Christianity, or any other religion should have special provision or exceptions under the law. But if someone is daft enough to believe in Islam then that’s their choice. You bang-on about illegals in the same breath, but be honest, you don’t want Muslims in the UK regardless of whether they are here illegally or not. In fact, you’re not really keen on anyone who isn’t white are you? But banging-on about a religion rather than race is good cover for your racist views.

          I’m also of the opinion that Starmer is a bumbling idiot. My biggest concern is that there are few Labour MPs that are any better (I went to school with one, and she was by far the thickest person in the class). But because I don’t think he’s a “traitor” you assume I admire him.

          Your view on the world is as mature as 3 year old throwing a temper tantrum. But hey, that would make you perfect for a role in the current Trump administration.

  11. It seems like the entire future of Britain’s armed forces and defence is at the mercy of a government that just doesn’t care about defending the nation. Everything is delay then cut back or cancel. You can’t blame the Tories for what Labour is doing (or rather not doing) now. When will they get it into their heads … it’s like 1938 again, but this time we don’t have a government committed to rearming.

    • Starmer still in la la land by the sounds of the spin being put out by No 10.
      “Biggest spending increases since Cold War”
      “Keep the country safe”
      Blah blah, keep deluding yourselves.
      Hopefully the nations woken up and these charlatans will be out shortly.

        • Anyone who can run a government and not make the UK a laughing stock with endless u turns, timidity, spin, and actually lead? He has a 160 seat majority, yet seems poweless.
          I wonder what our allies are thinking? Even worse, our enemies.
          And still the spin pours out of Downing Street this evening.
          Who, I’m almost past caring, this parody cannot go on for much longer.

          • Agreed. Just can’t see anyone around who would do better. Total fiasco tantamount to treason – so many bad decisions made, so many decisions that need to be made but haven’t been. This should be about defending the country, not party politics or penny pinching. Our major ally is proving to be a potential enemy by threatening to annex Canada and Greenland while pulling troops out of Europe and there is an active war in place that could spill over into the rest of Europe! The rest of NATO gets it; I don’t see how our government doesn’t.

            • Maybe too many have never fully left the Jeremy Corbyn, Kumbaya, attitude to Defence?
              They were all trying to get him in a short few years ago.
              They’re ideologically incapable as it means reducing the welfare state or net zero budgets. Then the backbenchers rebel.
              Young Labour several years ago voted to leave NATO, what does that tell me?

              • Quite possible. Personally I would love to be able to scrap defence budgets – but I’ve at least got the sense to realise that unilateral disarmament leads to being conquered by the people who don’t disarm. Idealism only works if everyone goes for it… too many people seem to think that Russia and other countries are kind and benevolent just looking for peaceful co-existence.

  12. Well my MP Dan Jarvis has the job now, is the DIP being modified again after Healy or will Dan be compromised from the start. Dan is a good MP but will he be in the job for long?

    • If there were no change to the DIP and Dan was to resign too in the next week or so over it, then that would completely destroy any credibility Starmer has left.
      Dan hopefully realises he has a huge bargaining position to extract more money for defence.

      • A Watered Down STARMER DIP from What was Hoped For, Leaving us In a Very Poor Position Both Militarily and Diplomatically.!
        Clearly Department for Energy and Net Zero and HMT have Turned the PMs Head Against the Advise of the Security Agencies, Foreign Office and Defence..! I Wonder if the Foreign Secretary.Will Consider her Position..?

    • Just Had PM Making Claim that he’s Taking the Tough Decisions on Spending on that Favourite Socialists Beeb…!
      Of Course that’s As far from the Truth As you can get as TWO Ex-Goverment Ministers Will Testify…!!
      Simple Truth is He Hasn’t Got the Backbone to Fight Anyone ….! Basically Telling Our Allies that We’ve Become A Neutral Country …!

        • A lot of conspiracy theorists like that, wrong use of case or substituting numbers for letters (eg “4” for “A”). They think it confuses the ‘big brother’ automated surveillance on social media 🤷🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️😂

          • Ahhhh, of course, you’re quite right. 😏
            Seen it with differing spellings of Putin and Muslim, which I found curious when I read them and I never considered it…
            Now, I happen to know quite a bit about the intelligence field, like I do with military orbats. Surveillance, who, how, where.
            So there are ways of looking at it, which might get to heart of their reasoning.
            Because they’re right in thinking that that stuff exists ( see PRESTON, see NTAC for starters. ) Google at it’s most basic is an example now in the “white world” automated systems searching for key words, like the legacy Echelon did.
            But the point is, even if it does or does not confuse, the authorities have far more sophisticated ways of getting you, and our professionals at GCHQ don’t sit there for days on end obsessing over billions of texts, emails, and SM posts from nobodies.
            They’ve better things to do with their valuable time and it’d be impossible anyway given the volumes.
            The privacy lot who think their rights are being violated never seem to get that.
            Having said that, there are I believe 3 small service units ( one per service ) who monitor opsec on sites like this amongst their other duties for real secrets being mentioned, which is all fair and good.
            They’re not looking for paranoid nut jobs who think they’re under surveillance.

            • Exactly, the authorities have more important things to do. Also most conspiracy theorists on social media live in echo chambers, only ever interacting with people like themselves. So it never occurs to them that the majority of takedowns of their posts/ groups/ pages are simply the result of decent ordinary people reporting them.

  13. What an extra-ordinary situation. A PM and Chancellor who refuse to increase defence spending despite accepting that the UK is facing a level of threat not seen since the Cold War, when were spending more than twice as much on defence. The PMs level of stubbornness and has become mule like – in a BBC TV interview today he brushed off warning quotes from even the most senior former military officer, NATO officials and now ex-ministers. The only thing similar is his determination to comply with a non-binding ruling by a Chinese judge and gift the Chagos Islands (plus a lot of money) to the Mauritius. That seems very much back on, with the Mauritius having agreed to immediately sell the islands on to the USA. I.e. the handover ceremony (presumably attended by Prince William) will in quick succession: (i) Lower the Union flag; (ii) raise the Mauritius flag; (iii) lower the Mauritius flag; (iv) raise the Stars and Stripes; (v) every Brit quickly departs on a Voyager aircraft, leaving the islands solely in American hands.

    • PM has little Political Power Now..!.
      Currently Floundering on the World Stage due to Britain’s Total lack of Perceived Soft or Hard Power…!
      The Moment he Showed Weakness on Pensions And Wealfare Cuts he was Doomed…
      What followed Was a Spate of U Turns and Scandals that Sealed his Fate as a lame 🦆 Duck PM…!
      Getting any extra money for Defence was always a Non 🏃 Runner…..!
      Whether a Replacement has any Success ??#&%@

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  15. The culture of the Treasury combined with a sub-par Chancellor who is full of opinions but absent of understanding is a toxic mixture. That is the problem that our witless Prime Minister needs to address but the task seems well beyond the capabilities of the poor dear. The skillsets of lawyers rarely translate well into what is required for leaders. Leaders lead, have courage and sound opinions and who are willing to impose their will to get the job done. Starmer just want’s the title, is disdainful of knowledge which doesn’t suit his bizarre utopian worldview and just wants to be liked in the stinking bubble he occupies with his fellow travellers. None of the necessary things which need to be done will get done by this “man”. Sooner he goes the better and then we can watch historians pick over the carcass of his pathetic time in office. He’ll occupy the same place in history as Percival of Singapore.

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