This was in this week's Sunday Torygraph (29/09/08):
British soldiers want a federation to represent them, poll finds
Almost three quarters of British soldiers support the creation of an independent armed forces federation to represent their interests, according to a poll conducted by the Army.
By Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent
Support for an armed forces federation has been growing for a number of years amid claims that the rank and file have been failed by the "chain of command", although this is the first time that the Army has polled its own members on the issue.
The clear support for an independent body will be a severe blow for Britain's top brass who have long argued that an armed forces federation is unnecessary and could damage military discipline and morale.
The survey was conducted on the Army's own website called "Armynet" which is restricted to use by troops and their families.
Readers were asked: "Should there be an Army Federation to represent the interests of ordinary soldiers?" Of the 3,500 respondents, 51 per cent answered "yes"; 22 per cent thought it was a good idea; 23 per cent were against the proposal and two per cent answered "don't know". ...
Full story at
British soldiers want a federation to represent them, poll finds - Telegraph
I understand that the poll is still running, with a very similar breakdown of votes at present.
The poll is quite rightly about an ARMY Federation. I don't believe for a moment that a similar poll tomorrow of the RAF or RN/RM would produce similar results. (You would need another option for "Who?" or "Eh?"!) But it was still being claimed a year ago that a majority of contributors to an ArmyNet discussion were against the idea of a representative federation, and the poll gives a very different snapshot.