Before we get too carried away with the plight of the British public, in the interests of balanced argument, it is worth reminding ourselves that nobody forced them to take out huge mortgages or run up huge credit card debts.
In quite a few cases, these are the same people who have bored us with repetitive anecdotes about the housing market, and how much their house has gained in value.
I do genuinely feel sorry for those who have lost their jobs, due to what is effectively banking industry greed, and governmental incompetence. I wish them the best of luck, though fear it may be some time before we hit rock bottom.
In the current climate, I do not expect a huge pay rise (which is probably just as well) but there will be some who argue, with some justification, that Forces pay has been on the backburner for some time now due to concerns over inflation.
I think a large pay award would be innappropriate given the current climate, and unlikely to retain those wishing to leave anyway. However, we do need to remember that the Armed Forces are not the cause of the Global Financial Crisis that started in America (Is that one word Gordo?), and that our workload and general underfunding continues unabated.