There needs to be a comprehensive spending review across the WHOLE of the big spending departments. Notably Health, Education, Social Security and to include Police and not just Defence.
Gone are the days when Defence was once "fat". It is now very lean indeed and there are not easily identifiable bases to close.....RAFG is gone, Hong Kong went 20 years ago, there is an endless list of stations that have closed or earmarked for closure. Whats left? Where next?
Things are serious. Cut any more and the "patient" won't take it. Particularly when the operational commitments
that this government got us into aren't going to go away anytime soon.
2.5% of GDP is miserly as it is and anything less will make having the armed forces pointless, except perhaps for the odd ceremonial occasion or as a "token" force.
MB