Ladies and Gentlemen,
The reality - and it is reality, I'm sorry to say - is that there are painful cuts coming, irrespective of who wins the election. David Cameron was explicitly asked about this this morning at his launch of the Tory's national security strategy (nb, not defence) and replied that defence "was not ringfenced" and that "we will do more with less".
How much less? Malcolm Chalmers at RUSI (
http://www.rusi.org/downloads/assets/FDR_5.pdf) reckons that it could be 5% over the years to 2013/14 if we're lucky. His assumptions are in my view massively optimistic, and in line with the Institute of Fiscal Studies, the most likely scenario is a cut of about 15 or 16% - £5.5bn a year in 2013/14.
Full marks to Cameron for at least being honest. But it's going to be bloody, and the BBMF and the Reds are just the start. Remember, the RN's Historic Flight are privately funded(ish). It doesn't fill my heart with joy as a light blue, but make no mistake, many cows - sacred and otherwise - are going to get slotted over the next 18 months.
S41