You know it's bad when a senior Lib Dem - Menzies Campbell - comes out on national TV and says defence of the UK has to be the first priority of the government and we have cut too far!
I suspect that Mr Campbell is of that view primarily because he is annoyed at the loss from his consituency of the northern Typhoon squadrons, and their accompanying legions of personnel. The promised arrival of thousands of squaddies from Germany sometime in the next 5 years probably doesn't hold that great an attraction to the more genteel denizens of East Fife, who provide 'Ming' with the core of his support. Let's just say that while there will still be cash flowing into the local economy, less of it might be spent on restaurants and golf...l