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Old 24th Mar 2014, 09:18
  #45 (permalink)  
Red Line Entry
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Their Target for Tonight
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Stendec5,

While I respect your view that more should be spent on Defence (although I note you've ignored my suggestion to suggest where additional money should come from), you are unfortunately peeing in the wind.

A YouGov survey from January asked people: Thinking about the government's plans to make further cuts for spending, which areas should they cut the most?

Defence came fourth on the list (with 20% wanting to cut), behind Overseas Aid, Welfare benefits, and Environment; and ahead of Local Govt, Transport, Pensions, Education, NHS, and Policing.

The survey then asked what areas should be protected. Defence came fifth on this list (with 18% wanting to protect - I'm assuming a different 18% from the 20% who wanted to cut!).

So my point is that if only 18% of the population want Defence spending to be protected from cuts (forget about increased!), while 20% want it targeted and the remaining 62% don't care, then the plain fact is that short of a major war, Defence spending is, at very best, going to stay level (which will actually be a drop seeing as how our budget assumes a 1% uplift in the Equipment Procurement Plan post 2015).

Source: The spending battleground
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