when DC,DM, NC or even NFor NB get told we MUST have it they're all going to say 'we managed for the last 5 years without it, why should I find an extra £2B or whatever?'
Don't know who DM is supposed to be, but I'm pretty sure the actual thought among a huge cross-section of the political establishment is international humiliation...having to rely on other nations to protect our own waters!?
The rusi estimates that in the now-not-unfathomable situation the uk commits to 2% of GDP defence spending, there will be £75 billion more to spend over the coming decade than current planning assumptions of a 1% increase pa on equipment. How a MPA wouldn't be top of the list is incomprehensible to me.