Opportunity to get right back on thread
Labour's Lord West of Spithead, the former First Sea Lord (2002-2006), says the UK's soft power is formidable but "it is nothing" if not backed by hard power - which he says has allowed us to punch above our weight for decades.
"It no longer does," he says; adding that the UK has ensured Europe's safety for 70 years "but is no longer able".
He says the government has given "comfortable words about defence" for many years but says this is "no longer good enough" and claims that UK forces are actually underfunded due to "incoherent cuts" to balance budgets.
Lord West says that military ships lack basic munitions, adding that this is "not an abstract issue". He says that world events could lead to a situation where we will have ships across the world that could face a fight, and where "we will have ships sunk and people will die".
It is a disgrace for our great maritime nation, he says, and warns it may affect our nation's survival.
and now off thread...how does it sit with some of you, that an ex First Sea Lord is a JC supporter?
and on again...from his wiki page
In August 2016 he described the issues facing the MoD post-Brexit as a "perfect storm", insisting that there were great difficulties for the British military as a result of Britain's exit from the European Union.