Ministry of Defence sinks navy’s cocktail parties
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Ministry of Defence sinks navy’s cocktail parties
From today's Sunday Times:
Whilst a bit of banter about the RN and its Cockers Ps in various ports has always been fair, if the beancounters in the mad MoD-box have now gone to the extreme of saving a few quid at the expense of promoting international goodwill, something is sadly wrong.
Visiting some foreign port and not holding the traditional Cockers P is going to be perceived as a slap in the face by important, influential locals expecting the usual invite. They simply won't believe that HM can no longer afford to show any hospitality, they'll think they've been insulted and humiliated. The RN probably won't be invited back.
A Cockers P onboard a Royal Navy ship is a tiny financial expense, but a huge goodwill investment.
And before any sandaholics bleat that £70K per year would buy better boots for troops in Afghanistan, yes it would - but if you think you'll get anything from perceived savings made by cancelling the Navy's Cockers Ps, you're sadly mistaken.
March 14, 2010
Ministry of Defence sinks navy’s cocktail parties
Sara Dixon
Cocktail parties hosted by Royal Navy commanders visiting foreign ports, a mainstay of British naval tradition since the time of Lord Nelson, are to be scrapped in an effort to save money.
Navy chiefs are said to be furious over the demise of the tradition, which helps cement good relations for the UK across the globe.
The relatively small cost of each cocktail party — estimated to be around £1,000 as alcohol served on board a navy vessel is exempt from tax — is minor compared with the £36 billion military budget that the Ministry of Defence is struggling to bring under control.
It is estimated that scrapping the much-loved “Cockers P”, as the parties are known in navy jargon, could save the MoD between £50,000 and £70,000. An MoD spokesman said: “Royal Navy warships organise official receptions in order to build and maintain relationships and international relationships while on official port visits. We are asking commanding officers not to hold these receptions when on routine business to make savings in the financially difficult times.”
One senior commander said: “It’s a damn shame that this important tool in British diplomacy is being discarded. We call these receptions ‘soft power’ because we are taking a bit of British foreign policy to an official reception in a foreign territory. It does wonders for international relations and trade.”
A party due to be held on the destroyer HMS York when it docked in the Falkland Islands two weeks ago was reportedly cancelled at the last minute as part of the cuts. Another cocktail party on board a warship at Simon’s Town, South Africa, was cancelled after the MoD refused funding.
In future, expenditure on cocktail parties will be officially sanctioned only for visits from high-ranking VIPs such as the Queen and senior navy officers, including the First Sea Lord.
In one notorious, but less formal, incident Ronnie Biggs, the Great Train Robber, was invited on board the frigate HMS Danae as it docked in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil in the late 1970s. The fugitive enjoyed a tipple with a number of drunken sailors only to walk off the ship with impunity even though he was a wanted man in the UK.
Ministry of Defence sinks navy’s cocktail parties
Sara Dixon
Cocktail parties hosted by Royal Navy commanders visiting foreign ports, a mainstay of British naval tradition since the time of Lord Nelson, are to be scrapped in an effort to save money.
Navy chiefs are said to be furious over the demise of the tradition, which helps cement good relations for the UK across the globe.
The relatively small cost of each cocktail party — estimated to be around £1,000 as alcohol served on board a navy vessel is exempt from tax — is minor compared with the £36 billion military budget that the Ministry of Defence is struggling to bring under control.
It is estimated that scrapping the much-loved “Cockers P”, as the parties are known in navy jargon, could save the MoD between £50,000 and £70,000. An MoD spokesman said: “Royal Navy warships organise official receptions in order to build and maintain relationships and international relationships while on official port visits. We are asking commanding officers not to hold these receptions when on routine business to make savings in the financially difficult times.”
One senior commander said: “It’s a damn shame that this important tool in British diplomacy is being discarded. We call these receptions ‘soft power’ because we are taking a bit of British foreign policy to an official reception in a foreign territory. It does wonders for international relations and trade.”
A party due to be held on the destroyer HMS York when it docked in the Falkland Islands two weeks ago was reportedly cancelled at the last minute as part of the cuts. Another cocktail party on board a warship at Simon’s Town, South Africa, was cancelled after the MoD refused funding.
In future, expenditure on cocktail parties will be officially sanctioned only for visits from high-ranking VIPs such as the Queen and senior navy officers, including the First Sea Lord.
In one notorious, but less formal, incident Ronnie Biggs, the Great Train Robber, was invited on board the frigate HMS Danae as it docked in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil in the late 1970s. The fugitive enjoyed a tipple with a number of drunken sailors only to walk off the ship with impunity even though he was a wanted man in the UK.
Visiting some foreign port and not holding the traditional Cockers P is going to be perceived as a slap in the face by important, influential locals expecting the usual invite. They simply won't believe that HM can no longer afford to show any hospitality, they'll think they've been insulted and humiliated. The RN probably won't be invited back.
A Cockers P onboard a Royal Navy ship is a tiny financial expense, but a huge goodwill investment.
And before any sandaholics bleat that £70K per year would buy better boots for troops in Afghanistan, yes it would - but if you think you'll get anything from perceived savings made by cancelling the Navy's Cockers Ps, you're sadly mistaken.
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But it is ok for Gormless Browns possie of crooks to use tax payers money to buy a Duck House or re-decorate thier second home....One of the many reasons why I have fell out of love with this country....
I await my time as I will be taking my HM Forces Pension and saying good bye UK, and to all of what is left of our Armed Forces Good Luck and Stay safe
To Gormless Brown and his penny pinchers...I hope you all die of a horrible death
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Ludicrous, pointless, trivial, rude ... it exemplifies the "cost of everything and value of nothing" approach that the Treasury has held for decades. Who on earth was responsible for pushing this farce through the staffing processes?
I'm deeply sorry for the RN on this one.
I'm deeply sorry for the RN on this one.
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Cockers Ps don't benefit the RN that much, but they do benefit UK plc hugely. Our trading competitors don't do them quite like the Senior Service. Britannia was the same - fantastic venue to meet and greet important people to win big deals, in an atmosphere which no other nation could emulate.
Just hope they are applying the same ruthless efficiency to ALL government departments, no more tea and biccies for any meetings, no more lunch expenses for civil servants, would be nice to see the "back office" making cuts, instead of buying new chairs because they don't like the colour of the new ones they just bought etc.
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Never mind a VC10 to Cyprus, how many 'fact-finding' trips to our MP's go on?
We had a few last year to Cyprus, Ministers glad-handing etc.
These trips are free are they?
We had a few last year to Cyprus, Ministers glad-handing etc.
These trips are free are they?
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Absolutely scandalous. First they take away Auntie Betty's boat, and now this. These dullards have no idea of the goodwill generated by such relatively moderate expenditure....
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But surely hosting a large RPC is the driving factor behind the size of the new carriers! On the last but one Ark Royal - you know the one that had real mans aircraft on board - the cocktail party was the crowning glory. That and the band of Her Majesty's Bootnecks. The heck with naval power projection we need more cocktail parties.
Seems a very short-sighted decision - nose and face , etc! However, since the benefit is to GB Plc, which abroad is the remit of the FCO, why does not the Foreign Office pick up the very modest tab. Hell, it could be paid out of the Lottery Fund (or the small change from a big lottery win)instead of some of the daft things they do support (and lots of ethnic minorities would benefit, which seems the Lottery's major criterion). Dare I say, a better deal for GB Plc than an airborne trxxxgle - OK, I have my coat..................
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I agree with all sentiment above. I can also confirm that tea and biscuits were not present in MB last time I was there. The coffee machines were also empty and the reason given was that the budget had been cut.
That was last September; still the same anyone?
That was last September; still the same anyone?
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
I guess the same will hit all the Services land based CPs and other official entertainments too.
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So sad - the party always given by visiting RN ships to Dammam port was particularly welcome in that dry, dry land.
If this is to be, the RN has lost what is arguably its' most effective PR vehicle.
This administration has gone bonkers.
If this is to be, the RN has lost what is arguably its' most effective PR vehicle.
This administration has gone bonkers.
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I agree with most if not all of the sentiments above, but I sadly doubt the Civil Serpents ( and defence kit salesmen ) will be cutting their budgets; the days when real pro's mentioned ' UK Ltd ' are long gone, now it's everyone scramble to secure their mega-pension !
I would however point out that much as the current lot are an easy target, it was the terminator Thatchers' mob who ordered ruthless cuts, and wanted to sell HMS Invincible until the Falklands saved their political arses - then Thatcher herself didn't even look at the advanced STOVL P-1216 for more than 5 seconds, as her personal political safety had been somewhat inadverntedly secured by Harrier FRS 1 & GR3, and great UK forces making do with crap equipment - in this occasion more land than air kit but the aircraft were also sparsely equipped, lucky not to be facing a more sophisticated foe.
I'm not a fan of politicians of any flavour.
The Navy have left themselves wide open for this by the relatively recent habit of positioning warships off the Port of London which do indeed seem a junket for senior officers, and the suggestion of a Type 45 to be ' guardship ' off the Thames for the upcoming Olympics ( even if the kit is working by then, what's it supposed to do, shoot down rogue airliners over London ) ?!
I know someone who's a serving Petty Officer who has had a sense of humour failure over warship fuel thus speed / range and even crew quarters heating reductions, while the sub' force is suffering a huge loss of experienced people, as manning rotas have become quite amazingly demanding for peace time.
This begs the question as to how are we going to man the CVF's, more likely sell at least one pronto virtually straight off the stocks ?
While bankers and Chiefs of Staff concentrate on their pay & pensions, hospitals & schools are closing down right & left, unless we get a war on our hands ( when I realise it's way too late to build or train for anything ) it's hard to see, even for a keen pro-defence type with experience in defence projects like me, why we're trying to punch above our weight with CVF, JSF & Trident, while Typhoon Tranche 1 looks well worth passing on, if only we could be sure of getting Tranche 2-3...
I happened to see a mention of the modified Abrams tank the U.S. use for mine & IED clearance the other day, so why with similar kit available are we sending poor sods out on foot to do the same job; this sort of comparison is why cocktail parties eventually get stomped on !
Incidentally, my ex-wife was a P.A. for an NHS Accounting dept; her whole job for her first day was to study an office furniture catalogue provided, ending up with her choice of a nice design of chair at £400 + in 1993 - sound familiar ?!
I would however point out that much as the current lot are an easy target, it was the terminator Thatchers' mob who ordered ruthless cuts, and wanted to sell HMS Invincible until the Falklands saved their political arses - then Thatcher herself didn't even look at the advanced STOVL P-1216 for more than 5 seconds, as her personal political safety had been somewhat inadverntedly secured by Harrier FRS 1 & GR3, and great UK forces making do with crap equipment - in this occasion more land than air kit but the aircraft were also sparsely equipped, lucky not to be facing a more sophisticated foe.
I'm not a fan of politicians of any flavour.
The Navy have left themselves wide open for this by the relatively recent habit of positioning warships off the Port of London which do indeed seem a junket for senior officers, and the suggestion of a Type 45 to be ' guardship ' off the Thames for the upcoming Olympics ( even if the kit is working by then, what's it supposed to do, shoot down rogue airliners over London ) ?!
I know someone who's a serving Petty Officer who has had a sense of humour failure over warship fuel thus speed / range and even crew quarters heating reductions, while the sub' force is suffering a huge loss of experienced people, as manning rotas have become quite amazingly demanding for peace time.
This begs the question as to how are we going to man the CVF's, more likely sell at least one pronto virtually straight off the stocks ?
While bankers and Chiefs of Staff concentrate on their pay & pensions, hospitals & schools are closing down right & left, unless we get a war on our hands ( when I realise it's way too late to build or train for anything ) it's hard to see, even for a keen pro-defence type with experience in defence projects like me, why we're trying to punch above our weight with CVF, JSF & Trident, while Typhoon Tranche 1 looks well worth passing on, if only we could be sure of getting Tranche 2-3...
I happened to see a mention of the modified Abrams tank the U.S. use for mine & IED clearance the other day, so why with similar kit available are we sending poor sods out on foot to do the same job; this sort of comparison is why cocktail parties eventually get stomped on !
Incidentally, my ex-wife was a P.A. for an NHS Accounting dept; her whole job for her first day was to study an office furniture catalogue provided, ending up with her choice of a nice design of chair at £400 + in 1993 - sound familiar ?!
Last edited by Double Zero; 14th Mar 2010 at 17:55.
Utterly ridiculous decision which will save virtually nothing from the Defence Budget and which will actually cost us more in the long run. Now the RN Warship in the harbour will just be a menacing silhouette at anchor (as seems to be the preferred option for the Chinese and previously the Russians), rather than getting the local big-wigs onboard for a party where they can see there are actually fun-loving humans onboard! The amount of goodwill generated is out of all proportion.
Having dealt with the NHS in London recently at a series of meetings, I noticed their managers (and not particularly senior ones) were all arriving and departing by taxi; no buses/own transport for that lot...
Flug
Having dealt with the NHS in London recently at a series of meetings, I noticed their managers (and not particularly senior ones) were all arriving and departing by taxi; no buses/own transport for that lot...
Flug