Unarmed and dangerous
Sir: If Fraser Nelson’s insight (‘Very discretely, Cameron is writing his first Queen’s Speech’, 28 June) into what is being planned by the Conservatives is comprehensive, then it reveals a dangerous omission which should be unacceptable to any government and particularly a Conservative one: defence policy.
The defence of the realm, the unchallenged first duty of any government, has been shamefully and dangerously neglected by New Labour. All spending commitments should necessarily be secondary to those required for adequate defence and security.
That all three of our armed services are underfunded is now irrefutable as the unanimous pleas for more resources from the former chiefs of staff, other military experts, and now Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, the current head of the Armed Services, attest. On present funding, we can no longer meet our current commitments, yet the world is clearly becoming more hostile and unstable.
The understandable and generally wise Conservative leadership policy of making no spending promises before achieving power must give way in the case of defence spending. The leadership must now promise adequate defence funding when it regains power — waiting is unacceptable — and meanwhile harass the government remorselessly to increase expenditure.
Allen Sykes
Leatherhead, Surrey
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