Blog 2023 Malcolm Blair-Robinson

Defence

A Discussion Paper has been produced by the Government as part of the preparation for the Defence Review which will begin after the election of a new government.

One thing ought to be very clear. This country should by now have fully grown out of its Imperial past and must recognise that we can no longer use armed forces to intervene overseas as an instrument of foreign policy. The notion is out of date and weakens our authority causing us to become more of the problem than the solution. And we cannot afford it.

We need to organise an impregnable defence of the British Isles that will halt an enemy by land sea or air. For this we need a navy, an air force and an army. We need the best technology to make the fullest use of missiles, drones and satellites. We do not require mobile forces ready to deploy across the globe. No longer should our young people be asked to die on foreign fields in the muddled belief that our first line of defence is in somebody else’s country.

We do need to maintan our nuclear deterrent. Nutters everywhere must know that any country anywhere which attacks us will not survive to see out the day. That is defence. Much of the stuff we do now is not.

Energy Supplies

So now, in the face of the usual denials by the other Milliband, it is official. Our energy market does not work properly and supplies will soon be at risk and also very expensive. This was a privatisation too far. At the very least the ‘market’ needs to be closed down. A single national authority should be responsible for all power generation and regional distribution via the high voltage network. There may be scope for small local companies to manage the domestic lines and distribution, but not if it puts up costs or makes supplies unreliable. It should make enough profit to maintain a proper investment programme to upgrade our deficiency in production,but not more.

We need to be savvy in the way we use our own north sea gas and balance its use as a domestic fuel with use for generating electricity.  Oversimplifying to make a point, if we used the gas to generate cheap power, would consumers be better off?