Monday 6 June 2022

Long-Range?

Despite its abundant natural resources, Ukraine is so misgoverned as to be the poorest country in Europe. How, then, is it paying for these fancy new weapons?

We give it aid, with which it buys weapons made by those ever-generous donors to all officially tolerable political parties and factions, the international arms companies. Not only is this a racket, but it is strategic madness, as the arms trade always is. As ever, we are acquiring the enemies of those whom we arm, and we are arming our own potential enemies, since once arms are out there, then there is no way of knowing into whose hands they might fall.

Pursuant to a universal statutory requirement that public bodies and public contractors buy British wherever possible, and buy local wherever possible, BAE Systems should be renationalised as the monopoly supplier to our own Armed Forces, with a ban on all sale of arms abroad, and with a comprehensive programme of diversification in the spirit of the Lucas Plan.

If I were to be elected at North West Durham, then I would have on my parliamentary staff an adviser who had served in each of the Armed Forces, preferably having been honourably discharged after at least 22 years. Let the armchair generals and the Short Commission Brigade argue with them. Although there would have to some sort of formula to ensure that candidates were at least in broad political agreement with me, I would be most minded, in return for the smallest possible administrative fee, to have those advisers elected by former and if possible even serving members of each of the Royal Navy, the British Army, and the Royal Air Force. At the very least, I challenge every other candidate at North West Durham to match that commitment.

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