Defence Review

They will all be out tomorrow, and they will have a point. You could not afford free school meals in the holidays until you could, and you could not afford to restore the furlough scheme until you could, yet you can afford this eye-watering array of sweeties for "defence" because you want to show off to Joe Biden, in part by raiding the International Development budget.

But a sovereign state with its own free floating, fiat currency has enough of that currency as it chooses to issue to itself, and readily available fiscal and monetary means of controlling any inflationary effect. Instead of Trident, then, let an extra £70 billion be given to each of the Royal Navy, the British Army, and the Royal Air Force. Space, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and sub-sea capabilities could all be expanded very considerably. As could a lot of other things. There would no more having to buy their own boots.

Military force should be used only ever in self-defence and with the approval of the House of Commons. 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.

And the Statute Law should specify that aid to any given country be reduced by the exact cost of any space programme, or of any nuclear weapons programme, or of any nuclear submarine programme, or of any foreign aid budget of that country's own, with the money thus saved remaining within the International Development budget, and with the 0.7 per cent target intact, but with a ban on the funding of offences against the sanctity of life.

Yes, if you can find the money for this, then, for example, you can find the money to stop child protection and social care from going to the wall, as they are on the brink of doing in many local authorities, if they have not already done so. A sovereign state with its own free floating, fiat currency has enough of that currency as it chooses to issue to itself, and readily available fiscal and monetary means of controlling any inflationary effect. 

I am a declared and active Independent candidate for the parliamentary seat of North West Durham at the next General Election. Richard Holden is going to have to explain why he did not want an extra £70 billion for each of the Royal Navy, the British Army, and the Royal Air Force, as well as why he did want the country to continue to be run by Carrie Symonds.

And Laura Pidcock is going to have to explain why she wanted to carry on funding other countries' space programmes, nuclear weapons programmes, nuclear submarine programmes, and foreign aid budgets, as well as why she wanted Keir Starmer to become Prime Minister, and as well as why she wanted to take the Labour whip when it was denied to Jeremy Corbyn.