Good things come to those who wait, although the Defence Investment Plan (DIP) did its utmost to dispel that theory. The DIP was released 10 months late and to much fanfare and was reminiscent of a teenage boy who had spent the summer holidays avoiding his homework only to cobble something together the night before term started.
The plan offered much but gave us little. It offered money through efficiency savings and procurement streamlines which is effectively LinkedIn talk for “we’ll check behind the back of the sofa and see if there are coins down the back that the previous owners failed to spot”.
Some have accused the PM of rushing the plan out before he departs Number 10 in order to leave a landmine for his successor, others have speculated it is a last minute push to polish his credentials in the hope of a high-profile role in NATO.
Whatever the truth of the matter is, the fact is that the plan falls well short of what is needed and what was expected. Military chiefs say they need £28billion but will have to make do with £15billion.
Likely new PM Andy Burnham was given oversight but had no role in drafting or approving the plan that he will be required to deliver. And there is the small issue of the next PM having to find a mere £4.7billion for defence in the next budget.
The plan was supposed to give defence clarity, a clear roadmap of where defence priorities lie and how the pursuit of them would be funded. Instead, it has left them with uncertainty.
Will the new PM adhere to it given he was not the architect and is the money pledged even going to be available? Your guess is as good as mine.
Money for drones, AI and our nuclear deterrent are all good things but defence needs more to meet the challenges we face. Cowardly attempts to kick defence spending of 3-3.5% of GDP into the long grass leave us all in peril.
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