The Armed Forces and the Brigade of Gurkhas

Labour have an awkward relationship with the UK’s armed forces. The presence of troops in the Middle East has taken its toll the army and public finances: Army Chief General Richard Dannatt recently reminded us that British forces are over-committed leading to “severe impediment to the delivery of operational capability,” and previous equipment shortages in both Iraq and Afghanistan have been well documented by senior figures such as Colonel Tootal. The RAF, Royal Navy and Army are also facing recruitment and retention rate problems: the former too high and the latter too low.

Despite this, Labour have cut funding to the armed forces by 20 per cent since 1997 (Telegraph, April 1), which has left the forces with 46,000 less servicemen than it did twelve years ago, and the Territorial Army has witnessed a 38 per cent drop in members, with a deficit of 1,000 personnel.

And so to the long-suffering Gurkhas whose plight dominated the House and headlines today. Nick Clegg was right to attack Gordon Brown in PMQs, who fielded eight questions concerning Gurkhas (out of a total twenty) in a particularly evasive way:

“Let me say so there is no misunderstanding that the majority of the 4,000 who are coming into this country are below the rank of officer, and the suggestion being made that this is not the case is, is not, from the information I have, err, correct.”

According to Clegg and campaigners, the recent bit of Home Office rule-tinkering would only allow another 100 Gurkha veterans rights to move to the UK, rather than 4,000. Brown was adamant Labour had done the right thing by the Gurkhas, but this was not enough to prevent a humiliating government defeat in a vote earlier this evening. The vote was not binding, but as Martin Salter MP put it “the Prime Minister backed the wrong horse,” and the defeat is a PR disaster for the PM.

The armed forces have featured in the news this week more than coverage might suggest. Aside from contention regarding the admittance of Gurkhas to the UK as citizens, the elite Special Air Service regiment are to receive increased funding, and the TA is to become further integrated with the regular Army. This ‘strategizing’ will stretch the army further, with a higher percentage of committed forces, and is simply a nod toward further budget culls.

A fresh approach to defence is needed in the UK, from Gurkhas to Trident replacement. The PMQ mêlée and successive vote today showed how influential the military cause can be, and if people see £1.4bn being spent on a package to reduce the UK’s carbon emissions, £20bn on nuclear weapons, £175bn on bank bailouts and fiscal stimulus, state pensions for ex-servicemen seems small-fry by comparison.

Join the Gurkha Justice Campaign and sign the petition at: http://www.gurkhajustice.org.uk/.