Starmer slashes aid to fund biggest increase in defence spending since Cold War

I doubt it he is disliked by those on the left and right of politics. Get Starmer Out.

It's the first sensible thing he's done since taking office.

It doesn't work my friend. The wealthy already pay a huge chunk of the tax receipts. If you tax them more then they either leave, or stop investing, speculating, funding businesses and creating jobs. Look up the Laffer curve and you'll learn more than our fake economist chancellor will ever take on board.

Dyson and Bamford etc could return what Fat Shanks stole for them...

Not at all. He is asking the European members of NATO, after decades of ignoring the financial requirements of NATO membership, to step up a little bit. The EU will not be involved, other than perhaps in encouraging its members to participate. Ireland and Hungary would torpedo any attempt to establish an EU army and ,even if they stood aside, the EU is not capable of doing anything in a hurry - something like an EU army would take decades to get established. Even if an EU army came into existence before 2050, a military organisation needs to be operationally nimble - this is something the EU is not capable of. There is absolutely no need to establish another supra-national military organisation. To do so would suck up every £/€ of additional military spending in establishing command structures that duplicate NATO, and we would end up with no additional military capability, just more confusion. The only logical outcome is that the European members of NATO increase their defence spending to meet their promises, but this is still managed through NATO command structures, and the US continues to provide specialised capability (e.g. intelligence and surveillance). This may be supplemented by specific smaller multi-national military partnerships (like the UK/France CJEF or the UK/Netherlands/Nordic/Baltic JEF), but there is no likelihood of the EU establishing anything other than a token military force.

More to the point, how is it going down conservative circles. International aid isn't charity, it's global influence which will now be further diminished.

You can't afford champagne ideals on a beer salary. This country has been living beyond its means for decades and charity begins at home.

Pretty much I think. The US can never be trusted in any venture now. Trump wants to remove Canada from the 5 eyes sharing. Probably because Canada are wise to the multiple felon and abusers aim and are telling him to get lost. Now, if you got into bed with Putin, would you expect your ex allies to share info with you? EU must now be our home, I fear Starmer may be to trusting of trump. Time will tell.

Agree. I'm sure there are a lot of Plaid supporters on here. When faced with a fascist nationalist in Putin's Russia unfortunately we have to re-arm and with our European allies face him down.

No one plans 'to dismember Russia'. The reality is that Putin's ambition is to recreate and restore Russia to the boundaries achieved by the empire of Catherine the Great. That should be no surprise to anyone, because he's stated precisely that, quite overtly and publicly on numerous occasions. That doesn't mean that he's especially interested in restoring Russian hegemony over the whole of eastern Europe, because, despite having been ideologically formed in the dog days of the Soviet era, he's no communist. He's just an old-fashioned Russian nationalist and imperialist. He wants to restore Ukraine, the Baltic states, Finland and even maybe part of Poland to a revived Russian empire for no greater reason than that was what Russia achieved in her glory imperial days in the late 18th century.

Who said that was a plan. you are aware putin has already attacked the uk?

Presumably he's just added the new extra money to the increases already planned.