On the 13^{th of} November, I had the honour to commemorate and remember at the Cenotaph those that gave all so that we can be free in this great country of ours. The annual get together with former friends and colleagues was as always something special, especially as this occasion was the first with King Charles III leading the parade.

At last, a bit of good news on Defence, the Belfast ship builder Harland and Wolff are to build three support ships for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in a £1.6bn deal. This will provide crucial jobs at four locations from Belfast to Devon. The building of the first ship is due to start in 2025 and the third completed by 2032.

Despite the good news above, our armed forces are still struggling for proper investment. I visited an aviation unit I served with last week and was briefed on the operations of the last year and future proposed training and operations. It is clear they are walking a very fine tight rope of the work v lifestyle balance due to the pace of operations and the limited personal available. It is clear that investment in retaining and boosting personnel numbers is desperately needed. The UK Independence Party would ensure our Armed Forces Personnel are given the funds, support, and a quality structured lifestyle these men and women deserve and is one of the mainstays of the UK Independence Parties Defence Policy.

Finally, an afternote on the £1.6bn for three new support ships for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. The latest estimated current spending on immigration in our country is £17bn. If this amount was spent on defence rather than economic migrants, our country would easily become a world leader in defence ensuring correct numbers of armed forces personnel and proving them with cutting-edge defence equipment.

Squadron Leader Peter Richardson R’td.

UK Independence Party – Defence and Veterans Spokesman

Pic Credit: Ross, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons