UK Naval Dearth?

Fire of Liberty

The World renowned British historian John Keegan has an excellent Op/Ed in The Daily Telegraph(registration required) marking the 200 year anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. As with most of Keegan's work, you can always be assured to learn the importance of the event and how it has impacted the flow of history. Another great aspect about Sir Keegan's wonderful pieces and books is the fact that he always finds ways to relate past events to the present situation as a way to push a overarching strategic assessment. Keegan notes that while the British government has put a significant amount of money out to celebrate Lord Nelson's rout of the French/Spanish fleet but seems to have forgotten the fact that the British naval fleet is slowly but surely crumbling before our eyes. Just read what Keegan noted in his Op/Ed:

The Government, while reducing the fleet to its smallest size since the middle of the 18th century, is committed to building two large aircraft carriers. The plans for these ships have got no further than the paper stage. The two should be launched by 2012. Until they appear, our shores are defended by the veterans of the Falklands and with fewer naval aircraft than we flew then. The cost of the carrier programmes is £5 billion for the hulls alone, twice that for their weapons and aircraft. Should financial difficulty afflict the nation in the next seven years, it is only too easy to guess where the Treasury's axe will fall. Gordon Brown shows no enthusiasm for defence expenditure.

Charity begins at home. This week's events at Portsmouth should remind the British people that our future and our survival as a nation do not depend upon winning the approval of moribund pop stars and unthinking television producers but on our ability, with the assistance of our allies, to defend ourselves.

In 1805, the British depended on nobody but themselves. We cannot return to those days. The Americans, however, are unlikely to go on providing us with a naval umbrella if we make no effort to join the effort of common defence. Nelson is still a hero to American sailors. Let us pray the day does not come when his name is forgotten by our transatlantic allies. England should expect that New Labour remembers its duty.

I just hope wiser individuals within Labour will stand up and call for the end of UK naval decline and pushes forward a spending increase instead of the welfare state clap-trap that the seems to sell to the people. If they continue down the current path, they won't have a welfare state to depend on.