Defence

Nuclear weapons are a divisive issue. In fact, in the current debate over whether or not the UK should replace Trident, there is only one point of near-universal agreement: the decision must be made on national security grounds. Does…

Ed Miliband's Annual Message to the UK Armed Forces: “This Christmas, I want to take some time to send a special message to every member of our Armed Forces. “I know 2012 has been a particularly challenging year. And I know also that…

At the end of October Polly Toynbee wrote a piece in the Guardian which has reopened the debate about the renewal of Trident within the Labour Party. Polly quoted Tim Farron as saying that the Liberal Democrats ‘are making this an election…

The Labour Party’s purpose is to create and lead change. Not for its own sake, but change in line with the progressive passions and priorities that brought us in to our movement. That is why we are a party which restlessly seeks government…

Today the SNP debate whether to drop their historic opposition to NATO membership. They want credit for this, but they deserve scrutiny. Their membership of the historic Alliance, which has been at the cornerstone of UK national security…

Labour risks being left behind on nuclear disarmament as recent media coverage reports that senior government figures and serving military officers are willing to reconsider and downgrade the nuclear weapon system being designed to replace…

The Tories are increasingly worried about losing votes to UKIP, but I wonder how many people know about their plan to abolish the Ministry of Defence? Last month Godfrey Bloom MEP advocated a "Scrap the MOD" policy in a blogpost that…

In an article on LabourList, the Shadow Defence Minister Kevan Jones has adopted the mantra of ‘too far and too fast’ in relation to recently announced cuts to the Army. He concluded his attack on government spending decisions by stating…

By Jim Murphy and Stephen Twigg Our Armed Forces embody the highest values of public service. Labour has a proud history of mutual respect with our services, from the support Clement Attlee received in 1945 with his campaign for homes and…

Last week the Government announced the exact impact that its Defence cuts would have on the army, which battalions would be scrapped and which would be merged, and the role that the reserves would have in the future. We were told that this…

To mark Armed Forces Day, we're reproducing this post from May 2011 on the need for a Department for Veretans' Affairs: David Cameron wants to enshrine the military covenant in law. This can only be a good thing. Putting aside questions as…