After all the blather about a carefully considered cut to our armed forces, not only does it seem that it is all the usual ill considered slash and burn Tory cuts but also it is profoundly discriminatory. Any guesses who told the BBC's Andrew Marr:- "I'm a Cameron, there is quite a lot of Scottish Blood flowing through these veins"?
Scottish infantry spared as English regiments axed
All five Scottish infantry regiments are to be spared the axe as English troops take the brunt of defence cuts today.
10:00PM BST 04 Jul 2012
The move has caused outrage among MPs and serving officers south of the border with three English and one Welsh battalion chopped.
Anger is likely to intensify when it is disclosed that the English battalions will now lose their historic titles such as the Green Howards, Staffords and Duke of Wellingtons.
It can also be disclosed that the Scots Dragoon Guards that had been considered for merger with another cavalry regiment will survive unscathed.
One serving officer called the move “deeply unfair, bordering on the outrageous”
The first four battalions of the Royal Regiment of Scotland will now reduce by about 100 to 450 men each and the fifth battalion, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders will shrink to a company of about 120 men performing ceremonial duties outside Edinburgh Castle and elsewhere.
However, English battalions will remain at up to 600 troops each.
Patrick Mercer, a Tory MP and former commanding officer of an English infantry battalion, said: “If this is the case why, yet again, do the Scottish unit get preferential treatment?
“They have been allowed to keep their regimental titles and now they are going to be reduced to nothing larger than a major’s command and yet English battalions now just have to lump it.”
The cuts in Army 2020 will be the biggest reforms to the Service since 1904 reducing it to 82,000 men, its smallest size since the Napoleonic Wars.
The Government has argued that the shortfall in numbers will be made up by boosting the Territorial Army to 30,000 troops. However it can barely field half that number with officers deeply skeptical of its future role.
“On which planet do they seriously believe that we will sustain TA force of 30,000,” one office said. “It’s just laughable. I have yet to meet a single individual at senior level who believes this feasible.”
In last minute deals struck by Downing Street it is understood that the deal with the Scottish regiments was made to undermine the pro-independence lobby.
The wrangling over cuts to famous names has been going on for months with the Army 2020 package originally meant to be announced in April.
The English battalions to go will be the 3rd Battalion, the Yorkshire Regiment (the Duke of Wellington's) and the 3rd Bn The Mercians, who gained renown as the Staffordshire Regiment.
As disclosed in The Daily Telegraph earlier this week the 2nd Bn The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, one of the best recruited in the Army, will also be cut.
It will be joined the 2nd Bn The Royal Welsh, who can trace their roots back to Rorke’s Drift.
Two English cavalry regiments will disappear when the Queen’s Royal Lancers amalgamates with the 9th/12th Lancers and there is a merger of the 1st and 2nd Royal Tank Regiment.
However the biggest cuts will come with what are known as “combat support” arms vital to servicing an army in the field. The Royal Logistic Corps, the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers all face losing a third of their strength.
It is understood that the cuts, which Philip Hammond, the Defence Secretary will announce in Parliament at midday, were delayed by a week to avoid embarrassment to the Prime Minister during Armed Forces Day ceremonies last Saturday.
Shockingly biased with unprecidented dangers ahead, for all armed forces serving in the commonwealth countries and beyond!
ReplyDeleteRWF-DIVER
PS If all else fails, guess we can relay on USA and Euro Zone
Will no one rid us of this turbulent prime minister.
ReplyDeleteDisgusting, absolutely disgusting. Delayed until after armed forces day to avoid embarassment.
ReplyDeleteA traitor and a coward.
When serving English regiments are replaced with foreign mercenaries they will shoot and kill Englishmen who rebel - without compunction.
British soldiers would not do that, not being milksop marxists, nor like to fire on their brothers.
Once again the English regiments are being made to dance to a scottish tune.The scots are being pandered to by a prime minister who is licking the backsides of the scots in order to keep them on side in his efforts to keep the union intact.
ReplyDeleteIf we had a real English prime minister instead of a wannabee scot perhaps we will get some balance in the treatment of the English.
A good opportunity for letters to the local press. We, the English, have no-one to speak exclusively for our interests. Who did speak with authority for the English when these matters were being worked out? Until we have our own parliament we are disenfranchised and are entitled to protest that decisions such as these are undemocratic.
ReplyDeleteWhat more do you expect from a Bullingdon buffoon, common sense?
ReplyDeleteI've seen more brains on a piece of toast, and more backbone in slug!
Just a small correction to the sub heading of the article, Scotland does not have 5 infantry Regiments, it has one 'The Royal Regiment Of Scotland' but there are 5 Battalions within it which were previously Regiments in their own right. This however does not detract from what the writer was trying to say.
ReplyDeleteWith public borrowing spiralling and George Osbournes target of holding it to £120 Billion this year almost certain not to be met (He borrowed almost £18 billion in May alone) there are going to be a lot more difficult decisions between now and autumn 2014 so you have to wonder what more David Cameron is willing to sacrifice to appease Scotland.
Whatever he is willing to sacrifice it has backfired spectacularly anyway, SNP supporters (As distinct from the party itself) have taken to social media sites in their masses to claim victory over David Cameron as his fear of Alex Salmond successfully saved the armed forces in Scotland from 'A Right Doing', if you'll pardon my french.
David,
DeleteThank you. The subheading was part of the Daily Telegraph article. I think that the SNP supporters are right to claim that. England needs its equivalent to Salmond to fight for our nation too!
The first 12 years of of the 21 century this country has been run by Scotsmen. Blair took us into an illegal war that cost the lives of innocent Iraqi civilians and British service
Deletemen. Gordon Brown took us into the worst depression we have known, through bad government bad policies. Now we have an other Scott determined to destroy the English Nation.For gods sake and for the sake of England lets stand up and fight for our independence.
Give over, Tony Blair and David Cameron are about as Scottish as a Cornish Pasty. David Camerons recent attempts to buy off Scotland have nothing to do with him being sentimental, his statement about Scottish blood coursing through his veins was just a soundbite like Kennedy's "Ich bin ein Berliner!".
DeleteDavid Cameron's behaviour has far more selfish origins, he doesnt want to go down in history as the last prime minister of the UK, he said it himself. He and his Chancellor do not appear interested in a second term in office, they are looking after their friends by keeping in place the Tax Loopholes that they criticise in the papers and are making a considerable network of friends and aquaintances for future use. For a PM the earning potential comes AFTER your time in office, just ask the last 2 Prime Ministers.
We English really are in the doldrums. Europe are winning this war without firing a shot, The Scots feel sorry for us at the same time laughing all the way to the bank. Our government is without leadership, immigration out of control and our PM comes up with all sorts of “way out” policies that have nothing to do with getting the country on track.
ReplyDeleteWe knew Brown would be a disaster and worst than Blair, but we could not have known that Cameron would be such a wimp. That at the very time when we need strong leadership to keep Europe in check and get the Scottish thing sorted out properly and quickly and with INTEGRITY. Integrity also seems to be heading for extinction.
With all the wonderful innovation and technology at the start of this century, I think it will more likely be remembered for the extinction of the English Nation and the Scottish Independence that never happened with David being remembered as; Scottish Brown U-turn Dave. He will never be forgiven for the treatment of the Armed Forces, some of them actually serving in Afghanistan (the biggest shit hole on the planet) as they are sacked.
If anybody feels brave enough they should log on to he Gates of Vienna website and watch the youtube clip of Morten Messerschmidt of the Danish Freedom Party savaging his prime minister, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, who now has the EU presdidency,in the European Parliament. He ends by saying to her, you go and live in Europe with your friends and give us Denmark back. This woman, a social democrat, has been a disastrous prime minister who has re-opened Denmark's borders to the third world and yet she, along with Barroso and Van Rumpuoy, just sit there smiling their superior and condescending smile as if they know they are untouchable. Well, they are not, the euro will collapse, the EU will collapse and the likes of Morten Messerschmidt will give Europeans their freedom back. He is better than Nigel Farage. He is a real fighter. That's the sort of person we need to stand up for England. After all, if it weren't for the peoples of Norway, Southern Sweden, Denmark and the land immediately to the south, there would be no Angleland, no Viking no-nonsense, independence-seeking Viking spirit and no Allthing/Folcmoot democracy. Go Morten go.
ReplyDeleteWhatever the reasons the unin should be kept intact. All it means is the Jocks are gonna save Englands arse when the time comes by which time the Scots and English will have gt tgether and whipped Cameron and his chrts sorry arses and sent them t hell in a handcart. The are getting rid f the troops et advertising for TA n the telly....whats that abut.....oh yeah.....money.......what if theres a war......sorry sarge can't turn up war tomorrow....gotta work late.....or it's pool night.........It's a huge joke and the Government if thats what they are called are laughing at the British people. Now if all us Brits can get the finger out we can start it in the morning and be home for pie and peas at dinner..WAKE UP PEOPLE
ReplyDeletethe Scottish are a bunch of Savages! who have TWO Parliaments while we English have NO Parliament!, watch the News to hear about me Suicide Bombing Parliament, GOD it WILL be worth it! Ha Ha Ha
ReplyDeleteEdwinsborough (Edinburgh to the Scots) was founded by the English king Edwin and taken by conquest in the year 1018. The border between Scotland and England was never fixed and needs to be legally defined.
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